At the end of the Covid pandemic, the Evans family from South Africa took over the village pub in East Worldham and determined both to revive its fortunes and make it a vital part of the local community. 

Alison Evans also had a vision of the Three Horseshoes becoming a truly walker-friendly pub, so she was soon in contact with Walk Alton to see how the pub could promote the Alton Walking Festival.

From this initial contact arose the idea that Walk Alton and the Three Horseshoes might produce a printed leaflet to promote walking in the area, so the first ‘pub walks’ leaflet was produced.

Three short circular walks are suggested in the leaflet and the response from pub customers has been extremely positive, so much so that the leaflet has already been reprinted and two other local hostelries have picked up the challenge and produced their own walking leaflets

Several walking groups start and finish their walks at the Three Horseshoes. Perhaps the most significant recent walk was the Ramblings walk, organised by Walk Alton for the Clare Balding BBC Radio 4 programme, which took place on July 23, 2022. The Three Horseshoes benefited from positive comments in the broadcast and another printed leaflet, in the same format as the original pub walks leaflet, was prepared. This provides a helpful guide to the seven-mile Ramblings circuit and enables many more people to experience and enjoy this interesting walk.

The Three Horseshoes is in a very good position to access a number of interesting walking circuits and it is also close to the Hangers Way. East Worldham is also accessible from Alton by bus (13), the service from Basingstoke via Alton through to Bordon. The service to East Worldham is pretty regular throughout most of the day.

In March 2023 the first Three Horseshoes Walk was held and an enthusiastic group enjoyed a seven-mile circuit via Hartley Mauditt to Selborne and back via Candovers. 

The second walk was on October 12 and was a local walking circuit of about 9.5 miles, finishing with lunch at the pub. Plans are already in hand for similar walks from the pub in March and October 2024

If you’d like to see what the Three Horseshoes has to offer, check out their website at: https://www.threehorseshoesalton.co.uk/

There’s also an interesting piece on the history of the pub and about the former local hop industry at https://www.threehorseshoesalton.co.uk/history

Start Walking!

I was interested to read a short piece in a national paper recently which suggested that many people are failing to renew their gym memberships to save money…..well, I’m certainly not suggesting that walking can provide all the exercise benefits of a gym workout, but it does offer two very substantial advantages.

The first advantage is that it is FREE!  Just pull on a suitable pair of walking shoes, dress for the weather and set off! Even a simple everyday walk to or from town can offer a bit of a workout, especially if you don’t ‘stroll’, but step out briskly. Try to keep up your walking speed, even when going up hills. It might be a struggle at first, but will become easier as you progress.

The second major advantage is that you will be outdoors, which is so very much better for your mood and mental wellbeing than being inside a building, whatever the weather. Give it a try the next time you feel bored, listless or just fed up; just step outside and walk briskly for a quarter of an hour. You will feel more positive and reinvigorated

So….give it a try, just start walking, and, when you start to feel the benefits, consider joining a local walking group so that you can combine the benefits of simply walking with the social benefits of doing so in a group!

By Ian Fleming