The Mill House, Butter Wood and Greywell Tunnel
Common, woods and the tunnel.
Walk 3 of 8 · 4.0 miles (6.5 km)
Greywell Moors, Greywell and the castle
Fen, village pub and canal.
Start point
The Bury, by All Saints' Church, Odiham
Postcode RG29 1ND
How to get there
Follow the route in an app
Works with AllTrails, OS Maps, Komoot and most walking apps. Import the file and follow along.
- Distance
- 4.0 miles (6.5 km) circular
- Time
- 2 to 2½ hours
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Terrain
- Moderate. Field paths with a stile or two, a short steep bank, boggy ground in the nature reserve and a level towpath. Muddy after rain, so wear boots.
- Start
- The Bury, by All Saints' Church, Odiham. Postcode RG29 1ND · Map of the start
- Parking
- Deer Park View car park, just off the High Street, or on-street parking on the High Street (check for time limits).
- From Laurel Cottage
- About 12 minutes on foot to The Bury. Or pick up the route on West Street, a few minutes' walk from the village centre.
- Dogs
- Cattle graze Greywell Moors all year round, and the Wildlife Trust asks for dogs on leads throughout the reserve and out of the river. Fields near Odiham may have cattle too. Leads on for crossing Bidden Road, which is fast. The canal is fine for a drink on the way back.
- Pubs and cafés
- The Fox & Goose, a friendly, dog-friendly village pub in Greywell, about halfway round.
This one has a bit of everything. You get big views over the Whitewater valley, a walk through a rare spring-fed fen, a little medieval church, a proper village pub at halfway, and then a long stretch of canal back past the castle.
It's the walk we'd pick on a bright spring day, when the marsh flowers are out on the moors.
Route map
The numbers on the map match the directions below.
Download GPX
Start point on OpenStreetMap
Open the GPX file in your favourite walking app to follow the route on your phone.
Directions
The Bury to Bidden Road
From The Bury, go into All Saints' churchyard and turn right along the path beside the brick wall to Alton Road. Cross at the lights and go into West Street, just downhill on the left. Follow West Street west past Robert May's School. Just after the school, a few steps on the left take you up onto a footpath along the field edge (watch for cattle), which brings you back to the road further on. Carry on to the junction with Bidden Road and Deptford Lane.
Down to the moors
Cross Bidden Road with care and take the footpath through the hedge on the far side. From here you look down over the Whitewater valley. Follow the path straight across the fields and down to the gate at the bottom, the entrance to Greywell Moors nature reserve.
Through Greywell Moors
Keep to the public footpath through the reserve. It crosses the young River Whitewater on a footbridge and then runs up the edge of a field to a gate into Greywell churchyard.
Greywell village
Walk past St Mary's Church and up the track to the village street. Turn right past the cottages to the Fox & Goose.
Over the tunnel to the towpath
Just past the pub, turn right into Deptford Lane, then almost straight away take the footpath on the left. It climbs the bank and crosses the canal right by the mouth of Greywell Tunnel. Turn right along the towpath and follow it east. You cross the River Whitewater on a small aqueduct, and then King John's Castle appears on your left.
The castle back to Odiham
Carry on to North Warnborough lift bridge, cross it and follow Tunnel Lane to The Street. Turn right, and after about 100 metres turn left up the path opposite the Anchor. It crosses a residential road and becomes a wide tarmac path beside Robert May's School, coming out on West Street. Retrace your steps to The Bury.
Before you set off
We've drawn these routes from OpenStreetMap and checked them against Hampshire County Council's public rights of way map, but the countryside changes. Paths get diverted, bridges close for repairs and fields fill up with crops or cattle. Please treat our directions as a friendly guide, not a guarantee, and follow the signs and waymarks you find on the ground.
- Take a map or app. OS Explorer 144 covers the area, or load our GPX file into your favourite walking app.
- Expect mud. The Common, the moors and the field paths get very wet between autumn and spring. Wellies or proper boots make a big difference.
- Cattle and livestock. Close gates behind you, keep dogs on a short lead near animals, and let go of the lead if cattle chase you, so you can both get to safety.
- Roads. Some routes cross or follow busy roads, including the A287. Take care, keep dogs on leads and walk facing oncoming traffic where there's no pavement.
- By the water. The canal is deep in places, and the towpath edge can be crumbly. Watch little ones and keep an eye on dogs that love a swim.
- Leave it as you found it. Bag and bin your dog's poo, take your litter home, and follow the Countryside Code.
You walk these routes at your own risk. If you spot something that has changed, we'd love to hear about it at [email protected].
More walks around Odiham
See all 8 routes on our Odiham walks page, or browse our local guide for pubs, cafés and things to do.
Odiham Common and the canal
A short woodland loop for dogs.
Dogmersfield Park and Broad Oak
The longer canal and parkland loop.
Stay with us at Laurel Cottage
Fancy a walking weekend? Our dog-friendly cottage is a short stroll from Odiham High Street, so several of these walks start almost from the door. Muddy boots and muddy paws are both welcome. Book direct for our best price.
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