I headed off this morning with a plan to get the train to Bursledon, which would leave a kilometre or two gap from where I caught the bus on the last leg. I couldn’t decide whether to walk an abortive 4 km there and back, on a busy road over the River Hamble. In the event the Southampton train was late, which meant I would miss the connection to Bursledon, so I ended up in Swanwick catching a bus to the exact bus stop I had left from. Fate had intervened.  The other benefits of the late train was a nice bacon sandwich in Hove and getting my lunch for later from a rather excellent bakers in Swanwick (I’ll keep the suspense going into what I chose).

The first section was crossing the bridge towards Bursledon, which is a rather nice sleepy little village, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of real life, despite having a railway station. I had come across Bursledon before in a professional sense, undertaking a drainage plan in the mid 90s. We had  four little villages to look at, but the only thing I can remember was that I was driving and we had a very early start. We finished the catchment inspection by lunch time, and and then stopped for a pub lunch (to quote a Calvin Harris song “it was acceptable in the 90s”). I couldn’t have a beer as I was driving, but my two colleagues (who shall remain nameless) had one or two pints, and it was a quiet drive back to the office with them both fast asleep in the car.

It was a rather nice walk to Hamble, through woodland and open meadows. Taking the ferry shortens the route, but the walk around is a nice walk in its own right – it would be a nice circular walk. The pink ferry was just leaving as I got to the harbour which was nice to see, both in terms of its existence and the fact it was clearly trying to avoid me.

A narrow path led above the stoney beach, occasionally dropping onto the shingle but mainly through a strip of woodland. I think I saw my first “oak apple”. This was a plump “apple” rather than a dried husk, which I have seen before. It appears these are abnormal growths caused by insects (wasps) or something….. all highly technical!

From Hamble it was back following very clear Coast Path signs (which differed – in a good way – from the downloaded route) and skirted the river until it reached the headland. The end of the Hamble River is well guarded with a gun emplacement, presumably to stop the Isle of Wight invading.

The path was then squeezed between a huge oil (?) storage facility, with a very long pier and massive storage tanks. The signage advised not to have fires on the beach – very wise advice! Both sides of Southampton Water are very oil centric, with Fawley Oil Refinery (?) on the opposite shore.

That said, there were some really nice sections, passing Netley Castle (although it’s more of a big house) and the grounds surrounding the, no longer used, Royal Victoria Hospital were magnificent. The beaches around here seemed to be littered with a different type of shell. Large white, with a smooth inside. I wonder what condition caused this, natural or man-made?

It had turned into a very hot day and I found a nice shady bench under some trees. The perfect place for one of my best lunches yet – a top Cornish Pasty, and a massive chunk of Bread Pudding – perfect.

The route became more urban from here, as   it weaved its way through, what are essentially suburbs of Southampton. I first got to Woolston, which had supposedly been my target on the last leg. From Woolston, the official coast path takes the Hythe Ferry to the otherside. Unfortunately, it seems that the ferry pier has fallen into disrepair and there is not enough money to keep the ferry going. This means a long walk (an extra 20km) through the city of Southampton. The first point of interest on this diversion was the futuristic looking Woolston Sewage Works.

Before crossing the very high and exposed Itchen Bridge I re-stocked water in a corner shop. The prices were so high I ended up buying four litres for the price of two, as the best deal. I hadn’t really thought through carrying the unnecessary two or three kilos of water. It was quite a climb up onto the bridge, with great views in all directions and below.

I started walking through Southampton, initally through modern redevelopment but then through some very nice parks, past the very grand city hall before reaching the main shopping centre.

I had intended to walk through the city and catch a bus back to the station. However, as I passed the railway station it had gone 4pm and a Brighton train was leaving in 5 minutes. I just couldn’t resist and took an early day.