BOAT: Jennie Green Lane

Location: Wield Rd, Wield, Hampshire SO24 9, UK
  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Location: Lower Wield, Hampshire.
  • OS Explorer Map 144, 'Basingstoke, Alton and Whitchurch, Odiham, Overton and Hook'.
  • Starting OS Grid Reference: SU640395
  • Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 09' 05.04" W001 05' 10.46"
  • Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU655384
  • Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 07' 58.48" W001 02' 37.89"
  • To see: The Yew Tree pub.
  • ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!
Update 19/12/2017: This byway is now permanently closed to all motorised vehicles. The ignorant minority who insist on driving the byways in unsuitable conditions, in this instance, won, and for that we all pay the price.

Update 04/08/2016: The much needed remedial work has been carried out on this byway and it is now in far better shape than it has been historically. The TRO has been lifted and access is once again permitted.

Update 10/05/2014: Unsurprisingly, given the state of the surface, this byway is now subject to a TRO and therefore closed to traffic. The TRO came into force from 01/05/2014 and runs until 11/07/2014. More info: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/pnadetail?noticeUID=2874 and http://www3.hants.gov.uk/pnadetail?noticeUID=2718

It's far worse than it looks, trust us!
Jennie Green Lane runs from Lower Wield to Medstead in Hampshire. We drove this byway starting at its northern end in Lower Wield. The lane at the start is very hard going indeed. It's very wet and muddy and as a result, whether from green laners or from agricultural vehicles (or both) it has become extremely rutted. The ruts are deep, and once the wheels have settled into a rut there is no getting out, and should you encounter an obstacle there is no going around it. Anything shorter than a Defender will ground out it's axles, and anything with all terrain tyres or less has a fair chance of getting stuck and wheel-spinning aimlessly, causing more damage. To this end, due to the risk of getting stuck, damaging your vehicle or damaging the lane further, this half of the lane should not be driven until restorative works have been carried out.

This second half of the greenlane (after around 800m) is in far better condition. You can get some idea of it from the video below. The ruts end after Dirty Lane crosses Jennie Green Lane from north to south, where the lane turns hard to the south in an oak copse. The going is fairly easy as the surface changes from heavily rutted mud to a mixture of earth and gravel. The lane, lined with hedgerows, passes Gaston Grange to the north and eventually reaches and crosses Trinity Road. For the next 700m the lane is surfaced with tarmac as it is essentially a long driveway for some private houses in the tiny hamlet of Holt End, however the lane soon reverts to earth after passing the last of these houses. It's still pretty easy going and eventually, when it passes Redwood Farm, it turns into a hard surface again. The lane ends where it meets Abbey Road, just north-east of Medstead.

We've no idea who Jennie Green is/was. To Hampshire County Council this are Bentworth and Wield Byways 19, 27 and 28 and part of Byway 23, combined here for convenience.

Statistics:
Total Distance: 2.53 km (1.6 mi)
Total Time: 14:51
Moving Time: 14:29
Average Speed: 10.22 km/h (6.3 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 10.47 km/h (6.5 mi/h)
Max Speed: 27.00 km/h (16.8 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 197 m (646 ft)
Max Elevation: 218 m (717 ft)
Elevation Gain: 26 m (85 ft)
Max Grade: 6 %
Min Grade: -2 %

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Drove this 05/04/2013, looks like some hardcore work has been done at the north end, but the middle is still wet muddy and rutted, had to sacrifice some paintwork and straddle to avoid grounding out on some of deeper ruts, think the farmers been laning in his tractor !

Dempo said...

Thanks for the update Dom, it's appreciated. I doubt greenlaners could create ruts THAT deep so I agree that it is farm machinery, before we get slated!

Anonymous said...

This lane is now closed, forever, due to the usual reasons! (people driving it when ground conditions dictate otherwise)

Dempo said...

Thanks for the update. That was annoyingly predictable, I suppose... I've updated this entry.

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