Winchester walk on 6th December 2023

With the thought that we could spend some time in the Christmas Market, Winchester seemed a good place for a walk - it had been the capital of England until 1066. After parking up in St Catherine's Park and Ride, we headed for St Catherine's Hill. It is a bit of a challenge so a few sensible people decided to pop into The Handlebar Cafe, have a coffee and meet the mountaineers on the south side of the Hill. As it happened the hill wasn't too bad, as long as we remembered to have a look at the view every 50 steps. The hill was the site of an Iron Age fort and also contains the buried ruins of a Norman chapel. On top of the hill is one of only two remaining historic English turf mazes where the path is a narrow groove in the turf. We also met a Hampshire Wildlife warden looking for the 8 British White Cows that freely roam the hilltop. The route back down was well maintained with planks and netting - a passer-by said there were 333 steps - luckily for us they were downwards! Having met up with the refreshed walkers, we carried on along the Itchen Way footpath until we found St Cross Bridge which took us across the extensive water meadows. Turning north, we reached the St Cross Hospital and stopped for a drink. The building is not actually a hospital but was founded in 1136 for “thirteen poor men, feeble and so reduced in strength that they can scarcely or not all support themselves”. Luckily we managed to get away and carried on upstream, looking for a rumoured kingfisher. We were soon back in civilisation and after a quick look at the market, retired to the Wykeman Arms for lunch. The walk was around 4 miles.