After a miserable post-Christmas lockdown, home schooling, winter blues and full time working, the slightest hint of Spring and I was off, doing another long distance walk. This time I met up with a friend to catch up on where are lives are at by walking the Itchen Navigation path from Brambridge to St Catherines Hill in Winchester. and back, which totalled 10 miles. In ordinary times this would make a lovely day trip as you can start early, get to Winchester, have a lovely lunch then head back to Brambridge, where there is a lovely garden centre to look around and grab a coffee. However armed with a pork pie, I headed out for my mornings jaunt in the beautiful sunshine. Now we were not prepared for some bits of the path to basically be a river, so I did stumble and fall and get wet boots, but it is February so I guess a bit of that was my own fault. But that aside the path up to Winchester is very pretty and worth the pain.
The Itchen Navigation is a 10.4 mile disused canal system in Hampshire connecting Winchester to Southampton. As we made our way up through the downs and various locks we ended up at St Catherines Hill which is an iron age hill fort with spectacular views.
Before we headed up the hill we grabbed a coffee with the awesomely situated cycling cafe called Handlebars cafe to get some refreshment before climbing up to the top to see the panoramic views across the south downs and Winchester. For more information on this walk as part of the Itchen Way visit https://www.britishwalks.org/walks/Named/ItchenWay.php
