Re-post from early August, when all lines were closed out of Waterloo in that direction...
Length: 21.7 km (13.5 mi) or 20.8 km (13.0 mi)
Ascent/Descent:
469/587
Net Walking Time: 5 ¼ hours
Toughness: 6/10
Take the 09.30 Portsmouth Harbour train from Waterloo (09.55
Woking), arrives Haslemere 10.20.
Return to Haslemere Station from Midhurst by Bus Line
70 (26 mins journey, relevant buses: 16.05, 17.05, 18.10 and
19.15 (or by taxi).
Return trains from Haslemere are on xx.00, xx.32
and xx.37 (slower).
The route leads from Haslemere station through the
town’s centre and along the waymarked Serpent Trail through a small Nature
Reserve to rise steeply out of town and back down through Camelsdale to then
rise with the Sussex Border Path through pastures and pine and heather covered
slopes up to the Black Down. Following the crest through open heathland, with
far views across West Sussex and out to Hampshire, you reach the Temple Of The
Winds viewpoint, with further panoramic views over the Rother Valley to the
South Downs escarpment and easterly across to the West Weald.
A long descent through the sloping open grounds of
Blackdown House and through bluebell-carpeted woods leads to either the classic
Sussex village of Lurgashall, with its pub and church at the corner of a
picturesque village green and cricket pitch, or to the hamlet of Lickfold with
its super-duper Inn.
The afternoon takes you through a mix of flat
farmland and wooded hills to the Cowdray Estate, with its golf
course-with-views as well as several polo fields, to the romantic ruins of
Cowdray House, as captured by JMW Turner. Climbing from the River Rother’s
banks, Midhurst's Norman castle ruins are passed en-route to the old market
town's attractive centre with its many tea options.
Lunch : The Noah's Ark in Lurgashall (10.3
km/6.4 mi, food to 14.30, a table has been booked for 12.45). Or The Three Horseshoes Inn in Lickfold
(11.0 km/6.8 mi, food to 16.00, booking recommended). Tea: lots of choice en-route to and in Midhurst (see the pdf for details), recommended are The Halfway Hut (3 km
from the end), Cowdray Farm Shop & Cafe (2 km from the
end, open to 17.00), Garton’s Coffee House, The Wheatsheaf or Fitzcane’s.
For summary, map, height profile, some photos,
walk directions and gpx/kml files click here . T=swc.48
No comments:
Post a Comment