Yesterday the sun was out Whoo Whoo!
Barney kindly dropped me in Emsworth and I made my way to the Yacht Harbour so I could start at the right point. The sun then disappeared but, it remained dry.
Well I have a conundrum. I said I’d walk as close to the sea as I could but I was faced with a man-made saline lagoon at the Mill Slipper Pond. In effect this allows you to walk out into the harbour and along the pond boundary. So with the sea on one side and the salty pond with it’s sluice gate on the other I walked away from the shore!
Emsworth is a lovely old town and according to Wikipedia (so it must be true) it has Saxon origins. It was a small fishing town and it was once famous for its oysters untill a few of the gentry in the early 1900’s died from eating them! Apparently sewage had got into the oyster beds. I’m not selling this am I?
As I wandered through the town with its busy market, the smell of coffee was very diverting but, I resisted as I’d only just set off.
The harbour was very busy with what seemed to be a sailing school.
In fact the walk continued to be busy, along the wall of the western mill pond (another tidal pond where I once tried out a home made paddle board (2017), it didn’t end well, it sank!)
Passing the marina I realised I hadn’t taken my own advice in my haste to get out doors, the tide was in! The Sea was calm and my maps indicated a proper path and bridleway so I wasn’t too worried…hmm!
I followed the Wayfarers walk to Nore Barn woods. The other walkers thinned out here but it’s still a busy area and the noise of the M27 is evident.
Then I went wrong. I followed a track to the shore that suddenly ended in the sea, it would have been okay if the tide was out but it meant either back tracking or following animal tracks and getting into the fields behind.
I ended up following a hedge at the field edge, hoping there wasn’t going to be a ditch as it was very wet underfoot. I was lucky, I got onto Church Path and headed into Warblington. I was intrigued because there is a huge old cemetery here. The church and remains of what is called Warblington Castle are all that is left of what may have been a village. The Castle is private but what I could see looked like a fortified house. I later read it’s Tudor and apparently the people of Emsworth used to walk to the Church (Church of Thomas a Becket) as they were all part of the same Parish.
Look at all the collard doves on the telephone wire, I’ve never seen so many in one go!
And so to the second error, I misjudged how far I’d walked and ended up once again at a point where the path went into the sea! I walked up a lane only to realise I wasn’t where I thought I was and had to walk back and take an unofficial chicken track behind the sea barrier. I’m making it sound dramatic but the worst that could have happed was a twisted ankle or that I pitched myself headfirst into shallow water!
I survived and admired the views of Hayling Island and Langstone windmill. The view is rather linea but it is very atmospheric.
I made it to Langstone another very picturesque fishing village rather blighted by the very busy road to Hayling.
I pretty much marched across the bridge to Hayling before a friend came to collect me to take me home. I would have had to walk along a busy road to Havant Rail Station so I was very glad of the lift.
It wasn’t a long walk, just under six miles and took 2 hours. The next one is going to be about 17 miles….
The Travelling Bee 