Waypoint 4 The thatched houses | Ranger Cadets guided walking trail
Over this stile you will follow the path, straight across the field to the other side.
Please don't wander off the path, as there will usually be crops growing here.
At the right time of year, you may well be surrounded by the bright yellow flowers of oilseed rape.
But, what's the first thing you notice from the stile, before you start to cross the field?
If you're like me, it's those lovely, big thatched cottages, down to the right.
At one time almost every building in the Hampshire countryside would have been thatched. And thatching is still a skill practised by a number of experts in this county.
Thatch is made of straw or reeds. So it's a natural material that's good for the environment. And it looks great. But there are a couple of disadvantages.
One is that it doesn't last as long as stone or modern artificial materials. So the thatch has to be looked after and eventually replaced
Can you think what another disadvantage of a thatched roof might be?
Here's a clue. Thatched roofs were banned in London in 1212. See if you can find something terrible that happened there that year.
Can you think of a connection between that and thatched roofs?
By the way, there is still one thatched roof in the whole of London today. Just one.
It's a very famous building. Have a guess.
On to Waypoint 5
Once across the field with the thatched cottage view, you're going to look for an enclosed path again. If you find the road that cars take to Chandler's Ford, the path is on your left. It rises quite steeply at first with an old chalk quarry on your left. Stay back from the quarry please.
Keep following the path until you reach a fork to the left with a wood in front of you. If you carry straight on at this fork you'll get to Twyford Zoo, but we're not going there today. Turn left and you'll find Waypoint 5 on a big old tree.
