Mountain Biking on the South Downs. Peter Edwards
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The SDW divides into three variants here – both bridleway routes are open to mountain bikers. The quicker, easier main route is described first: the longer, harder variant follows below.
5 At the parking area, turn first through a gate onto SDW/Monarch’s Way bridleway variant. Descend through woods, pass through a gate and continue
to descend along Wheely Down, passing through a couple more gates before turning
through a gate and then
to descend on a track to Wheely Down Farm. Turn
onto a road and continue to a
with the A32 at the SW edge of Warnford. Turn
into the village then take the first RH turn off the A32 onto Old Winchester Hill Lane. Climb steadily along the lane for 2.75km before arriving at a gate just beyond a LH turn.
Variant via Exton and Old Winchester Hill
1 At the parking area, bear along the road signposted for Exton. Turn sharp
at the first junction and keep
(
) at the second. Descend steadily at first, becoming much steeper, along a narrow road known as The White Way. Shortly after the gradient eases, the road bends sharp right; continue to a
with Allen’s Farm Lane, turn
then
again after 200m and continue to a
. Turn
onto Beacon Hill Lane and follow this road through the village to the A32 (at time of writing there were signposts for the temporary SDW route through Exton). Cross
over the A32 and continue along Stock’s Lane for 500m, keep
at a fork then turn
onto a bridleway (SDW) along a wooded dismantled railway line. Continue
for 1km before turning
to drop off the dismantled railway line and stay on the SDW bridleway route. Emerge from woods and turn
along the field edge, then
before beginning to climb fairly steeply up the western flank of Old Winchester Hill. The path levels before climbing more steeply. Turn sharp
and descend a short way along a track then turn sharp
. Continue
for 700m before turning sharp
and climbing very steeply for 200m.
2 At the top of the climb, the path bears right and leads round to a gate near the summit of Old Winchester Hill. Go through and turn along a bridleway track. Follow the track around to a gate by Old Winchester Hill Lane but don’t go through. Instead, turn
along the bridleway, which runs parallel to the road for 500m before it crosses over just before a car park and runs along the other side of the road. Arrive at a gate near a fork in the road.
6 Go through the gate, descend a track across a very steep escarpment – control your speed – and pass through a gate at the bottom. Continue on a track to Whitewool Farm, turning
past a large barn and continuing through the farm and past Meon Springs fishing ponds, before turning
along a farm road at a
. After 500m, turn
along a concrete track and soon begin climbing quite steeply to a ridge. At a
turn
on a tree-lined track along the ridge. Cross
over a road at Coombe Cross to continue on a bridleway and soon begin climbing very steeply along a path up Salt Hill, which is very slippery when wet. At the top, the path continues along a field edge and passes a radio mast before emerging onto Droxford Road. Turn
and continue along the road. At a
bear
then keep
over two more
s to continue along track. Continue
and climb almost imperceptibly