Walk 5

Starting from the Village hall proceed down fore Street with the Hall on your left.  At the Cross roads go straight across and continue for about 2km, passing Chattafin Farm on your left on the way.  Continuing along the road you will pass over another stream and continue up the hill to reach Bude Farm where just beyond the farmyard, turn right through a kissing gate marked by a public footpath sign.  Follow path towards a large oak tree in the middle, continue to the bottom of the field and cross over the foot bridge.  Turn left , then right to pass over an old hedge bank and continue through the filed keeping the electricity pole on your right to pass a gate way onto a driveway. 

Cross the drive at 11o’clock and pass through the gate on your right.  Keeping the hedge on your left go uphill to an oak tree then strike out at 1 o’clock to a gateway in the corner of the field just below the skyline.  Pass through keeping hedges on your left continue through fields until the path joins a farm lane, continue until you reach the road.  Turn right along the road passing Slade Farm and Middleton, then pass the Church on your left.  You are now in Honneychurch.  (Hunna’s church, a 12th cent church which is well worth a visit.) 

Opposite the church take the signed footpath southwards near Eastown and keeping to the right hand side of the field go over the footbridge into the next field.  Keep to the right hand side and follow the hedge until you reach a stile on to the road.  Turn right, pass over the bridge (note the keystone and the wrought granite coping stones), just after the bridge turn right onto a path signed public footpath.  Pick you way through a marshy area and incline to the left and go uphill to a gate into a green lane.  The green lane is how most of the roads around this district would have looked 150 years ago.

Follow the green lane to Cliston, bear right on to the tarmac/concrete lane and pass Higher Cliston Farmhouses on your left.  Continue through the hamlet passing Lower Cliston Farm.  Keep the farm buildings on your left and follow a narrow path to the right of a concrete enclosure which leads to a field.  Go across the field over a stile and through an old metal gate then over a small stream and half left uphill to reach two gates in the corner of the field.  Take the left hand gateway into the field and keep the hedge bank on your right to reach a gate into Solland Land.   

  Cross the lane and keeping to the left enter the field planted as a orchard. Follow the edge of the field keeping hedge on your right until you reach a tall wooden gate near the field corner. Go through and the stile nearby and continue over the next field ahead of you towards a metal field gate.  Go through and continue over the next field to a stile in the hedge which exits on to the A3072.  Turn right downhill and take the first right (Holbroke Lane) and return to Exbourne.