The northern end of the footpath starts in the car park on Walbury Hill.

It passes through the towns of Romsey and Totton and the villages of Linkenholt, Ibthorpe, Hurstbourne Tarrant, St Mary Bourne, Longparish, Forton, Wherwell, Chilbolton, Stockbridge, Horsebridge and Mottisfont.

The trail also passes alongside Horsebridge railway station.

There are several wooden 'finger' signs along the route that count down the number of miles along the footpath in both directions.

This route is shown as a series of green diamonds on Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps and as a series of red diamonds on Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 maps The following places of interest and hills can be found along the length of the Test Way, listed from Walbury Hill: These maps show the footpath in relation to nearby major roads.