1. From the Queen Inn turn left past a treadmill-operated well (no longer used!), built in 1879 and renovated in 1993 with grants from the local authority and Dummer Golf Club. The road passes the Chapel House Gallery on the left, housed in a Primitive Methodist chapel of 1863, with Dummer Stores on the right.

2. Opposite Glebe Close on the edge of the village a footpath leads off to the left over a waymarked stile and turns left behind gardens. It passes over another stile to meet a track and then dog-legs left and right to continue behind more gardens. It reaches a stile beside an old quarry and then turns right along a barbed wire fence. Ahead is the unwelcome sight of the M3!

3. After about 200 metres it turns left along a field boundary and reaches a stile behind a house on a minor road. Here the route turns left onto the road and almost immediately right at a T-junction, signposted to Axford.

4. After 100 metres, on the far side of the crescent called Bible Fields, a path runs off from the left and passes through a kissing-gate at a fingerpost. It is a pretty path that winds through an area that is lightly wooded and low-lying. After emerging from the trees it follows the right-hand side of a field. The path then splits and we take the right-hand limb, past a line of willows that are a vivid rust colour in the winter. They stand on a high bank that hides a low-lying area, presumably a pond at certain times of year. The path rises gently with a field boundary to the right. It then splits and you follow the left-hand arm, which runs across a crop field (050 degrees magnetic) to meet a concrete track, which is part of the Wayfarer's Walk.

5. Turn left and pass through a farmyard, with Dummer House to the left, to meet a minor road at a bus shelter (donated by Mrs Andrew Ferguson in 1952). Turn right and then almost immediately left at the church and so back to the pub.

The Queen Inn

Whenever the Duchess of York hits the headlines the bar at the Queen Inn fills up with journalists in search of stories. This is because Major Ron Ferguson, the duchess's father, lives nearby at Dummer Down Farm and 'Fergie' herself was brought up locally. No one recalls having seen her in the bar, but before her marriage to Prince Andrew who would have noticed? Certainly the picture of the royal personage on the pub's sign is not her, but no one is sure who it is either. Is it Anne Boleyn or Jane Seymour? Perhaps the original landlord, who is thought to have lived here from at least 1564, would have known. What exists now is a fine old country pub with the traditional accoutrements of its ilk: oak beams, horse brasses and an inglenook fireplace. There is one large open bar with a restaurant area, serving an a la carte menu that responds to local produce, including Dummer pheasant and venison.

At the back of the pub, which is a Courage house, is a large beer garden. There are two draught ciders and a good selection of wines, together with a large range of beers, including Courage Best and Directors, Fuller's London Pride, Wadworth 6X and John Smith's Bitter. Dogs are well watered outside.

The opening times are from 11 am to 3.30 pm and 5.30 pm to 11 pm, Monday to Saturday, and 12 noon to 3 pm and 7 pm to 11 pm on Sunday. Food is served from 12 noon to 2.30 pm every lunchtime and 6 pm to 10 pm, Monday to Saturday. On Sunday evening, food is served from 7 pm to 9.30 pm. Telephone: 01256 397367.

Pub Walks Along The Wayfarer's Way

This trail has been taken from the book Pub Walks Along The Wayfarer's Way by Barry Shurlock. The trail has been reproduced with the kind permission of the publisher, Countryside Books.

Trail Location

The starting point for this trail is the Queen Inn. Dummer is easily reached from junction 7 of the M3, or alternatively by turning west off the B3046 Candover valley road at Axford, between Basingstoke and Alresford. There is ample parking at the pub and on the road nearby.