This walk today started near the figure of 68 and the word Lane, on Ordnance Survey Map 144, where a minor road called Cufaude Lane goes under the railway line from Basingstoke to Reading. This footpath, shown as a green dotted line on the map goes from near the railway line to a red line-the A33, the main road from Basingstoke to Reading. At one time there was a farm in this area called Taylor's Farm, but a few years ago the owner of the farm sold his land to a builder and now there is a housing estate on this old farm called Sherfield Park. The footpath that we are walking along today runs to the north of this housing estate.
The path starts by going through a metal gate and onto a path covered with wood chippings and goes past some seats and some bushes.
The path continues with woods to the left and a playing field to the right. If you were using this footpath in the other direction, you would see a path going towards the playing field but there should be a footpath disc indicating the route straight on not left.
So we continued along the footpath going towards the main road. We passed a wooden log used as a seat, then another gate going to the playing field and then we came to minor road which gives access to the military field. Perhaps a footpath sign of some sort would assist persons walking back to Cufaude Lane.
We walked along the minor road called Dixon Lane and came to the main road, the A33, where we turned left along a tarmac footpath, with loads of fast moving traffic to the right of us.
The path we were on is shown on the map above, goes past some woodland on the left, then crosses a small stream, then reaches road that goes off to the right. To our left is a driveway & footpath that goes to St Leonard's Church or number 69 on the map. We carried on alongside the road, passing another driveway & then up a slope to reach a track on the left with a gateway across it.
This is the start of our walk towards Sherfield on Loddon-a footpath with no footpath sign indicating the route off the main road. I looked at the bushes to the left of the track but still could not see a footpath sign.
The route was clearly shown on the map as going towards Little Bowlings Farm to return via Gully Copse & St Leonards Parish Church
So I walked up the track towards a metal gate with a gap and next to the gap was a wooden fence. There was a blue paint mark on the metal gate post but nothing to indicate that the track I was on was a public footpath.
A footpath disc could have been put on the fence post and a wooden footpath sign put near that hedging where the track meets the main road.
I walked up the track, went round a corner and then went "Hooray" because there was a post with a footpath disc on it, with two arrows, showing a footpath going alongside a field and a permissive footpath sign indicating a wide track that runs parallel with the A33.
The yellow sign is a footpath sign and the green sign the permissive footpath sign.
The permissive footpath is shown below.
The footpath shown on the yellow mark goes off with a field to its right hand side.
So off along this path I walked
Soon I came to a junction of paths with a path going to the right and a wooden post next to a hedge and almost smothered by long grass showing paths straight on and to the right. I was walking in the depths of summer, when we have had plenty of sunshine & rain, so plenty of growth. In other seasons the small sign would be easily visible.
The path going to the right went on down between two fields with a fence to the left.
I was going straight on, not right,
As you can see from the above map, the green dotted line goes past some woods on the right, then comes to where a farm track not a footpath or bridleway goes off to the left. Our route goes straight on next to a field of barley making towards a little lane.
Soon on the right I came to a wooden fence post suurounded by brambles with an arrow pointing straight on and another for persons going in the opposite direction going in the other direction. Again in other seasons this sign would be more visible.
The junction of paths and the farm track showed my route forwards.
I went alongside the field
I spoke to another dog walker who told me that a map of local walks in the Four Horses public House in Sherfield on Loddon. I followed the footpath to where it reached the lane, and walked down some steps onto the lane. Looking the way I had come I could see some steps and a footpath sign
Having reached the lane, I turmed left and walked along it, for around 100 metres, going around a left hand bend and soon reached a track with a wooden footpath sign-the sign was in a new condition so hadn't been there long.
Now I was heading along a track & footpath alongside a field towards the parish church of Sherfield on Loddon as the map below shows.
The path starts as a track, then where a farm track goes off to the left the footpath goes straight on with a stile on he right showing it is a footpath,
The path goes alongside a field and down a slope to turn right at a fence
The path goes alongside another field having passed a gully and soon reaches the entrance to the graveyard of the parish Church.
The path goes through the graveyard and passes the church
It ends up on the tarmac footpath beside the A33 where a footpath sign shows the route into the churchyard.
So now we are going to walk back again to Dixon Lane, and back along this footpath to meet Cufaude Lane again.
So this walk is here to show the paths that need to be sign posted.
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