Hoover and I whizz up and down the A3 quite often as my parents live close to the West Sussex coast, and for a long time now we have been intending to stop for a good, long, dog walk on Bramshott Common in Hampshire. Today we did just that.
The common is a huge area of heathland and mixed woodland, close to Liphook, much of which is owned by the MOD – sometimes they use it for exercises, but most of the time the common is used by dog walkers and horse riders. There is over 450 acres of countryside to explore, and dogs can safely run free.
There was a major Canadian Camp here during World War I and World War II, and tens of thousands of Canadian soldiers became part of the local community. Over 318 are still here, laid to rest in the church yard of St Mary the Virgin located in the village of Bramshott. There is a memorial on the common that commemorates the Canadian soldiers who trained here during both wars.
The common is criss-crossed with a whole host of tracks and trails, so we just headed off into the green without too much thought. This resulted in a blissful couple of hours wandering about, on a perfect autumn morning. It was lovely. The landscape falls away in places so there are cracking views to the south over east Hampshire. Hooves has the best time running, sniffing, then running some more, and we could have quite happily walked for miles (only the prospect of Mum’s roast lamb stopped us).
After talking to one or two fellow dog walkers we discovered that there is so much more here yet to explore: Iron Hill, Kent’s Hill, Waggoner’s Wells, and Linchmere Common to name a few places. We learned that there is an underpass that takes you beneath the A3 to miles more countryside, so whichever side you park on you can reach both sides.
We parked in a small parking area on the side of the A3 (southbound), which if you are going too fast you may miss. (map) If you do overshoot the turning there is a lay by for parking immediately after. You will see brown tourist information signs that tell you that you are approaching the common. (streetview) There are no facilities here: you are out in the ‘wilds of Hampshire’ so take your latte with you.
The common’s location, bisected by the A3, makes this a perfect place to stop if you and your pooch need to stretch your legs on a long journey, without going so much as a mile out of your way at all…so we will definitely return…and soon I hope.