Cycling UK
Old Winchester Hill This prominent lump on the eastern edge of the Meon Valley is a national nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest, thanks to its rare butterfly population. The top of this steep-sided promontory has the clear remains of an Iron Age hill fort as well as Bronze Age barrows inside and outside the big perimeter bank and ditch. That didn’t stop the army using it for testing mortars in World War II though, and some parts of the hill are still fenced off due to the danger of unexploded mortar bombs.
Taking care not to ride over rare butterflies or unexploded WWII mortar bombs, you’ll also have to be cautious on the seriously steep chalk singletrack plunge off the ridge. The rest of the roll down past corn fields is fantastic, though, and finishes at the repurposed Meon Valley railway line to Exton. While it’s now just a pleasant tree-lined track, this small branch line played a significant part in world history in the early summer of 1944. Turning off the railway path through Exton, you’ll be glad our route takes the road up and over Beacon Hill rather than following the South Downs Way up the steep field, but it’s still a fair old pull to the top. As you drop down the far side, don’t miss the gravel track that splits off to the left towards Lomer Farm, the last remnants of the medieval village of the same name. Prehistoric tumuli and earthworks shoulder the route as it rises and falls towards the A272, where fast-rolling gravel gives way to more temperamental grassy field edges over Gander Down which can be a trudge in winter and a bag-loosening rattle when baked hard in summer. Make sure you’re the far side of the hedge alongside the solar panels too, as there’s no easy way to cross over further down when the field ends. It’s good track again by the time you turn left through the farmyard into 90
Temple Valley, and then climb gradually up the broad gravel track past the picture-perfect Keeper’s Cottage towards Cheesefoot Head.
Droxford and the D-Day train By the early summer of 1944 the whole south of England was covered in camps and supply depots in readiness for D-Day – the attack on German-held northern France and the first step of the liberation of Europe. Four days before the troops hit the beaches of Normandy, a secret train rolled down the line to Droxford where it stopped at the station, ready to be shunted into a steep embankment-protected side track in the event of danger. That’s because the passenger list included British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Dwight Eisenhower, French leader Charles de Gaulle, Canadian President William Lyon McKenzie King and South African leader Jan Smuts as well as members of the combined war cabinet. The train was used as a base for the leaders to head out on morale-boosting visits to their respective troops, as well as for last-minute planning meetings. The line was also vital in the build-up and continued restocking of supplies before and during the invasion period, but the only evidence you’ll find now is a small plaque on the old station at Droxford which is now a private house.
