It is encouraging to see the often muddy Nuns Walk out of Hyde at Winchester being cared for after some years of neglect.

Abbott’s Barton Farm suffered huge neglect earlier this century when abandoned but recently it has become a family farm.

Its new name is Winchester Farm.

The new owners, having it seems given up on much promised public contribution to Nuns Stream and water meadows management, are themselves engaged in restoring nature.

The path has new deer fencing.

Grazing has been re-established on the water meadows with the help of The Hampshire & Isle of White Wildlife Trust.

This comes at a time when the Nuns Walk is not just the Pilgrims’ Way track out of Winchester (waymarked as St Swithun’s Way) but also the Porchester to Winchester Allan King Way.

It is now likely to see even more walkers as the latest way marking has seen Camino Ingles to Santiago disks appear. Nuns Walk is also part of the St James’s Way from Reading to Southampton.

Canterbury bound pilgrims on the Nuns Walk can see Spanish bound pilgrims coming the other way. This is interesting as some pilgrims walk on to Santiago from Canterbury.