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Hastingleigh Camping, Hiking, Geocaching etc

Since pre-history, Hastingleigh parish has been riddled with well trodden pathways, and drovers routes. Most famous of all the "Pilgrim's Way" which takes in a substantial part of the parish running along the southern edge of the North Downs. The Downs are now an AONB 'area of outstanding natural beauty' with areas of special scientific interest dotted around the parish. It is a mecca to hikers, who can frequently be seen traversing one of the many foothpaths. There is plenty of wildlife to watch out for. Wild deer herds, badgers, foxes, squirrels, field mice, birds of prey, farm animals, garden birds, hedgerow birds, partridge, pheasants, large woods filled with ancient native bluebells, wild garlic, and a host of other woodland plants...some are poisonous. Please don't pick the flowers or mushrooms. Some are protected species and some could make you very unwell. A copy of the latest country side code can be found on the government website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-countryside-code/the-countryside-code Many parts of Hastingleigh are also remote, in terms of cell phone coverage. Walk in pairs for your own safety, in the event of any accident it is quite likely you will not get cell phone coverage to reach the emergency services when you need it most, so having someone with you who can seek help on foot from a landline, is a wise precaution.   Do take an OS map with you too if this is new unfamiliar territory. There is also a supersized map on public display, next to the pond in the centre of the village. (corner of Tamley Lane and The Street) to help you get your bearings. Remember to pack a waterbottle. There are several geocache sites in the parish, (48 geocache sites within a 3 mile radius.) Visit www.geocaching.com which is free to join, and discover clues to the location of Hastingleigh's main hidden geocache sites. You can pay for a premium service and get clues to even more caches in the area. Remember to take along a small token gift to leave for the next person visiting the cache. Here are a couple of newspaper reports of 20th century Camping and Hiking in the parish.

The 1913 route depicted, has changed very little in 100 years. Evington Hall is no longer there, nor is its cricket pitch, aside from that, the description matches what you would see,
if you walked that same route today.