St Swithun's Way
St Swithun's Way runs for fifty-four kilometres from the historic city of Winchester, in the heart of the county of Hampshire, to Farnham, which lies just over the western border of Surrey.
Swithun, after whom the path is named, reigned as Bishop of Winchester from 852 to 862 A.D., when Winchester was a far more important city than London. After Swithun's death, his shrine in Winchester Cathedral became a site of religious pilgrimage. Thus the path roughly parallels the route of the medieval Pilgrim's Way, which ran all the way to the shrine of St Thomas à Becket at Canterbury Cathedral, though much of the Winchester to Farnham section of the Pilgrim's Way is now buried under the busy A31 road.
St Swithun's Way connects the western end of the South Downs Way National Trail with the western end of the North Downs Way National Trail. With this walk I completed a loop of approximately 700km around southeast England, comprising parts of the North Downs Way, Saxon Shore Way, Thanet Coast Path, 1066 Country Walk, South Downs Way and St Swithun's Way.
Day 1
Winchester to New Alresford
02 May 2012
14.1km
Day 2
New Alresford to Alton
03 May 2012
20.9km
Day 3
Alton to Farnham
04 May 2012
19.1km