Shoreburs Greenway
Shoreburs Greenway travels for 3.5 miles from Weston Shore to Bursledon Road. It includes a wide range of different environments from formal parkland, play areas and ponds to woodland, heather and gorse scrub. Below you will find a detailed description of Shoreburs Greenway and information on the local history of the area.
Shoreburs Greenway route description
1. Victoria Road to Archery Road (0.5 miles)
From the car park at the end of Victoria Road in Woolston start at the Golden Jubilee Butterfly Walk Information Board and follow the path through the butterfly glades at Jurds Lake and up to Archery Road.
2. Archery Road to Wrights Hill (Mayfield Park) (0.7 miles)
Mayfield Park is an attractive partly wooded park. A footpath runs through an area of beech woodland passing alongside a play area, skatepark and Fox’s Memorial. This is the most extensive area of beech woodland in Southampton. Beech trees cast a very deep shade and little vegetation grows beneath them. A greater variety of plants can be found along the stream including Water Mint and Marsh Marigold. Bats feed on a variety of insects which live by the stream. A Pipistrelle Bat can catch as many of 3,500 small flies and gnats in one night.
3. Spring Road to Botany Bay Road and Station Road (Miller’s Pond) (0.3 miles)
Miller’s Pond is the only area of open water in the greenway. A footpath runs along the south side of the pond, linking with the adjacent roads. Situated here is Sholing Valleys Study Centre. Miller’s Pond supports a number of wetland plants including Gipsywort. A variety of birds use the area and the pond is important for Dragonflies. Palmate and Smooth Newts can be found here.
4. Botany Bay Road to South East Road (0.4 miles)
The footpath runs through woodland and rough grassland and provides a link to Butts Road recreation ground. The section of rough grassland is an important wildlife habitat for butterflies such as Skippers and Browns. The area close to South East Road is also an outstanding area of oak woodland.
5. South East Road to Bursledon Road (Weston Common) (0.6 miles)
Access to Bursledon Road is now possible along the path that stretches northwards through Weston Common deviating from one side of the water course to the other. Part of Weston Common consists of heather and gorse scrub which is unique within the greenway. This type of habitat would have once covered much of what is now Southampton and has declined at a greater rate than other habitats such as woodland.
6. Station Road to South East Road (0.4 miles)
The footpath runs from Station Road to Church Path passing through Squirrel Drive and through an area of woodland running alongside the stream. The area to the north of Church Path consists partly of woodland and partly of grassland. There is no public access northwards from Church Path. This is a popular locality for butterflies with the Green Hairstreak butterfly recorded here.
7. South East Road to Bursledon Road (Sholing Common) (0.6 miles)
A footpath runs from South East Road through an area of woodland and grassland following the stream to a cross valley path. Allotments are sited on the northern side of the path and access to these are restricted to plot holders only. The area is frequented by the Holly Blue and Common Blue butterflies.
