Length: 18.3 km (11.4 miles) 6/10
While the days are still fairly long, a walk over remote heathland and past some pretty lakes in the morning, and the Devil's Punchbowl in the afternoon. Shady woodland and heather on the commons. The main walk route goes down into the Devil's Punchbowl (700m longer with at least 100m extra ascent), but my preference is for the alternative scenic route round the rim of the punchbowl to the NT cafe.
Trains: 0945 from Waterloo (Clapham Junction 0952, Woking 1012) arriving at 1038. Four return trains an hour back from Haslemere. Get a return to Haslemere.
Lunch: The community owned Three Horseshoes "pub with good food" in Thursley (tel. 01252 703900) is 7.9 km into the walk. The churchyard some 500m further on makes a good picnic spot.
Tea: The National Trust’s Devil’s Punch Bowl Café (tel. 01428 606565) could be an early tea stop and is open until 5pm. In Haslemere there is Hemingways (tel 01428 643 048) or Darnleys (tel 01428 643 048) on the High Street, and several nearby pubs.
Walk options: you could follow the main route into the punchbowl instead of walking along the rim. As mentioned this is about 700m longer. After the NT cafe, you could detour up Gibbet Hill instead of following the Greensand Way towards Haslemere (adds 1.2 km; less if you combined these two options without visiting the cafe).
For walk directions, map and GPX click here
T=1.27
1 comment:
Despite the morning drizzle, a whopping 18 gathered on the platform with two joining later making #20 on a day which turned out #fair-and-muggy. After the beautiful morning walk through woodland and heath, including an unexpected scramble up a tricky 6 ft step on Thursley Common, the group split with 5, I think, lunching in the Three Horseshoes, four joining them for drinks and the rest picnicking nearby. The pub food looked excellent but some of it took a long time to arrive - we left three there of whom two were just tucking in as the rest of us had finished our refreshments.
Soon the advance pub party were surprised to be caught up by the picnickers on a tricky overgrown section of path - they had detoured to avoid some road walking but had to deal with more brambles and nettles instead. At this time of year I'd recommend the lanes round Thursley over the overgrown footpaths where there is a choice.
Four of us went a bit wrong on the path around the rim of the Punchbowl and lost the group, but found most of them again in the Swan in Haslemere where numerous beers were had before the 1701 train. One joined us having done the Gibbet Hill variation and I hear that three or four others were behind us - possibly they did the full route including the descent into punchbowl.
A fun day out with some continuing the party on the train back to London
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