Winchester Itchen

About The Place…

Here’s an alternative to climbing up St. Catherine’s Hill to the Mizmaze: hike along the River Itchen from the same car park (its off of Garnier Road at the bridge over the river). The story of our first hike is on our blog.  There are a ton more photos, of course, in our gallery.

Wind your way up to Winchester College and onto Winchester Cathedral. There, take in Winchester’s High Street and get some lunch, before returning via another tributary of the river. Stop off to see a cricket game and Wolvesey Palace (ruins).

All told, its about 2.9 miles, or 4.7km. Our 2 (and a half) year old and 4 (and a half) year old both enjoyed the walk; and managed to make it back to the car park with only the last bit on daddy’s and mummy’s shoulders.

The car park is shown in the lower-right of the map, below, circled in green. Start your walk by crossing Garnier Road and joining the footpath beside the river.

Timings…

*for lunch: the pastry shop right in front of the High (Butter) Cross monument serves ham & cheese [and other fillings] croissants. They also make nice cappuccinos. They have seating upstairs; the toilets are another floor up and are in need of a bit of tender loving care.

So, it took us just under 5 hours — but that’s with lunch, shopping and fun at the playground and ruins (in other words – a fun day out!).

If this article was helpful, then why not buy us a beer (or some juice for the kids):

Location

Park at the car park for St. Catherine’s Hill, which is off of Garnier Road, Winchester, Hampshire, UK.

Google map of car park for St. Catherine’s Hill in Winchester.