Length: 15km (9.3m)
Toughness: 5 / 10
Transport: Take the 9:45 direct train from London Waterloo to Liphook, arriving at 11:02 or take the 10:00 from London Waterloo, change at Haslemere to arrive in Liphook at the same time. Return trains from Haslemere at xx:00 and xx:32.
A lovely walk through autumnal woodlands. In the afternoon you have the option to extend the walk up to the Temple of the Winds and walk down to Haslemere across the atmospheric heathland of the Black Downs. Lunch is at the Red Lion in Fernhurst or, alternatively, the inviting Fern at the Pavilion cafe at the recreational ground a bit further on.
3 comments:
Unaccustomed as I am to public walk reporting, I find myself drafted in at short notice to compose this account... All unready! No observations honed! No witticisms rehearsed….
So, n=32 on this walk. Yes, really!! 31 at the station, one joining later. A good mix of familiar and (to me) new faces. Brings a tear to your eye. Quite like the old days.
Six places for lunch had been booked for 12.30pm at the Red Lion. Several, hopeful of meeting this ambitious schedule, set off at a steady jog. The rest of us decided to enjoy the scenery a bit. Excellent leaf colour but probably past its best in places: I noticed a large sweet chestnut wood was nearly bare. Things may be a bit thin by next weekend.
What a difference sun would have made to this autumnscape! But alas we are locked in w=perma-grey, never to escape this side of doomsday. On the plus side, paths were not over-muddy. Not bone dry, but they could have been a lot worse.
At the pub the elect were already eating. Four of us thought we had got the agreement of the barman to be served food outside, but when we tried to order were told drinks only. So we fled to the cafe. About a dozen of the group ended up here and enjoyed cheerful food, swiftly served. One or two even turned up for drinks.
After lunch I think a few did the main walk route, but most soared up onto Black Down with barely a thought for the exertion. There was a better view from the Temple of the Winds than expected.
The race was then on (apparently) to get to Hemingway’s by 4.30pm. Except there was no need to race because even slow-coaches like me got there by 4pm. Except there was, because by that time there were no free tables (ten of our number being inside, I am told). So six of us overflowed to Darnley’s.
A dozen of us later ended up in the Swan where we swapped travellers’ tales while a warm Mediterranean breeze wafted from a nearby wall heater. We got the 6pm train which was full of burly men from Preston who told one of our number that they had been for “a walk on the South Coast”. More burly men got on at Guildford: walking is obviously popular. It is nice to see the railways so well used, eh?
Loved this walk report !👏
You are very kind. For the second time this weekend, tears well up in my eyes...
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