Totton, Eling and Testwood

 Tuesday 15th August 2023. With Harry. Just over 10 miles.

A mix of suburban streets, wooded walkways, mini seaside, reed-beds, and rural surroundings .

The original plan was a stroll to Eling for coffee at The Anchor, with its views over Bartley Water, and across to St Mary’s church.

Along the boardwalks through the reed beds and wooded paths. Lots of white butterflies and a speckled wood or two.

We emerged at Eling cemetery and St Mary’s churchyard, another place full of wild flowers and butterflies.

We retraced our steps through Eling and across the park, over the main road to Rum Walk, following Bartley Water and the Test Way into Totton Town Centre. It was time for another coffee and a decent tuna sandwich and salad at Aroma Cafe to set us up for the afternoon.

As the weather was so good we decided to walk through the park, past the Great Testwood Gatehouse

and the Salmon Leap pub to join the Test Way boardwalk across the marshland. We had a fleeting glimpse of the orange of a tiger moth, which played its disappearing trick so effectively we couldn’t identify it (garden or Jersey). Blackberries are ripening well.

We followed the Test Way as far as Mill Lane, where we turned left towards Nursling Mill.

By now phone batteries were running low, so there are few photographs, as we made our way to the southern end of Testwood Lakes, where we paused for a rest and thought of ice-cream. We had to make do with snacking on blackberries though.

Then back to base along the pathways.