Walking the Itchen Way

The Itchen Way is a 30 mile walk along the length of the River Itchen. The walk commences where the Itchen feeds into Southampton Water, and ends at the Itchen’s approximate source near Cheriton, near New Alresford. I’m planning to do the walk in 4 parts:

1. 1. Western Shore, Southampton to Bishopstoke near Eastleigh (9 miles)
   2. Bishopstoke to Winchester (7½ miles)
   3. Winchester to Itchen Stoke (7½ miles)
   4. Itchen Stoke to approximate source at Cheriton (6½ miles)

Since I’ll be reliant on public transport for getting to and from the start and end points, I need a schedule, particularly as the later parts require using infrequent country buses. So this is the plan:

Part 1: Western Shore, Southampton to Bishopstoke near Eastleigh (9 miles)

10:12 train from Clapham Junction to Southampton Central, arriving 11:22.

Bus from Southampton Civic Centre to Woolston, followed by a 5 minute walk to Western Shore, arriving about 12:00.

Allow 5 hours to walk the 9 miles to Bishopstoke, including 15 minutes to walk to Eastleigh Station, arriving around 5pm.

Train to Clapham Junction (about every 15 minutes) arriving Clapham Junction 1¼ hours later, around 6:30pm.

I’m expecting this part of the walk to be fairly straightforward as I know much of the first 7 miles to Mans Bridge, from my childhood and also from more recent years. The end point, Bishopstoke, is where I met my first girlfriend (oh Melanie!) and who I met whilst doing  a summer holiday job at the former Pirelli cable factory. Eastleigh is where I drank my first pint, possibly at the now-demolished Junction Hotel.

Part 2: Bishopstoke to Winchester (7½ miles)

• 10:12 train from Clapham Junction to Basingstoke, then 11:00 to Eastleigh, arriving 11:27
• Allow 4 hours to walk to Bishopstoke and to resume the Itchen Way to Winchester, arriving around 3:30pm.
• Train to Clapham Junction (about every 15 minutes) arriving Clapham Junction 1 hour later, around 4:30pm.

Part 3: Winchester to Itchen Stoke (7½ miles)

• 10:12 train from Clapham Junction to Winchester, arriving 11:04
• Allow 4 hours to resume the Itchen Way to Itchen Stoke, arriving around 3pm
• Bus 67  to Winchester, 3:19 (school holidays only) arriving 3:41 OR 4:19 (schooldays only) arriving 4:41
• Train to Clapham Junction (about every 15 minutes) arriving Clapham Junction 1 hour later, around 5pm or 6pm

Part 4: Itchen Stoke to approximate source at Cheriton (6½ miles)

• 09:27 train from Clapham Junction to Woking , arriving 9:47, then 10:00 to Winchester arriving 10:32
• Bus 67  to Itchen Stoke, 11:00 arriving 11:23
• Allow 4 hours to resume the Itchen Way to Cheriton, arriving around 3:30
• Bus 67  to Winchester, 4:07 (schooldays only) arriving 4:41 OR 5:07 arriving 5:41
• Train to Clapham Junction (about every 15 minutes) arriving Clapham Junction 1 hour later, around 7pm or 8pm