Buriton

Coordinates: 50°58′37″N 0°56′56″W / 50.977°N 0.949°W / 50.977; -0.949

Buriton is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England, 2 miles (3.3 km) south of Petersfield.

It lies at the foot of the South Downs escarpment, just east of the A3 road. One kilometre to the south rises the tree-covered hill of Head Down (205 m), one of the highest points of the South Downs and flanked on either side by two other high points, War Down (244 m) and Oakham Hill (202 m).

The nearest railway station is 2 miles (3.3 km) north of the village, at Petersfield.

The village boasts two tennis courts, two pubs - The Five Bells and the The Maple Inn, a village hall, a large village pond with ducks and fish, a car park and the Church of St. Mary. There is no shop in the village. The village has its own school, "Buriton Primary School", with about 80 pupils from the village and nearby.

The main roads of Buriton are called High Street and Petersfield Road.

It is a rural, peaceful place, with the possible exception of the main railway line, the Portsmouth to London line (Portsmouth Direct Line). The railway tunnel which carries the line under the South Downs is visible from the recreation ground. There is a pedestrian crossing over the railway at this point which the trains 'hoot' for as a warning to those crossing the line. There is also a path under the railway bridge from South Lane. Both paths lead to the walks around the disused chalk pits. Although for centuries the village was deemed of more importance than neighbouring Petersfield, Buriton never obtained its own railway station (aside from Woodcroft Halt, built during World War II for naval personnel), because the gradient in the area was deemed too steep to allow a station to be constructed.