灰のおすすめウォーキング＆ハイキングルート

Nice route

Useful public convenience

You have a big climb before so try changing to the big gears prior to reaching the gate

Frimley Lodge Park is a great place to visit on a family hike. There are two children's playgrounds, a minature railway, two picnic areas and pitch and putt. All surrounded by meadows and woodland on the banks of the Basingstoke Canal. Plus public toilets and a cafe.

The Basingstoke Canal offers 32 miles of canal tow path. Some say it is the most beautiful in the country. It was built in 1794 and stretches between the River Thames at Weybridge to Basingstoke. After falling into disrepair in the 1950s, it was renovated and reopened for navigation in 1991.

An ait is an islet, usually called such when found on the River Thames or a tributary of it. This one is next to an army camp on the Basingstoke Canal, which is indeed a tributary of the Thames. I don't know who Roy is, but his islet is an interesting feature to see on a canal.

As you hike alongside the Basingstoke Canal, it's easy to not realise that you're actually walking over an aqueduct. The canal is suspended above the mainline railway to London here so if you suddenly hear a train rumbling, that's why. Despite this, the canal remains leafy green and in summer especially, it's almost impossible to notice the presence of the railway. Built in 1840, the aqueduct later had gates built at either side so that should a bomb fall on it during the Second World War, the gates would stop the canal from flooding the railway beneath.

The Basingstoke Canal Centre is the home of the canal authority but also a cafe, visitor centre and facilities. It's a great place to park for a hike along the canal as well as a nice lunch stop if you're passing by. There's also a campsite if you're looking for a canalside overnight stop.