A rural bike ride near Long Parish and Whitchurch, Hampshire

Last weekend I was lucky enough to be able to find time to make the most of the dry but cold weather, and took the opportunity for a bike ride down to Whitchurch in Hampshire. I've cycled this route, or more accurately a slightly off road version of it, before but as always each visit reveals new things. The first revelation was a little sad, and that was of yet another closed pub. A couple of summers ago I stopped here mid bike ride for lunch and a pint at the Hurstbourne Inn, in Hurstbourne Priors, but alas those days would now seem to be gone. I also noticed that The Coronation Arms in St. Marybourne had also closed.

The Hurstbourne Inn, Hurstbourne Priors, Hampshire

As my ride continued, I came across more relics of a bygone ear, although these buttresses which supported the bridge carrying the railway line south from Whitchurch towards Winchester would have been closed to business several decades earlier than the pub above.

Buttresses of a former bridge carrying the railway south from Whitchurch

Buttresses of a former bridge carrying the railway south from Whitchurch

Buttresses of a former bridge carrying the railway south from Whitchurch

Buttresses of a former bridge carrying the railway south from Whitchurch

Whitchurch itself is probably about two thirds, or 20 miles, of the way around this particular loop and I'm always pleased to arrive and treat myself to a coffee, and sometimes a cake, at H's. The next two pictures are of the White Hart which I'm pleased to say is still open and sits proudly opposite H's, as I sat on the bench outside the café, sipping my takeaway Americano.

The White Hart, Whitchurch, Hampshire

The White Hart, Whitchurch, Hampshire

    

A wander around Whitchurch, Hampshire (the former Didcot, Newbury and Southampton railway)

So first things first, this is not one of my usual urban, or even rural, wanders. These pictures were in fact taken midway through a bike ride where I happened to be cycling through Whitchurch. I've been through plenty of times before but never really stopped to admire the former Didcot, Newbury and Southampton (DNS) railway line bridges, and I'd certainly never found the former Whitchurch Town station before. This first picture is of the bridge towards the northern part of the town.

Bridge carrying the former Newbury to Winchester railway, Whitchurch, Hampshire

I must have cycled past this pedestrian walkway which runs beneath the track several times but had never noticed it before.

Pedestrian walkway under the former railway line, near Whitchurch Town station 

Pedestrian walkway under the former railway line, near Whitchurch Town station 

And once I'd got to the other side, there was the former Whitchurch Town station in all its glory. I'm pretty sure this is now a private residence, but it was nice to see that it was steeped in railway nostalgia.

The former Whitchurch Town railway station, on the Newbury to Winchester line 

The former Whitchurch Town railway station, on the Newbury to Winchester line  

 The former Whitchurch Town railway station, on the Newbury to Winchester line 

If you look closely, in the very distance of this next photo you can just make out the bridge carrying the A34, which for much of its route actually uses the former railway line, but fortunately not here where the bridge towards the southern end of the town is still in place.

Bridge carrying the former Newbury to Winchester railway, Whitchurch, Hampshire

As i continued my ride south from Whitchurch, I came across a few more glimpses of the old railway line, but these were far too overgrown to take any decent pictures. Maybe I'll return in the winter or spring when there is less foliage.