UCR: Longroden Lane

• Overall Rating: 4
• Location: Winslade Farm, near Basingstoke, Hampshire.
• OS Explorer Map 144, 'Basingstoke, Alton and Whitchurch, Odiham, Overton and Hook'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU672485
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 15' 10.88" W000 58' 50.11"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU654479
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 14' 00.75" W001 01' 05.89"
• To see: Basingstoke, Civil War earthworks at Basing House and Oliver's Battery, source of the River Loddon.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

Update 16/03/2016: According to 'Producktionsweb' who recently drove it, as with many UCRs this byway has been so neglected that it has become extremely trying to navigate. Passage without damage to one's paintwork (as a minimum) is impossible. We are certainly no longer able to rate it as a 4!

Unsuitable for motor vehicles? PAH!

Longroden Lane, a section of the Three Castles Path (like the BOAT Kit Lane, found nearby) is a UCR and as such can be driven by motor vehicles. We started at it's north-eastern extremity in the tiny hamlet of Tunworth. The lane starts out in a westerly direction, and until it's junction with another, northerly branch of Longrodon Lane (not sure if that branch is a private road or not, if anyone knows please comment!) it's pretty flat and easy going on an earthen surface. The undergrowth for the most part keeps out of the way, despite obviously growing well in this part of the world (see picture below), so there is little chance of damaging your car other than perhaps the odd scratch here and there!

Where it enters woodland, in the awesomely-named 'Picked Craft Copse', the lane begins
a slow descent down to it's lowest point of 118m AMSL. It twists and turns, passes through another excellently-titled copse called 'Stockhams Row' and shortly after exiting it, turns south-west towards Winslade. Here it starts a slow ascent up to 140m AMSL before it emerges onto the A339 at Winslade Farm. A very pleasant drive, with nice views of woodland and the rolling fields characteristic of this area. It scores a '4' because of the part it plays in 'the bigger picture': that is, it is one of many options which would theoretically allow you to spend an entire day out on the surprisingly high concentration of greenlanes in this area.

Two interesting side notes: I've certainly never seen so many wild pheasants, partridges and grouse in one area before! There were literally hundreds of them! Good to see. Also, other patches of woodland in the area also carry interesting titles, i.e. 'Brick Kiln Copse' (pretty self evident, that one), 'Priest Wood', 'Tidbury Ring', 'Bedlam Plantation', and one of the hills is called 'The Pelican'! I've tried doing a little research into the names in this area, but I could find nothing on the internet.

View Longroden Lane in a larger map