Titchfield canal

Despite living a few miles away for over 20 years this is the first time I've walked the two miles of river and canal which link the village of Titchfield to the sea at nearby Hillhead.

Actually we did try to walk it about 10 years ago in mid winter but muddy paths and flooding made it impassable. Apparently the man made waterway runs parallel to the river Meon and there is some debate as to whether it was ever navigable but strong evidence that it was used to provide irrigation to the surrounding water meadows.

The river is diverted and runs to what looks like a more natural course through the now Titchfield Haven wildlife preserve. The canal like section continues a very straight course toward the sea but as can be seen is very still and covered with growth.

The river now exits into the harbour at Hillhead where there's a cafe which is a welcome break or slightly further along the foreshore is the Osborne View pub.

All in all a very nice walk, with lots of wildlife, we even saw a couple of birds of pray and what might have been a kingfisher.