UCR: Heath Lane

• Overall Rating: 3
• Location: Vernham Dean, Hampshire.
• OS Explorer Map 131, 'Romsey, Andover & Test Valley'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU344590
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 32' 90" W001 50' 80"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU344569
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 31' 50"  W001 50' 70"
• To see: Fosbury Camp.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

This byway is like a fair few others in this forgotten corner of Hampshire. Some roads in this area appear on the Ordinance Survey map at least as normal country roads, but many have never actually been covered in a layer of tarmac despite the fact that they are not classified as a byway. They are as such ripe for exploring, so get out there and do so! Heath Lane is one of these unsurfaced lanes in a network of similar lanes near the Hampshire village of Vernham Dean. There really isn't a great deal to say about this lane when it is taken in isolation. Instead, it should be driven at the same time as Rookmoor Lane.

We drove it from north to south, where the northern end is demarcated by a typical Hampshire sign post (see picture below). Starting from a crossroads with a country road also called Rookmoor Lane (the UCR above, which ajoins this one, is an extension of its metalled namesake), this wide and well-maintained byway proceeds southwards and downhill on a well-drained surface of crushed gravel. In places the trail is crossed by two other UCR's, one named Church Lane and the other Winterside Lane. Both are very short UCRs that leads past farms and quickly become surfaced with tarmac (and neither, therefore, are getting their own dedicated entry on this site!). Rolling gently over slight undulations in the terrain, this lane soon ends just north of the village of Vernham Dean.

The vast bronze/iron age hill fort of Fosbury Camp is just to the west, over the border in Wiltshire and well worth the short trek uphill to visit, not just to satisfy historical curiosity, but also for the incredible views it offers across gorgeous rolling downland.

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