Netley
Children will enjoy the waterside play area, shoreline, woodland and Abbey ruins on this walk.
The Basics
Time: 40 mins
Distance: 3 km
Terrain: Some paved sections, mostly flat, muddy sections in woodland, pavement beside road.
Pushchairs: It is probably possible, though perhaps not ideal. Some sections are narrow and only suited to small pushchairs, there are also some muddy sections in the woodland.
Dogs: On leads at the abbey
Refreshments: None, but plenty of places for a picnic
Toilets: At Abbey Hall, in the car park
Public Transport: Netley train station is a mile away or Bluestar bus route 15 from Southampton to Hamble stops at St Edwards church, just across the road from the start of this walk
Parking: Abbey Hall Recreation Ground, Victoria Road has a large, free car park (Postcode: SO31 5FA - W3W: sage/wiped/plug)
The woodland at Westwood are full of bluebells in spring
This isn’t a long walk, but it has plenty of interest to keep children busy. Right beside the Abbey Hall car park you will find a large grassy public space - the cricket field. At the top end is a row of colourful terraced cottages and at the other end, Southampton Water. It is a perfect place for a picnic and right beside the shore is a children’s play area. The walk follows the coast path before heading across more open meadows and then into Westwood Woodland Park, where in May, bluebells are showing in pretty woodland glades. The walk ends by taking you straight past the magnificent Netley Abbey, cared for by English Heritage. The substantial ruins are free to enter and explore and make an interesting finish to this walk.
The Route
From the car park, enter the cricket field and head down towards the water. With the play area to your right and the water to your left, walk along the coast path. The path narrows as it passes Netley Castle (private and behind a high hedge) on your right and a stone wall to your left. Look for the little wooden bridge on your right and cross this to enter a meadow area.
Turn left immediately onto the paved path and walk as far as the boundary of the meadow, before branching right uphill with the paved path. Enter trees at the top, passing by a parking area on your right and an entrance to a yacht club to your left. Keep going up to the road, which you need to cross, and then enter Westwood Woodland Park directly on the opposite side of the road.
The woodland is crossed by a warren of paths and it is quite tricky to describe the exact path we took. None are official footpaths and none are marked, but I will do the best job I can!
We headed north in a straight line from the entrance and then went right at the first fork. We then forked left (as of July 2023, there is a fallen tree across this section of path which you will need to walk around until it is cleared). At the T-junction, turn right and head up towards a picnic area where there are a few picnic tables in a grassy clearing.
Turn to the right to pass the picnic area on your left and continue along the same path. Go through an opening in a wooden fence and keep with the same path.
After this point, you should start to see some of the best bluebells if you are coming in season. There are some lovely open glades with great trees for climbing if you want to explore some of the side paths.
Back on the same path, keep going in a south-easterly direction until you arrive at fork on the corner of a pony paddock. Take the footpath on the right that passes parallel to the ponies, with the field to your right and the boundary of properties to your left. You will start to leave the woods behind and beyond the ponies in the distance you should see a block of flats sticking up from the horizon.
Keep going until the path exits into a private driveway where there are gated entrances to various homes. Turn right and follow the drive towards the road.
At the road (Abbey Hill), turn left and walk on the pavement. The next gateway will be the entrance to Netley Abbey (open daily 10-4, free)
Back on the pavement, it is a couple of minutes walk back along the road in the same direction to the car park.
Did you know?
Netley Abbey is the most complete surviving abbey built by the Cistercian monks in Southern England. It was founded as an abbey in 1238, but after Henry VIII’s reformation it was converted into a Tudor mansion. Occupied until 1704, the house was then torn apart for building materials. Work stopped when a worker was killed on site and the ruin was then left to nature. The ivy-clad ruins became famous during the Romantic movement and poets and painters, such as John Constable, came to seek inspiration from it. It is even thought that Jane Austen based her novel Northanger Abbey on a visit to Netley.
Today the ruins have been cleared of vegetation and debris and all traces of the Tudor renovations are now gone.
If you liked this walk…
…try this one to Titchfield Abbey which also has a magnificent English Heritage ruin.
