Best Dog Walks around Hambledon
Hambledon is a quiet village about 10 miles north of Portsmouth, and is part of the South Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There’s a small collection of pretty houses and a church, as well as a handful of shops and services.
While the village of Hambledon may not mean much to most, the cricket fan in your life may well have heard of it! Regarded as “the cradle of cricket,” it is home to one of the oldest cricket clubs in the world, Hambledon Cricket Club. Can you believe it was founded as long ago as 1765?!
As you’d suspect, being located within the South Downs AONB the village is surrounded by the most beautiful countryside—and even a vineyard to boot!—so is blessed with more scenic walks than your dog can wag their tail at. Here’s a few to inspire you!
The Old Forge Tearoom to The Murder Stone
This 2 mile circular walk conveniently starts and ends at The Old Forge Tea Room which not only has incredible food and teas, is also dog friendly so your pal can join you too. As you start on the walk, the route takes you past a stunning 16th century timber framed house, boasting the unusual historical feature of a ha-ha.
Once you’ve finished cracking jokes and puns about that, you’ll then take a footpath which takes a gentle incline through several paddocks to a large open field which has some lovely views of the village.
After leaving the field through the gate you’ll follow a stony track which eventually joins a road. Before you reach the road, look out for an unmarked stone on your right, which looks a bit like a blank milestone. This is the Murder Stone. Creepy, right? It was placed there to mark the spot where James Stares was robbed and murdered in 1782, right after leaving a nearby pub a bit worse for wear.
Once you find the road, hang a left and follow it as it twists and turns and it will lead you back to The Old Forge Tearoom for cake o’clock.
You can see the full route of the walk here.
Peter Facey / Old Forge Tea Room and Lotts General Store, Hambledon
Hambledon Vineyard and Chidden Circular
This is another circular walk with a slightly longer length, covering just over 4 miles in total. And yes — you did read that right — it includes a vineyard!
The walk starts in the centre of the village, and as you reach the outskirts you will see the church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The church is over 1000 years old having been dated back to Saxon times, and is built using flint which is typical of this area. As you leave the village you will soon realise that you’re walking through orderly fields row upon row of grape vines.
The vines belong to Hambledon Vineyard, England’s oldest commercial vineyard, and they produce award winning English sparkling wines. While the visitor’s centre and the vineyard tours don’t allow dogs, dogs are welcome on the vineyard’s property.
From the vineyard you plod your way uphill towards Windmill Down and then on past Beckless Plantation, by which point you will be relieved to realise that you can now wander your way through the fields and back down into the village.
This lovely walking route has a good mix of tracks and paved roads, and the hills are all gentle — none are too strenuous, so no excuses! — and give you a near constant flow of beautiful views of the South Downs and its surrounds.
If this sounds like your cup of tea — or glass of wine, I don’t judge — full details of the route can be found here.
Windmill Down by Margaret Sutton
Broadhalfpenny Down Walk
If you’re a cricket fan or are unlucky enough to live with one, then this is the walk for you! This is a moderate walk through farmland and quiet lanes, and takes in some of Britain’s sporting history along the way.
On this walk you will park in the village and then wander along Hambledon’s high street, where you can see some examples of half timbered buildings alongside grand Georgian buildings. You will make your way over stiles, farmland, and byways, until you reach a small inn.
For fans of “leather on willow”, Broadhalfpenny Down is home to The Bat & Ball Inn. The landlord of the Inn was one of the founders of the Hambledon Cricket Club, and helped draw up the first rules of the game on which modern cricket is founded. There’s also a small granite memorial to celebrate the club’s early heroes. Inside the pub you will find a treasure trove of cricketing memorabilia, and what’s more, the pub is dog friendly meaning that both you and your pooch can peep the sporting history on display while enjoying a drink.
From here it is a gentle meander back down the hill towards the village, where you will route past The Old Forge Tearoom and back towards the high street.
Make the cricket fan in your life’s day by venturing out on this walk, full details of which you will see here.
Sign at "The Bat and Ball" PH by Shazz
Happy walkies!
Sarah-Jane xx