Book 2 Walk 12: Guildford to Farnham (via the Hogs Back)
Trains: Get the 10:00AM train from London Waterloo (Clapham 10:09AM) to Guildford arriving 10:40. Return trains from Farnham on the hour and half hour. Buy a day return to Farnham.
Difficulty: 6 out of 10
The main route to this walk to Farnham does not appear to be posted very frequently and is rumored to have a nice assortment of snow drops. Think Surrey, and you probably think of pretty villages, gentle green pastures. The first part of this walk conforms to that image, but the second, after lunch, takes you into the surprisingly wild and uninhabited Surrey heath-lands - a vast area of woods and heather-covered moors with hopefully less mud than some other places.... More information and the walk instructions can be found here.
I suggest the Hog's Back start for some nice views -- so pay attention to the route on leaving the station!
Lunch: The Good Intent in Puttenham, (01483 810387), located 8.9km (5.6 miles). Food 12-2.30pm.
Post Walk Refreshies: The Mulberry , the pub by Farnham station serves tea and coffee well into the evening, but it becomes a party and sports pub on Friday and Saturday evenings -- may hopefully be quieter on Sundays. Other pub options nearby include The Lamb and William Cobbett on the other side of the A31.
T=2.12
4 comments:
n=12, including 3 first timers, emerged from the appointed train and assembled in the entry hall of Guildford Station. After the usual formalities, we set off -- 9 heading to the designated Hog's Back while 3 opted for the less strenuous but slightly longer standard route. The views from the Hog's Back were fine. Ten of this group reassembled at the lunch pub with 8 enjoying tasty Sunday roasts and 2 picnickers joining us for drinks. Although there had been some talk of a bus, there did not appear to be one -- so, after lunch, all set off to Farnham. The group fragmented a bit with 2 diligently following the details of the walk route and enjoying the scenery it offered while the rest were noted taking some unauthorized short cuts. The two doing the walk as written caught-up with two of the short cutters on the outskirts of Farnham. The 2 doing the full route stopped for a drink at the Mulberry before catching the 5:30 back to London. A fun day out in w=cloudy-turning-to-light-rain conditions.
N=1 of the 12 lost sight of the others in the sprint up The Mount. Had been expecting a few more to take up the suggestion of a return to Guildford. But no. Bravely soldiered on in the second solo walk of the weekend. Brief stop at the Withies. Back in Guildford about 15:20.
Unfortunately the road running between the 2 lakes (point 97) was closed when I recce-d this walk for my U3A group. Can you suggest an alternative, please?
A look at the map suggests another road to the south east.
How long is the road closed for?
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