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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Saturday 10 December 2016

Saturday Second Walk - Haslemere to Farnham via Devil’s Punch Bowl

Length: 21.8 km (13.6 mi) [cut out 800m by omitting Waverley Abbey]
Ascent/Descent: 301/364m; Net Walking Time: 5 hours
Toughness:  5/10                       

Take the 09.00 Portsmouth Harbour train from Waterloo (09.25 Woking), arrives Haslemere 09.48.
From Clapham take either the 08.52 stopping service (arrives H’mere 09.45) or the 08.57 to Woking, and change onto the 09.00 Waterloo departure.
Return trains are on xx.28 and xx.58, journey time from 57 mins (shave off a few mins by changing at Woking). 
Buy a Haslemere return, but you may have to buy an additional Farnham – Woking single on the way back.

This is a map led walk.
This walk follows the Greensand Way from its start in Haslemere to Hindhead Common and the Devil's Punch Bowl, from where it is a short and easy stroll to the summit of Gibbet Hill (272m), which has fine views and a memorial to a murdered sailor who was waylaid here. The walk then follows the Greensand Way to Thursley, along a ridge of the hill vacated by the A3 (which now runs in a tunnel). The route then crosses the remote Thursley, Hankley and Elstead commons through heather and bracken to lunch in Tilford. You now follow the route of the Book 1 Farnham walk in reverse along a series of forested trails to Waverley, where you can optionally visit the ruined Waverley Abbey, and then along the North Downs Way through a very pretty forested river valley to Farnham.

Elenvenses: The National Trust’s Devil’s Punch Bowl Café (4.1 km/2.6 mi).
Lunch: The Duke of Cambridge  in Tilford Common (13.2 km/8.2 mi, food to 15.30) or The Barley Mow (15.1 km/9.4 mi), food to 14.30) in Tilford.

For summary, map, height profile and gpx/kml files click here.
T=swc.144

6 comments:

Thomas G said...

Intend going.

pia said...

will only come if there are guaranteed and generous stops at Hell's corner for large latte, Countess of Cambridge for some posh luncheon, and a some creamy cakes at the barracks. all this done at my leisurely pace.

Thomas G said...

That's the idea, although not sure about the 'latte', surely that will just slow you down? how about a Red Bull instead?

Thomas G said...

n=15 walkers on this map-led walk, in w=drizzly-early-and-late-dry-inbetween weather, the routing of which we immediately agreed to amend, trying to avoid some of the tarmac-heavy stretches. So through Haslemere to connect to the Greensand Way as quickly as possible, then up onto Hindhead Common. The 4 fast walkers had already taken a wrong turning by then and were not seen again (they got to Farnham in tine for the 14.58 train, apparently, so God knows what route they took).
The rest of the group then stopped at the Devil's Bowl Cafe for the promised elenvenses and were surprised to get some views into the Bowl after the break, as the clouds had lifted sufficiently. Follow the old course of the A3 around the Bowl and descend to Thursley, where most of us then avoided the long tarmac lane through the village, and instead took the alternative, and longer, field boundary route.
2 had been ahead and followed the tarmac to then dive into the 3 Horseshoes for 'aperitifs'.
On through Hankley Common (how nice!) to Tilford Common and the Duke of Cambridge (only tables outside available), so after some debate, on we moved to the Barley Mow on the green in Tilford in a great setting (think Lurgashall with a bit more traffic) and a lovely and fast lunch.
Just a bit more walking left to deal with, for 5 of us including the out-and-back to Waverley Abbey (always worth a detour, methinks), and the North Downs Way route into Farnham rather than the gpx-prescribed through-the-town route and then a drink for 6 of us at either the Waverley Arms or the Mulberry.
A very nice route, if a bit heavy on tarmac, some of which could probably be tweaked out. 3 good pubs en route. What's not to like? Will be great in better weather and with views, or when the heather is at its best. 24 km walked. 17.28 train for the last of us.

pia said...

c.14? with light rain in the morning and surprisingly dry sky the rest of the day.

Great walk not quite at a leisurely pace but TG kept the group together, as far as people wanted to (there were the usual runaways) and his promise: we had teas/coffees and mince pies in some pristine NT Caff; here we instantly lost c. 4 walkers who do not appreciate the occasional social stop and refuel; then onwards to the Duchess of C who was having a rest after a stressful morning playing with George and Charlotte, so we went to the miao miao which, contrary to its name, had three huge dogs visiting and excellent beers (hearsay) and food, brought at great speed (the only time I actually appreciate speed; it was 2pm mind you). Onwards for the last leg, and at the abbey ruins we lost the head party, TG & Co, while Pete, Jacky, Martin, Caroline & friend decided to head for the station to make it in daylight. Martin, who was reading the instructions backwards and no doubt correctly, stuck to wonderful paths, while Pete & I, following the familiar pink line, aka that trustworthy instrument GPS, headed a slightly more direct way to Farnham station, where I left Pete in the Mulberry Pub, and I ended up with Jacky & co at the tea counter of the station catching the 4.30pm. Thanks TG and all of you all for a lovely day, and the stops!!!

pia said...

I should like to add that at Pete's (and TG's) suggestion, we diverted from the tarmac heavy gps route and followed the North Downs way after Moor Park into Farnham; and very nice it was.