Other than two very short stretches of road and a rural track, this is a traffic-free walk across fields. It finishes at the White Horse Inn where you can enjoy a refreshing drink or a hearty meal. The walk is approximately 1.5 miles form St Lawrence to Whitwell and you can start from one of two places.
Starting Point 1: V77 Footpath
This starting point is on St Lawrence Shute. Walk up the road and take the steep steps off to the left to join the V77 footpath. Continue west until you reach a junction in the footpath and turn right into the V80 footpath, so you are heading north.
Starting Point 2: V80 Footpath
This starting point is on Undercliff Drive, opposite the junction with Seven Sisters Close. Take the V80 footpath north into the woods. It's a steep but beautiful route. At the top you will meet the junction with V77 & V79 footpaths. Ignore these and continue north on the V80.
The walk from V80 to Whitwell village
Continue heading north on the V80 footpath until you meet a rural track. Continue along this track, past a big house on your right and then the old Dean Crossing plant nursery where the track ends at the main road. Turn right, heading east along the road, and in a short distance you need to cross the road where you see a gate by a stone wall and the V116 Nettlecombe signpost. This gate is just before Deans Farm.
The V116 footpath takes you north across fields and through the grounds of Berryl Farm. At this point the footpath briefly becomes the NT12 at Nettlecombe. In a few yards turn left on to the NT13 bridleway, and then another left into the NT15 footpath. This footpath will take you across a stream and past the Whit Well, before coming out on Whitwell High Street, a short distance south of the White Horse Inn.
To return to St Lawrence, simply retrace your steps.
