Romsey Circular Walk

Distance: 3.25 miles

Approx. time: 2 hours

Start/Finish: Visitor Information Centre, Church Street, SO51 8BT

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This 3.25 mile walk passes by the Redbridge and Andover canal, completed in 1794 and serving the Test Valley for 65 years. Walking by the Fishlake Stream and a tributary of the Test.

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Transport: Romsey train station and bus station are located very near to the route (as shown on the map).                               

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Refreshments: there are plenty of pubs/cafes/shops in the centre of Romsey.

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Start at the Visitor Information Centre, Church Street. Walk through King John’s Garden. Proceed to Romsey Railway Station noticing the WW1 memorial commemorating 100 years since the start of the Great War at the Station Approach. Walk through the tunnel, follow the road past the Industrial Estate coming out alongside the canal. Under Fishlake road notice the splendid mural. Carry on for about a mile into and around the new Fishlake Meadows nature reserve, managed by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. Take the left hand path, walking on until it comes out by the Fishlake Stream. Cross over the bridge and follow around the edge of a lake, turn right onto a drive to the main road.

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Walk back to Romsey. Turn left up Fishlake Road, cross over the bridge, picking up the Fishlake path again through the Industrial Estate. Cross over Duttons Road to an estate Road opposite, follow this round to pedestrian crossing, follow the road into Priestlands Estate. Take the left turn pass Romsey School, follow the road until the river is reached, turn onto the riverside path which leads into Holman Drive. Note the former fulling mill, now apartments. The riverside gardens used to be managed as a nursery by a well-known TV garden celebrity. Turn into Mill Lane and School Lane, walk past the Abbey back to the start.