Odiham - Canal, Church & High St.

Navigating The Route

This is a circular Treasure Hunt around Odiham Canal, Church and High Street, with Explorers helping to track down King John's missing fortune, which was lost after a secret journey along the River Whitewater, while also trying to beat treasure-hunters Jack Pott and Dinah Mite to it.

The quest covers 2 miles and should take around 2 hours to complete. You'll set off from the Basingstoke Canal on Colt Hill, explore Odiham's picturesque streets and historic village centre, follow the High Street and pass through the churchyard before looping back to the canal.

This Trail is not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs. The route is a gentle circular walk, but there may be the odd muddy patch after a lot of rain, and it includes places with no pavement, a narrow medieval alleyway and a narrow path through the churchyard.

Take care on sections with no pavement, especially along Church Street and King Street. There is also a pedestrian crossing, a road junction and a bridge on the route, so keep Mini Explorers close while you're on the treasure trail.

Getting There

By car: Park at Colt Hill Car Park (RG29 1AL), using ///hits.owned.brief. The quest begins at the Basingstoke Canal on Colt Hill, next to the Basingstoke and Deane Canoe Club (RG29 1DH), using ///hits.owned.brief. The circular route returns to the start near the canal.

By public transport: Make your way to the Basingstoke Canal on Colt Hill, next to the Basingstoke and Deane Canoe Club (RG29 1DH), using ///hits.owned.brief, to begin the adventure. Once King John's fortune has been tracked down, the route brings you back to the start near the canal.

Need the Loo?

Public toilets are available in King Street, past Clue 05 and near Clue 16, giving your crew a handy comfort stop while the hunt is underway.

Bring Your Furry Sidekicks

Four-legged Explorers are welcome to join the quest 🐾

The route includes town streets, sections with no pavement, a narrow churchyard path, a bridge and the canal-side start area, so keep dogs close around traffic, water and tighter stretches. Expect the odd muddy paw if there has been a lot of rain.

Food & Drink Stops

Treasure-hunting is thirsty work, and Odiham has you covered. The Waterwitch pub is on hand, along with numerous other pubs and cafes in the town.

If you'd rather bring your own provisions, there is a nice picnic spot beside the canal just along the towpath near Clue 01 - ideal for fuelling up before the fortune-hunting begins in earnest.

Want to Make a Day of It?

Basingstoke Canal

The adventure begins beside the Basingstoke Canal, which was completed in 1794. It joined Basingstoke to the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation system, with the aim of stimulating agricultural development in Hampshire by enabling boats to travel between the docks in East London and the town of Basingstoke. After restoration, 32 miles were officially re-opened in 1991, while the western stretch still stops at Greywell Tunnel, partly collapsed since 1932 and now guarded by a protected bat colony.

The Old Pest House

This unusual little landmark is one of only five remaining in Great Britain. Built in the early 1600s, it was used to house travellers, pilgrims and local people suffering with the plague. It is open 10am-4pm at the weekend, or you can ask for the key from Odiham Card Shop on High Street. If it is open, you can look inside; if it is locked, you can peer through the window instead.

Odiham's historic High Street and village centre

Odiham's story reaches back to Saxon Wessex, and its name comes from Old English 'Wudiham', roughly 'settlement on the edge of the woods'. It appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as the first Hampshire entry, and the route passes a rich collection of historic buildings in the conservation area - perfect territory for Explorers who like their treasure with a proper dose of old-town intrigue.

Odiham Castle

Odiham was once a top pit-stop for Norman kings, and King John built Odiham Castle just north of here in the 1100s. He wrapped it in a grand deer park for hunting parties, and that old parkland still shapes the town today - a fitting royal extra after chasing down his missing fortune.

The chalk pit

A little further up the road is a chalk pit nearly eight acres across, with sides about seventy feet high, thought to be the largest in Hampshire. Once quarried for chalk until 1939, it also doubled as an open-air prison during the Napoleonic Wars, and today it is a small-holding that hosts an annual jazz festival.