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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Sunday 26 July 2015

Sunday First Walk – Watts Gallery & Chapel and the River Wey

Book 1 Walk 2 – L=1.02.b
Length: 12 km (7½ miles) to Godalming; about 20 km (12½ miles) extended to Guildford. Toughness: 2 or 3/10

10:30 Portsmouth Harbour train from Waterloo (Clapham Jct 10:39), changing at Guildford (arr 11:10, dep 11:17) for the Aldershot train and arriving Wanborough at 11:23. Buy a day return to Wanborough.

If you finish at Godalming, trains back are hourly at 56 minutes past and you will need to buy a single to Guildford. If you extend the walk to Guildford, fast trains to Waterloo are at 05 & 35 minutes past and your Wanborough ticket will be valid.

The standard Book 1 walk is normally done in the depths of winter so I hope that its dire warnings of waterlogged and muddy paths hold less terrors in July. Its highlights are the Watts Gallery and Chapel in Compton; the latter is free to enter and well worth the short detour. You can choose between a light lunch at the Tea Shop next to the gallery or carry on a little further to one of the best lunch pubs on an SWC walk, the popular Withies Inn; you can usually eat outside or squeeze into its bar area but you'll need to call ahead if you want to eat in the restaurant.

When you reach Godalming in mid-afternoon you can decide whether to extend the walk along the towpath of the Wey Navigation into Guildford, a further 8 km (5 miles). There are no written directions for this but they are hardly necessary: you go through the riverside park, cross the river on the town bridge (A3100) and then simply keep the water on your right for the rest of the day.

Godalming has several tea places on its High Street but 'long walkers' might like to carry on to Hector's On the Wey café, familiar from the end of Walk 20 (Milford-Godalming). The final stretch into Guildford is the same as Walk 14 (Gomshall-Guildford) and you could refer to that walk's notes for further refreshment places before the journey home.

1 comment:

Eliz parker said...

Just thought that I'd let people know that there was a problem with the compass pub on this saturday's walk.the owner rang me to say that sat walkers were not welcome, as some walkers upset the staff! Not sure who.