If you like the countryside, trees and the downs you are going to love this walk.

From the car park at Stoughton Down there are walks that go directly up onto the downs, and you can loop round to Kingley Vale if you want, but this walk is slightly different and goes in a loop over to East Marden.

The paths are largely through the woods, which at any time of the year offer a changing and fascinating experience to the walker. Unfortunately there is no eating or drinking facilities at East Marden, so this is one to take the flask along.

Distance: 5.4 km, 3.4 miles

Walking Time: 1 hour 20 mins

Difficulty: Moderate

Wheelchair Accessible: No

Start/End: Stoughton Down car park

Access:
18 minutes drive from the Square in Emsworth
No bus service

Itinerary

This walk starts at the Forestry Commission car park at Stoughton Down.
To reach this from Emsworth, head north up North Street, then follow thw signs to Westbourne up the B2147. Follow this road through Westbourne up the hil until it comes to a T-junction with Emsworth Common Road. Turn right then immediately left staying on the B2147.
The road turns into the B2146 and you need to turn right at Walderton village sign onto the Stoughton Road. This passes through Walderton and Stoughton and eventually arrives at the car park, just where the road turn left.
There are some nice nice walks from here heading up Lambdown Hill with return through the woods if you wish, but we are taking a different route on this walk.
Leaving the car park, return to the road and head north west up the road and between two fields.
Just as the woods start on the right hand side, the footpath goes off on the right hand side, and along the edge of the wood in a north easterly direction.
Stay on this path as it passes a field, through some woods and then past a second field. It re-enters the woods heading north, and meets up with a farm track that crosses over to Hillbarn.
Keep on the is farm track until you reach Hillbarn, then just after the buildings on your right hand side, you will see a footpath going off to the left heading west through a copse of trees and then down a steep hill and across a field.
You pick up the path at the bottom of the hill and in the corner of the field as it heads WNW along the edges of some fields and arrives at a farm.
The walk turns left at this point just after some farm buildings on your left, but if you wish, you can take a short excursion into East Marden, where they have a picturesque 12th century parish church and a most unusual thatched village well.
After some farm buildings on the left, turn left through the farn yard and follow the footpath as it heads SSW alongside a hedge between some fields.
Keep following along this path until it emerges at the corner of a large field, and continues through the crop due south to the road beyond.
This can be difficult to sure you have the right path as walkers have obviously got it wrong before, but you should emerge through a gap in the hedge onto the road, and to the footpath that continues in a SSW direction the other side of the road and up a hill.
Follow this path as it climbs up the hill through the woods until it arrives on the top of the hill at the junction with a bridleway.
You want to take the bridleway left heading ESE, passing through the woods and down the hill.
Eventually this track merges onto the road, where you turn right and walk along the road. This road leads directly back to the car park and your starting point.