Alver Valley Country Park
Children will enjoy the outstanding play area and the bridge where ducks wait to be fed on this walk.
The Basics
Time: A typical walk around the park will be anything up to an hour
Distance: The whole park is about 200 hectares
Terrain: Mostly flat and well maintained paths
Pushchair: Yes, there is a whole network of all weather, pushchair friendly paths
Dogs: Yes, but not in the play enclosures. There are some dog dips around the park
Refreshments: A small café beside the car park and play area
Toilets: Yes, beside the cafe
Parking: Two good sized pay and display car parks. For the play area we recommend West Car Park, off Cherque Way (Postcode: Po13 8BH - W3W: paid/clips/lazy)
If you want a playground on your walk, you really can’t find better than the one at Alver Valley Country Park. If you can drag the children away from the play equipment, the rest of the park offers easy walks with ponds, views of The Solent, various wildlife habitats, and even a second play area.
The Route
There are plenty of posts with maps on to guide you, or you can download a PDF map here. We tend to do a linear walk, returning the way we came.
With the toddler play area to your right, go through the gap in the hedge and then cross the gravel lane. Go through the opposite gap in the hedge and then turn right, choosing the compacted gravel path and not the grassy one. Stay straight at the fork.
This path will soon pass Noah Lake on your right, where there is a viewing platform and plenty of baby goslings and ducklings in spring.
After the lake, continue on the same path, which will veer down beside some gnarly trees onto a boardwalk across a bog. On the other side, keep on the path before going left at a blue post, almost doubling back on yourself.
The gravelled path will meet a paved path, where you should turn left. You can take a diversion here up the grassy Junket Hill, where there is a viewpoint with Spinnaker Tower in the distance.
Back on the paved path, continue past a private fishing pond on the left before coming to an area of wildflowers on your right. Along the same path, you will arrive at Apple Dumpling Bridge, where ducks often gather to be fed.
Bear right beyond the bridge to find the east car park and behind that is a smaller play area, bmx track and skate park.
We suggest viewing the interactive map below as a ‘Trails Map’ to ensure all the paths are visible:
Did you know?
In the 1970s, much of the area was used as landfill. The land has gone through significant regeneration over the subsequent decades to transform it into the range of habitats for flora and fauna we see and enjoy today.