The Itchen Way runs from the source of the Itchen near Hinton Marsh in Hampshire, 32 miles to Weston in Southampton, following the River Itchen and the Itchen Navigation. I wasn’t quite sure of the exact starting point, so I began at the springs where the ground water reaches the surface. Nor was the end point particularly clear. What was clear was the unspoilt waters of this shallow, fast flowing river. I walked it in four stages:

New Cheriton (Hinton Marsh) to Alresford

Alresford to Winchester

Winchester to Eastleigh

Eastleigh to Southampton