The view far exceeds the video quality, nothing too professional here 🙂 !!!
A 16.5 mile round trip from the car park at Wickham to where the South Downs Way crosses the old railway line and then up to the top of Old Winchester Hill. Amazing views from the top and I was rewarded with the sun coming out on the way back.
The railway line has had a considerable amount of work done to it and with more promised for May 2015 I feel this could have been one of the last runs on it before it becomes more “commercial”. The old railway line has long been a hidden gem that not too many people knew about. The gradual incline out of Wickham has a tree lined corridor where the trains would have run, so from a runners point of view, gives shade in the summer and protection from the wind in the winter.
The nature of the old railway line means there are a number of interesting red brick bridges to run under as well as Droxford’s privately owned station where Winston Churchill once met with other allied heads to discuss the D Day landings !! As the miles pass by you mind drifts to what it must have been like decades ago. I’m sure the track and it’s access onto the SDW will remain a favourite of mine.
The sound of a woodpecker, the spring flowers and the benefit of some gradual downhill on the way back mean the miles are quickly clocked up. Always a pleasure & that’s why we run.
irunoffroad 