This walk could have been called the "Wild Flower Education Walk".  The bluebells were really starting to look good and numerous other flowers were starting to bloom.  We were quite puzzled by something that looked very much like purple sprouting broccoli but more like yellow sprouting. A quick visit to Google and we learned that rape is one of the brassica family!
We aslo spotted:
Stichwort, Yellow Archangel, Wood Anemone, Campion, Violets, Cowslip.

The last part of the walk was of course a bit more strenuous as we had to climb back up the 348 feet we had enjoyed on the way down at the start.  That meant we were quite tired by the time we got back to the car.  Our timing was however excellent and the rain started just as we ready to drive off.
We had lunch at The Curlew, another Vintage Inn that we had not been to for a long time.  The chicken and leek pie was as good as ever and we were even offered refills of tea.

We parked in the large car park at the Bat and Ball which is very handy as it serves food all day and we knew we would be back in time for a late lunch.
Crossing the A338 we headed west and soon came to the cricket ground with its attractive thatched pavilion.  Continuing west we were soon getting into the woods where the bluebells were starting to become evident which was slightly surprising given how cold it has been.
At Brookheath we turned northwest and followed the path in Rockbourne.  St Andrews church dates back to the 12th Century and has a very welcoming porch where we sat and had a welcome cup of coffee, tea, bovril, soup or chocolate depending on whatever we had in our rucksacks.  There are some wonderful old buildings all around Rockbourne which is well worth a visit.  There seemed to be quite a bit of new development going on in the area of Nippards Farm from where we took the path up to St Leonard's church in Whitsbury.  There are some good views from here and a bench for another rest after a fairly steep climb.  There was a lovely carpet of cyclamen under the trees.
It was pretty much downhill from here all the way back to the pub where we enjoyed a good meal of liver and bacon and of course lots of tea!