Eastleigh Ramblers get new gate to improve Fair Oak walking routes

Eastleigh Ramblers have announced that a stile has been replaced with a kissing gate on a footpath in Fair Oak, allowing ramblers free and easy access through the popular walking route.

On Wednesday November 29, three members of Eastleigh Ramblers met with a representative from the Countryside Service of Hampshire County Council to celebrate the installation.

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The footpath which runs from Crowd Hill at Fair Oak down to the Portsmouth Road in the direction of Marwell Zoo is now accessible to the public.

Permission was obtained from the landowner for the gate to be installed beforehand.

Chairman of Eastleigh Ramblers Neil Beatham joked: “Kissing is better than climbing.”

He continued: “On the day, the work involved carrying tools and the heavy gate in three sections along a muddy track and across a sodden pasture.

“The job took four hours but with good humour the group persevered and by chance the date fixed was a lovely sunny day.”

The gate has provision for mobility vehicles and is the last step in making the path compliant with required standards.

The group has told that for years the route of the path has not matched the route shown on maps.

Now that the path meets the required standard, the legal diversion of the path can be completed meaning that path will match the route shown on maps and thereby saving confusion for walkers.

The Ramblers are committed to keeping public paths open and the group meet for weekly walks on Thursdays, a short walk of five to seven miles, and on the weekend, longer walks up to 11 miles.

Eastleigh Ramblers support the work of Hampshire County Council by walking all the footpaths in the Borough of Eastleigh on a rotating basis, two parishes per year.

Any defects found are reported directly to Hampshire County Council so they may be rectified as soon as possible.