About
The Shipwrights Way is a 50 mile long-distance route which links villages and towns in East Hampshire through some beautiful countryside. It runs from Alice Holt Forest near Farnham, down across the South Downs to the sea at Portsmouth. The route is open to walkers and cyclists and, where possible, horse-riders and people with disabilities.
As much as possible, the route is off-road, using rights of way and permissive paths. Starting from Alice Holt Forest, it passes through Bordon, Liphook, Liss, Petersfield, Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Staunton Country Park, Havant and Hayling Island or into Portsmouth, finishing at the Historic Dockyard - around 50 miles in all, and including seven rail stations. It will form part of the Sustrans National Cycle Network route 22 linking London to Portsmouth.
The name reflects the use of oak grown at Alice Holt Forest for Tudor shipbuilding, linking this site with Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, home of the Mary Rose and HMS Victory.
In 2014 a series of sculptures were created for the trail and placed throughout the trail. The sculptures all reference heritage and history of the area in which they are placed. Download the sculpture PDF to find out more.
Distance: 50 miles.
12 Sections of the route:
- Bentley Rail Station to Alice Holt Forest, 2 miles
- Alice Holt Forest to Cradle Lane
- Cradle Lane to Lindford/Bordon
- Bordon to Liss
- Liphook to Liss
- Liss to Petersfield
- Petersfield to Queen Elizabeth Country Park, 5 miles
- Queen Elizabeth Country Park to Finchdean, 5.5 miles
- Finchdean to Staunton Country Park
- Staunton Country Park to Havant
- Havant to Hayling Island, 5.5miles
- Hayling Island to Portsmouth, 5 miles
Places of interest: Alice Holt Go Ape, Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Staunton Country Park, Petersfield Museum, Hayling Island, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and Mary Rose Museum.
Places to eat: There are a number of places to eat along the way including pubs and cafes. See our eating out guide for further information.
For more information about the Shipwright Way please see Hampshire Countryside Services website.
The route and sculpture trail can be downloaded below (PDF).
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