St James way - Eastleigh to Southampton - 7.5

This is the final leg of the St James way and is a bit harder walk. We will meet at Eastleigh train station at 9:00 as most people from the group are staying local. The route continues along the river Itchen and depending on conditions we plan to go through the Itchen Valley Nature Reserve. The footpaths here are very over grown, the conformity of St James are working to clear these and so they might be better by the time we walk but please dress accordingly.  Once out of the Nature reserve we join the Southampton Riverside Park which is very beautiful and had an ice cream van when I pre walked which we might want to stop at. We then start our walk into Southampton which is a mixture of main roads, business areas and residential before walking through Hogland park and onto Bargate, which is the remains of the old city wall, we will walk through part of the city centre down to the quay before heading to God's house Tower for our final stamp and certificate, if you would like a certificate it will cost £1.50 and is a nice way to remember the journey we have done. There is a café and toilets here. Southampton train station is 20 mins walk away or bus options if you would rather.

As it's an early start so we should be in Southampton for a celebratory lunch which everyone is welcome to join us for.