walks
Hamstead Marshall
Hamstead Marshall is well served by public
rights of way (see map), on which
it’s possible to walk off-road through scenic countryside
for an hour or more, hardly leaving the parish. There is no
challenging terrain, but be prepared to meet livestock, cattle
grids, stiles and mud. Walkers with buggies are probably best
advised to stick to either the canal towpath running eastwards
towards Newbury (which has been surfaced as a cycleway) or the
footpath that coincides with the tarmac driveway in Hamstead
Park.
Enborne Wood Walk
Irish Hill Walk
These two walks can be combined as a
figure of eight walk of about seven or eight miles, centred on
Hamstead Mill.
Beginning at Hamstead Mill, this walk of
about three and three-quarter miles takes you westwards along
the canal, crosses over Morewood estate land via Irish Hill,
and along Irish Hill Road back to Hamstead Mill.
This three-mile walk begins at Hamstead
Mill, eastwards along the canal towpath to Benham Lock in the
neighbouring parish of Enborne, and then through Enborne Wood,
circling back through Hamstead Park.
Holtwood Walk
These two walks can be combined as a
figure of eight walk of about seven miles, centred on the White
Hart.
Copyright Penelope Stokes 2010
This three-mile walk starts opposite the
White Hart, and takes the driveway up past Plumbs Farm and over
a field, then through through Briffs Copse, across more
farmland, and then joins a quiet lane to Holtwood. A footpath
across Elm Farm land brings you back to the start.
Just west of the White Hart, the Elm Farm
bridleway begins a walk of nearly four miles, taking in the
site of the former Craven mansion, Hamstead church and the
mill, before crossing the park and rejoining the Kintbury road
via farmland, and returning to Elm Farm.
Elm Farm Trail
Two new leaflets describing these walks
are currently available from the White Hart, Elm Farm,
Plumb’s Farm, the village hall, the church porch, local
libraries and the West Berks Tourist Office in Newbury.
This two-mile circular walk touring Elm
Farm's 235 acres displays organic farming in action, complete
with ponds, old hedgerows, pollarded willows, unploughed
grassland, old clay pits, and track verges rich in
old-fashioned flora. Trail leaflets can be picked up from the
start of the walk, where the bridle path leaves the Kintbury
Road (opposite the farm car park) or from the farm office.