South Downs Way 2 : West Meon to Petersfield Walk

17.1 miles (27.5 km) with 1720 ft (525 metres) of ascent

• Option A, start in Exton, saves 2.5 miles (rare bus);
• Option B, finish after lunch in East Meon (regular bus);
• Option C, from Butser Hill take a direct descent to Petersfield, saves 2.6 miles;
• Option D, at the end, catch a bus from the Queen Elizabeth County Park (on the SDW) to Petersfield, saves 4 miles.

This walk follows a stage of the South Downs Way (SDW). From West Meon (reached by bus from Petersfield station), it follows the Meon Valley (disused railway) Trail to Exton where it joins the SDW. It heads east, over Old Winchester Hill (an ancient hill fort), Salt Hill, Hyden Hill, Tegdown Hill and Butser Hill (270m), the highest point in the South Downs National Park. After a long descent to cross the A3, it rises through the woods of Queen Elizabeth Country Park (QECP). Here it leaves the SDW to follow the Hangers Way north to Buriton, and back to Petersfield. station

The walk is rather long as the stations are badly placed for the route of the SDW, so there are 4 options to shorten it

• A) Catch a rare bus to Exton, and start the walk from there;
• B) Finish after lunch (a little off route) in East Meon (same bus line as West Meon), but you miss Butser Hill and Queen Elizabeth Country Park (QECP);
• C) From Butser Hill take a direct descent to Petersfield through Open Access land. This saves the re-ascent through QECP Forest. Much shorter, misses a steep climb, but not as pretty on it's way into town via the suburbs. Be aware that the route crosses the A3 dual carriageway (via a median - OK if you are patient) and then the rail line (via a tunnel).
• D) Catch a bus to Petersfield from the Queen Elizabeth Country Park (the stop is on the A3). This saves the 4 mile walk from the QECP on to Petersfield, leaving you the best bits - the SDW and the Meon Valley Trail: Bus #37 (hourly, takes 10 mins, Mon-Sat only).

This section of the SDW has poor public transport at both ends. At the start, Exton, on the SDW, has rare buses (1 or 2 a week) but they change annually. The West (and East) Meon (north of the SDW) bus service is more reliable.

At the end, the walk north to Petersfield station makes the walk too long, hence the shorter options. The best shorter option is the QECP bus stop (on the SDW), but that means buses at both ends. After that, option C, however, it involves crossing the A3 (motorway) via a median. A shortcut via "Petersfield South" A3 junction would mean too much road walking.

Winchester and Petersfield are both main stations, about an hour from Waterloo, with 2 trains an hour. However, they are 25 miles - 2 days walking - apart, with very little in the way of public transport in between.

In addition, these 2 stations are on different rail lines, which only meet up in Fareham (near Southampton), which makes for a more expensive ticket (2017: London-Fareham: £24.40 vs London-Petersfield: £18.20 - both Network Railcard prices), i.e. a ticket to Fareham is valid for both stations if you need to start your journey in one, and finish it in the other

Local Bus services [2021]

Stagecoach #67 : Runs between the 2 train stations, but to the north of the SDW.

• Route: Winchester (station) - Hinton Ampner (£4.50) - West Meon (£5.30 to Winchester, £3.50 to Petersfield) - East Meon - Petersfield Station.
• Mon-Fri (every 2 hours). Last bus from West Meon is 18:45 (to Petersfield) or 18:40 (to Winchester)
• Sat (every 3 hours). Last bus is earlier. No Sunday service.

Stagecoach #37 : QECP Country park to Petersfield

• Mon-Fri: hourly, Sat every 90 mins. Last bus 18:15. Takes 5 mins

# X17 : Exton (on the SDW) to Petersfield. Very rare, 1 on Wednesday only! Use it to catch a bus to Exton, and then walk back.

These seems to change very frequently. Check! Traveline.

En route Winchester - West Meon

• In Beauworth: The Milbury's (14.8 km/9.2 mi)
• In Exton: The Shoe Inn (21.1 km/13.1 mi),on the SDW, not far from the A 32 "2 buses, twice a week" bus stop. Excellent. Pretty beer garden by the river. The Bucks Head 1 km south in Meonstoke is good too.

En route West Meon - Petersfield

• At Meon Springs: Bolly by the Bridge at Meon Springs Lodge (8.8 km/5.5 mi)
• In East Meon: Ye Olde George Inn (posher), or the Izaak Walton (cheaper); (11.6 km/7.2 mi, off route: adds about 3 km to the walk).
• In Leydene Park: The Sustainability Centre's Beech Cafe (13.3 km/8.3 mi).
• In Queen Elizabeth Country Park: The The Beechwood Kitchen at the Visitor Centre Cafe (19.3 km/12.0 mi).
• In Buriton: The Five Bells and The Nest Hotel and Restaurant (about 23 km/14.3 mi).

While waiting for the bus

• In Hinton Ampner: The Hinton Arms
• In Exton: The Shoe Inn, on the SDW, not far from the A 32 "2 buses, twice a week" bus stop. Excellent. Pretty beer garden by the river. The Bucks Head 1 km south in Meonstoke is good too.
• In West Meon: The Thomas Lord, restaurant pub with beer garden. Restaurant priced food.
• In East Meon: Ye Olde George Inn (posher), or the Izaak Walton (cheaper)

While waiting for the train

• In Winchester: many pubs, and a cathedral - you will not have a problem passing the time waiting for your train
• In Petersfield: The Old Drum (walk east on station road, right on Chapel Street) is a restaurant pub. Continue and turn left to the town square for many more options

• Meon Valley Railway Line : Almost a folly, even when it was built, was constructed to main line standards, with gentle curves and ascents (i.e. many earthworks and long platforms, much of which still exist today), but little traffic
• "Meon Valley Trail" - the disused line is now an unpublicised walk/cycle trail. See photos

After the walk, please leave a comment, it really helps. Thanks!

You can also upload photos to the SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are:

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Apr-23 Andrew