With a network of more than 4800km of rights of way and two National Parks which cover almost half of the county, Hampshire offers endless adventures for walkers. The South Downs, England's newest national park, stretches through East and West Sussex as well as Hampshire, but the jewel in the county's crown is the idyllic New Forest, established as a protected hunting ground by William the Conqueror around 1079 for his 'beasts of the chase'.

Most of these walks are found within the parks, but beyond their boundaries there are less visited gems to be explored too. All the walks have been chosen to showcase Hampshire's scenic diversity, which includes forests, downlands, farmland, heaths, lakes, and coast, and all are on public rights of way or land with permitted access.

Each walk entry begins with at-a-glance details of distance, time, terrain, parking, and public transport access where available. Clear route-finding instructions are provided together with simple overview coloured sketch maps, but OS Explorer map sheet numbers are also provided. The text also includes brief notes on features of interest along the way and there are colour photographs throughout.

The walks are arranged into five geographical sections as follows:
The New Forest
The Test Valley
Hart and Basingstoke and Deane
Winchester and Fareham
East Hampshire and Havant