Length: 20.6 km (12.8 miles)
Toughness: 6 out of 10 Several ups and downs but no steep hills today
London Waterloo: 09-53 hrs South Western service to Alton Clapham Junction: 10-00 hrs
Arrive Farnham: 10-55 hrs
Younger walkers with travelcards - activate your cards from Clapham Junction
Return
Godalming to Waterloo: South Western services at 12, 25, 40 and 51 mins past the hour
Rail ticket: today you will need a day return to Farnham PLUS an off-peak single from Godalming to Guildford
Much of today's west to east walk is along sandy bridleways which hopefully will be well drained and subject to minimal mud. Let's hope so.
Leaving Farnham we soon find ourselves on the North Downs Way then the Moor Park Heritage Trail as we pass WW2 pillboxes then Mother Ludlam's Cave. On then with views of Waverley Abbey, along tracks and into the village of Tilford. The pub in the village, the Barley Mow, although only one third of the way into the walk, makes for a most pleasant early lunch stop. Otherwise, luncheon is taken forty five minutes later in the village of Charleshill at the popular Donkey pub.
After Charleshill we head for the Peper Harrow Estate and then towards the River Wey which we follow into Godalming. For tea and cakes the suggested stop is Cafe Mila off the High Street. For a good pint of beer, the pub in town recommended by SWC's beer connoisseurs (and we don't argue with them ) is the comfy The Star in Church Street.
This is a long walk for an early February day but if we maintain a non-dawdle pace we will manage most of it in daylight with only the final riverside leg in the gloaming.
T=1.12
Walk Directions are here: L=1.12
3 comments:
A short option is possible by combined this walk with walk 2-12 for the afternoon route from the Donkey pub, which gives a Farnham Circular of about 10 miles.
With later starters we mustered a very healthy n=27 today. And we were lucky with the weather again for our Wednesday walk. Although the sun we had enjoyed on the train journey to Farnham had disappeared by the time we set out on our walk it was still very mild and w=the-morning-was-overcast-but-turning-sunny-mid-afternoon. So very acceptable walking conditions for an early February day. But the big bonus today was there was virtually no mud on the paths and bridleways, so walking was that much easier and more enjoyable than when plodding through mud.
On reaching Tilford eight of us decided to stop and take an early lunch at the Barley Mow pub, and although the landlady had an unfortunate knack of overcharging her customers (3 of us !) we nevertheless all had a nice lunch and the Harveys beer was top dollar.
In the meantime the others had continued on their walk to the Donkey pub in Charleshill, where I gather some seeking a drink and a snack had a less than friendly welcome. How dumb are some publicans in post lockdown times. At least 3 walkers switched from the walk directions to the Book 2 walk to double back to Farnham on a 10 mile walk. But the rest continued on today's posted walk to Godalming, as did us Barley Mow diners some forty minutes behind the others. In the sun the afternoon was quite lovely and easy going through Surrey's heathland and countryside. My group of six found the Church of St Nicolas in Peper Harrow open for once and it was so nice to visit this interesting church - the first time for me during the seven times I have been on this walk. A little later, after crossing the noisy A3 road, two in my group peeled off to visit the Stag on the River pub in Eashing, leaving the rest of us to continue on the walk to Godalming.
On reaching the town at walk-end, we found a dozen or so of today's picnickers comfortably encamped in the Star pub on Church Street. The Barley Mowers joined them. Some took an early dinner, taking advantage of "Wednesday burger evening" - and very good they looked, too. We left the pub in relays for the short walk to Godalming Railway station, where fast trains took us back to London.
For the second week running, on reaching home it was so nice to take off the walking boots and not be faced with a boot cleaning job.
A rewarding day's walking in lovely company.
I forgot to include today's nature notes in my walk report below. Some good clumps of snowdrops were spotted in the afternoon, and birdsong was good all day, particularly around Eashing. Maybe Spring is not too far off.
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