Waiting In The Weeds

CAMINO INGLÉS – Day 4: Thursday 27 August 2026 – UPPER WIELD to MARTYR WORTHY (12.5 miles)

Logistics today dictated that we took two cars, and left one each end of the day’s walk: thus we drove back to Upper Wield, where we had finished our trek yesterday, before setting off south-westward on foot once again. The forecast rain failed to materialise, and the day was to prove dry and a little cooler than earlier in the week – close to perfect walking conditions. We have a few blisters and muscle aches between us, but nothing that threatens to stop the show – so all was well as we began the second half of our Camino Inglés pilgrimage this morning.

Our path today took us on rural lanes and footpaths directly south-westwards from Upper Wield to the village of Old Alresford, and on to its charming sibling, the larger town of New Alresford, where we joined the River Itchen that is to become our long term companion – then this afternoon we turned westward with the river, meandering through several hamlets and villages en route to our destination of Martyr Worthy

For me, the advance planning of a long walk is a fun part of the escapade, and when I started plotting our Camino Inglés back in the short days of last January this was the section of the countryside that most entranced me. I have read about the chalk streams of Hampshire and the watercress beds around the Alresfords, but had not before travelled in the area – and so the today’s fourth section of our journey held much promise. As you will see, the walk did not disappoint.

Alpacas greeted us this morning at Upper Wield . . .

. . . and just outside the village, on a small rise, we reached the high point of the English Camino, at around 180 metres of elevation

On a long and straight rural section of the path, we covered several miles . . .

. . . eventually bringing us to the Church of St Mary in Old Alresford, where we took in the views . . .

. . . for our first ‘Pilgrim Passport’ stamp of Day 4 of our trek

Into the wooded valley now, and briefly we followed the River Alre, a tributary of the Itchen . . .

. . . where we came across the first of many watercress beds

Arriving in New Alresford town, this pulpo (octopus) tapas bar took me straight back to my earlier Camino walks in Galicia

Another town, another church – St John the Baptist . . .

. . . where we procured another stamp . . .

. . . before finding a table at Josie’s Café . . .

Alresford station is the western terminus of the Watercress Line heritage steam railway, that runs for ten miles eastwards to Alton

Leaving the Alresfords, we made our way through the watercress beds of the Itchen Valley . . .

. . . and over some of the less cultivated stretches of this wonderful chalk stream

There is even a ‘Watercress Way’ (and an ‘Itchen Way’) that coincide with this section of the Camino route

. . . on this fabulous section of the river

Care needed here – and a big thanks to George for leading the way!

Then an uncharacteristically steep uphill section . . .

. . . before descending once more to the river . . .

. . . and to St John’s Church in Itchen Abbas

Almost there – a final view, for today at least, of the River Itchen . . .

. . . as we reached the enchanting village of Martyr Worthy . . .

. . . and St Swithun’s Church, where our return wheels awaited

Thus concluded a marvellous riverside ramble that I am sure will live long in our collective Camino Inglés memory. Though it is close to home for Karen and George, the area was all new to Rachel and I, and we were more than impressed by the beauty of the Itchen, by the rustic charm of the hamlets and villages, and by the comely Georgian town of New Alresford with its peerless watercress beds. Even at walking pace one can feel a little rushed on occasion, and this is an area that certainly deserves further exploration. We’ll be back!

Our first Camino together – with thanks to Karen for the photo!

I confess to a slightly contrived Blog heading today, and I certainly do not mean to class watercress as a weed! But I wanted to give the song ‘Waiting in the Weeds’ an airing – an Eagles’ track from their 2007 ‘Long Road Out of Eden’ album, that I have enjoyed over the years as one of co-founder Don Henley’s best compositions for the band, co-written with long-term touring member of the group Stueart Smith. And that the lyrics commence ‘Its coming on the end of August, Another summer’s promise almost gone’ adds a little to the song’s suitability for inclusion in my present Camino playlist. The lyrics deal with the subject of unrequited love and the passage of time, but can also be interpreted as an allegory for the Eagles themselves, coming as the piece did after a long hiatus for the band away from the spotlight following previous break-ups. It is certainly worth a listen, methinks, at this seasonally-appropriate time of the year.

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