Morning coffee at Holden Farm café

Our day started with a morning visit to this spot which is located around a ten minute drive from Winchester and right on the south downs way. It’s a family run farm which has a popular campsite as well as a seasonal café. Seasonal meaning that it’s primarily an outdoor café so spring and summer spot to visit with picnic tables and wooden seating spread across the grassy open area. . There is however a marque with a few of the tables underneath to protect you both from the wet weather or the rays of the sun. Right on the south downs way so popular with walkers and cyclists stopping in for a pick me up refreshment or event an overnight stay with the camping on offer.
There are loos next to the open area as well as a small shop serving local artwork and handily has a large map and leaflets with information of the local area, walks and attractions. One leaflet took our eye as it was a map of Cheriton and a walking route from holden farm so very relevant as we had already planned a walk for that day. On the fold out there was also a spotting checklist for kids (and adults too) of local wildlife and things you may see on the walk including animals like kites, ladybirds, horses and cows as well as certain plants or flowers. A very fun and welcome addition to entertain the kids as we took on the walk.
They serve up both food and drink, as well as specials. I grabbed a coffee which is River coffee which is a local one roasted in Alresford, they are clearly a lover of all things local for produce with Judes ice cream also served up which is down the road in Twyford too.
The farmyard scenes as you sit with your drink are marvellous, I spotted kites flying overhead swooping very low as they are clearly comfortable in the environment as well as a tractor working away in the field opposite which was full of grazing sheep.
https://www.rivercoffeeroasters.com
Holden Farm, Alresford SO24 0NX
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A 5k family friendly circular walk in Cheriton

Around six minutes drive down the road on the scenic south downs route you will find the small village of Cheriton and our plan was to head out on a family friendly circular walk.
We found the walk on the Alltrails app which we have a membership to at around £36 a year, we love it because you can search areas of the map for walks, cycling routes etc and it has GPS to track as you go along so hard to take a mis turn etc. Particularly important when walking with kids and you ideally need to keep on track to not run out of snacks haha! We have put a link to the route below.
https://www.alltrails.com/en-gb/trail/england/hampshire/cheriton-circular
The south downs national park is England’s newest national park and stretches across Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. It offers a lot of diverse walking and cycling routes, both longer ones and nice short routes for families too. One of our favourite nearby walks in the south downs is in the exton and corhampton area and we though there was a lot of kites circling above there, but they were everywhere in Cheriton too, all throughout our walk, so the national park must be a haven for them!
We had visited Cheriton to enjoy a day out at Hinton Ampner, a national trust property with lovely gardens but had not been for a walk in the village before. Our walk started at the flower pots brewery as we planned to end our walk there with a refreshing reward at the end. There is also free roadside parking in the village as we spotted.
The village of Cheriton is near Alresford and it is a very quintessential English village with thatched cottages throughout and the river itchen running through. I always love a quirky post office and although we didn’t get to go inside at the end of our walk as it closes early afternoon when we finished our walk, from the outside it is part of a house.
Our walk took us past the pretty St. Michael & All Angels Church where we popped our heads in for a quick look, it was built in 1100’s and as per their website ‘situated on a small hill, almost certainly a prehistoric burial ground.’
Passing the church, we headed over multiple stiles and out of the village into the glorious green countryside passing farmland and fields with horses big and small in the fields and glancing up as we passed by. The initial walk took us past the waters of the river itchen and there is a spot which opens out a little where dogs can go in for a splash.
Taking a right once we reached a beautiful house with flowers all around, we crossed over the B3046 and walked slightly uphill past fields on prite lane. Once we reached the top of this lane/pathway we stopped for a picnic as the views over the valley were stunning.
The final part of the route took us right on to hinton lane with more views of kites above, and some grazing cows in the surrounding fields before looping back round into the village down a rather overgrown pathway.
The route is around 5k and took us around 1.5 hours or so with our picnic spot and a gentle walking pace.

A refreshing drink at The Flower Pots Inn & Brewery

With the walk finished up on a humid May day, refreshments were in order and this local pub known as ‘the pots’ by locals was the perfect place with it’s huge pub garden as you won’t find many in the county bigger.
The brewhouse serves cask ales and beer brewed on the premises, and I’ve also spotted them on taps of many of Hampshire’s pubs so very popular. Their ales and beers are even award winning as you will see near the bar area with their framed awards adorning the walls. Inside one area of the pub is a more traditional part with bar area and wooden tables and chairs along with a darts board, in the other area, a more modern restaurant part which is also available for private hire.
They serve up a lunch and dinner menu and the food looked delicious, traditional pub fare and specials, we just missed out on the lunch service time but at the start of our walk I did spot a ploughmans which looked ace!
We enjoyed our ice cold drinks in the large garden with plenty of folk enjoying the warmth of the day.
Address
The Flower Pots Brewery, Brandy Mount, Cheriton, Alresford SO24 0QQ