On 26 September 2020 Commando had a session booked with Paul at the Running School. As it was a beautiful sunny afternoon, I decided to go along and have a little stroll while he was being beasted. There was a time when an hour spend roaming around Stoneham Park would have felt like a treat. Now, my afternoon mission felt more like a sad pilgrimage and I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy it, despite the azure blue skies.
To explain why this walk was more chore than pleasure I have to start with an earlier visit. Back in January 2017, CJ and I took a convoluted ten mile walk around the area. The full details of this wonderful walk can be found here. There were horses, cows, fields, lakes and even a shrine on a hill. It was the sort of place I knew I’d want to explore again and again.
Just over a year later I returned and was devastated to find a building site where the beautiful park had once been. The full story of that walk can be found here, but suffice to say I didn’t enjoy it much. In fact I was angry that the local council, Eastleigh, had given planning permission for such a thing. The local man I spoke to that day was incandescent with rage about it too, and rightly so.
In July 2019 I went back to see how the work was progressing. I’d been told the public footpath across the fields had been preserved but I couldn’t see how this was possible. What I discovered didn’t surprise me but it certainly disappointed me. The story of this sad walk can be found here.
By now, you are probably getting an idea why I wasn’t exactly enthralled at the prospect of returning. In fact, you might be wondering why I would even bother. The answer is fire. In mid August 2020, I’d been saddened by reports that the beautiful old farmhouse, the only original building on the site had burned down. Two days after the fire a young man was arrested for arson. The construction company said they were ‘shocked and saddened.’ They said they’d been going to restore the building and use it as ‘an integral element of our new retirement community scheme.’ I wasn’t sure I believed this. They said they hoped they’d still be able to rebuild it but, having seen footage of the fire, I couldn’t see how.
When I walked up the path beside the church, the one where CJ had stopped to talk to the horses, I could smell the fire before I even saw the building. Then, over the rustic wooden fence, I caught my first glimpse of the ruined building. It was as heartbreaking as I’d expected. It was hard to see how it could ever be salvaged.
With a heavy heart I walked past the wreckage and along the building site trail. I needed something to take away the bitter taste of disappointment. A tramp up the hill to the shrine did help, as did a little wander on the trails behind the shrine. It was a beautiful day after all and nobody was about.
My plan, if I had one, was to walk to the gate on the far side of the remaining woodland and walk back via Chestnut Avenue, past the thatched cottages and take a long loop back. Sadly, this was foiled by a group of cows milling around the gate. I’m not a fan of cows, at least not up close and personal without a sturdy fence between me and them. To get through the gate I’d have had to clamber over the top of them and this didn’t feel like a wise move at all.
In the end, my disappointing walk ended with a retracing of steps. I circled the bottom of the hill and had to face the unpleasant tramp along the building site trail. Of course it’s not really a building site any more and some attempt has been made to make it look better but I couldn’t even bring myself to take pictures. This detour also meant I couldn’t avoid the sad sight of the burnt out farm house for a second time. Will this lovely old building ever re rebuilt? If it is, will it ever look the same? I’m not sure if I really want to come back and find out the answer to either of these questions. It is all far too sad.
The burnt out Farm House was in fact the old stables of North Stoneham House Marie.I too was saddened by the buildings on Avenue Park,North Stoneham.Thankfully I have some pictures of the old fields.I look at them and think what a terrible shame they have been built on
It really was a crying shame to build on those fields. I don’t like going that way at all any more.
The old farmhouse you refer to was in fact the old stables of North Stoneham house,and the only building left standing from the time the old Mansion was built.Since the sale of much of North Stoneham in 1954 after the death of the last Squire,The Stables were made into flats!
It’s called progress but to me it’s just very sad. Each new development leaves us with less beautiful green space.
True. Everyone is so concerned about the environment but it doesn’t extend to protecting tress and woods that are vital to clean air. Environmental concerns always come second to commercial ones.