Street Croft Farm
Herriard
Children will enjoy visiting the farm animals and playing at the excellent village play area on this walk.
There are animals and activities for children at Street Croft Farm
The Basics
Time: 1 hr 25 mins
Distance: 5 km / 3.1 m
Terrain: Mostly flat field paths and bridleways, mostly well surfaced with gravel, one small, very muddy section and a small section along a quiet country road.
Pushchairs: This route is not suitable for pushchairs.
Dogs: Dogs must be on leads at the farm and on permissive paths.
Refreshments: Street Croft Farm has a cafe selling cakes, sausage rolls, toasties etc and a farm shop for supplies.
Toilets: There are toilets at Street Croft Farm.
Public Transport: There is no public transport to this location.
Parking: Free car park at Street Croft Farm, during opening hours and for customers only (Postcode: RG25 2PQ - W3W: ///stuff.coder.headings )
The farmland of the Herriard Estate looks amazing in spring.
Street Croft Farm, south of Basingstoke, is a working farm with farm shop, cafe, animals and children’s games. If you are a customer of the farm, you can also enjoy this circular walk where you will see plenty of bluebells in spring. The village also has an excellent play area set in a meadow, which is the perfect treat for kids who complete the walk.
The Route
Due to the limitations of parking, this walking route can only be completed by non-locals when Street Croft Farm is open. This tends to be weekends, bank holidays and select days in school holidays. If you are using the parking at the farm to do the walk, please make sure you use their café or farm shop. There is plenty for children to do at the farm, and as long as you are using their businesses, children can see all the animals and play the outdoor games.
*please see section four and comments about appropriate footwear before starting the walk!
To start the walk, exit Street Croft Farm towards the road and turn immediately left along the pavement. A hedge will soon protect you from the road as you walk between the hedge and the farm. As the pavement ends, you will emerge at the sawmill/timber yard. Turn left here, opposite the church, and walk along Scratchface Lane. You will pass cottages and a number of business units before the buildings give way to a field. Continue in a straight line and walk along the semi gravel/tarmac track with the open field to your left and the hedge to your right.
At the end of the field, veer right, with a small woodland to your right. Walk along the track and keep your eye out for a post to your right with a blue bridleway arrow pointing right. Take this path as it leads you away from the wide track and down a narrower path. Emerge from the undergrowth into a field and walk up the field with the boundary to your left.
On the other side of the field, the path will become enclosed by a post and rail fence to your right with ponies on the other side. Continue forwards, and when you get to the cottages, turn right onto the tarmac drive. Pass the stable block to your right and continue past some more cottages to your left. At a crossroads with Oxlease Lane, walk straight ahead, going around a large, green metal gate.
Follow the path in a straight line as it cuts across the middle of an open field and you will arrive at Merrits Cospe on the other side. Follow the path straight through the copse, and in April/May, you can enjoy the display of bluebells. As you exit the woodland, veer right, taking the grassy path straight across the middle of a field towards a green barrier. Go around the barrier and turn right at the crosspaths onto a shady track. *This next fifty metres was incredibly wet when we did the walk, even after a prolonged dry spell. You will need wellies to get through. If you do not have the appropriate footwear, we suggest continuing straight at the cross paths and continuing along the field until you reach the road. Turn right at the road and follow it until you reach the gates described in section five below.
Follow the shady track until you reach Bushywarren Lane. Turn right and walk along the lane, passing a Christmas tree planation over the hedge to your right. Look out for two large, metal padlocked gates opposite each other and leave the road to go around the one on your right. You will immediately be presented with two gravelled tracks. Take the one on your left and follow it along the edge of a field. In April/May 2025, this field is planted with bright yellow rapeseed. Follow this permissive path (dogs on leads) all the way to the metal gate on the other side. You will now be back on Scratchface Lane, where you started, and should turn left to get back to Street Croft Farm.
The excellent village play area can be found less than a minute down the road at Herriard Green, Southrope. To avoid the busy road, we suggest driving and using the free car park. It has equipment for older and younger children and is in an attractive meadow setting. Turn right out of the farm, take the next left, and Herriard Green is on your right down this lane.
Did you know?
During the week, Street Croft is an ordinary working farm. But as is the case with so many farms, the owners needed to diversify to keep making a profit. The farm has its own butchery and there are plans for more food offerings, including breakfasts.
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