Autumn Walks in Milford on Sea
With the crowds gone home and the weather still giving us beautiful days to step out into the fresh air, there’s no better time than to explore Milford on Sea on foot.
We have put together some of our favourite walks all tried and tested:
Hordle Cliffs
This is a great walk for those with small children or a less able relative or friend. Start at Hordle Cliff car park (sat nav SO41 0NS) and make your way down to the beach at Hurst Road.
The 2-mile stroll takes place on a sealed surface of fine gravel embedded in tarmac, making it perfect for wheeled transport. There are bench seats at frequent intervals and brick and wooden shelters, all with amazing views of the Solent along the way.
You can stop off at Needles Eye cafe for coffee and cake or an ice cream or visit our friends at The Lighthouse for refreshments too.
Keyhaven
If you can’t get enough of our feathered friends then this is the walk for you. The small village of Keyhaven is a harbour and home to coastal grazing marshes, lagoons, former salt marshes and the nearby shingle beach of Hurst Spit.
There are a number of walks you can do here from a simply circular walk around Keyhaven harbour or head out onto the sea wall to view the Keyhaven marshes , offering stunning views across the mudflats, where a wealth of different bird species come to breed. Large numbers of Brent geese seek refuge here in the winter, along with roosting dunlin, black-tailed godwit and grey plover.
There are fantastic views here too across to the Solent to the Isle of Wight and if you fancy walking the whole sea wall to Lymington from Keyhaven, it takes approximately two hours, otherwise there are a network of foothpaths for shorter routes.
Sturt Pond Nature Reserve
Start your walk at the car park on Sea Road (sat nav: S041 0PH) and walk up Sea Road to Hurst Road. Turn left and head down to The Lighthouse restaurant, where you’ll see a black shed building with a gate leading you into the public Bird Hide.
The Hide provides a hidden sanctuary for you to watch the birds without disturbing them across the 27-acre Sturt Pond nature reserve. Upon leaving the hut turn left along the Spit that leads to Hurst Castle and keep on the lower gravel path that will take you to the Southern end of Sturt Pond and you will arrive at the first of two wooden bridges. The second bridge takes you to Mount Lake and the Saltmarshes. Both bridges are popular for crabbing so if you have children with you then this is an activity you might want to consider.
Danes Stream
The village is home to 14 acres of Woodlands known as The Pleasure Grounds with a network of footpaths along the Danes Stream, which runs parallel to the coast.
The Danes Stream forms part of the Milford on Sea conservation area and runs the length of the parish, through the Pleasure Grounds, Westerly towards Studland Common, Sharvells Copse and Eastwards along the rear of the village shops towards Sturt Pond. It offers a number of routes that can lead you to the beach, village, Shorefield Holiday Park or Studland Common
This area is popular with children as a number of rope swings can be found. Free roaming cattle can be found on Studland Common so please keep dogs on a lead.
Walk to Hurst Castle
You could start your walk to Hurst Castle from the Hurst Road East car park (sat nav:SO41 0PY) and head down to The Lighthouse restaurant and keep going along Hurst Spit.
It is a 2 mile walk to Hurst Castle along a shingle spit so sturdy footwear is advised. There is a ferry from the castle back to Keyhaven if you’re looking for something a bit different on the way back (runs 7 days- a-week until 31 October) where you can relax and watch the wonderful wildlife at home on the Keyhaven River.
You can also start this walk from Keyhaven too and car parking is available here (sat nav: SO41 0TP). There is also The Gun Inn to enjoy at the end of your walk.
Discover more walks in Milford on Sea here.