BOAT: Coldhill Lane/Tagdell Lane/Ham Lane/Crouch Lane

Location: Horndean, Hampshire, UK
  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Location: Horndean, Hampshire.
  • OS Explorer Map 120, 'Chichester'.
  • Starting OS Grid References: SU686137, SU691140, SU692134 or SU684131.
  • Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N50 91' 90" W001 02 60", N50 92' 20" W001 01 80", N50 91' 60" W001 01 60", or N50 91' 30" W001 02 80".
  • To see: not much.
  • ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!
Crouch Lane
This little asterisk of byways provides options. One can chose a starting point amongst any of four possible beginnings. The also seem to have an array of possible names, according to Google anyway: the eastern half of Coldhill Lane is called Crouch Lane. We chose to start our odyssey on this complex web of interweaving byways from the western end of Tagdell Lane (SU686137).

Leaving Lovedean Lane, Tagdell Lane (alliteration) passes some fly-tipping (may the very souls of the filth responsible be damned to Hades) and climbs steeply uphill for a short distance. The foliage is seemingly kept well cut back and never threatens the paintwork, but on cresting the summit the surface of exposed chalk changes to compacted earth and, in places, crushed brick. This surface has some sizeable potholes and occasionally a larger flooded which, when we visited at least, are very shallow indeed and all have a firm bottom; thus the simplest of obstacles.

Ham Lane (southern end)
Continuing down the sinuous route of Tagedell Lane, one eventually reaches the juntion with Ham Lane. This byway, frankly, isn't really worth the bother: The first third of it serves as a driveway to a few houses and the inevitable equestrian facility, and where the concrete ends the byway continues through some writhing turns on a narrow stretch of woodland and then, without ceremony, the firm-yet-potholed surface starts and lasts as far as the terminus of Ham Lane. By all means drive it, but we weren't in the mood to eek passage along a cow parsley-lined driveway.

Soon after its junction with Ham Lane, Tagdell Lane also ends where it meets Coldhill/Crouch Lane. Here, a left turn will take one on a relatively straight track (Crouch Lane) through woodland back towards the tarmac (via Teagus Farm) whilst instead turning right (Coldhill Lane) will take one on a more twisting and potholed hedgerow-lined route through equestrian fields and on to a driveway serving various houses.

Simple stuff, and an ideal byway for those new to greenlaning to have a taste of what this leisure pursuit is all about!

To Hampshire County Council these are Horndean Byways 13, 47 and 48, grouped together here for convenience.

Coldhill Lane

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