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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.

Wednesday 24 January 2018

Wednesday Walk - Midhurst Way Northerly Section: Haslemere to Midhurst (via Henley)

Length: 16.3 km (10.1 mi) [or longer, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 309/427m; Net Walking Time: 4 hours
Toughness:  5/10                       

Take the 10.00 Portsmouth Harbour train from Waterloo (10.25 Woking, 10.34 G’ford), arrives Haslemere 10.48. From Clapham J take the 09.52 stopping service (H’mere 10.45).
Return to Haslemere from Midhurst either by bus number 70 (roughly hourly, £5.00 fare in 2017, last dep. 19.05) or by taxi.
Return trains from Haslemere are four per hour (xx.02, xx.15, xx.30 and xx.37), journey time from 49 to 66 mins. Buy a Haslemere return.


The route of this walk leads out of Haslemere in a southerly direction through Camelsdale and steeply up to Marley Common, a mixture of mature woodland and open heathland and then continues south through a fine mix of quiet forests with frequent far views out to the South Downs or back to Black Down. The walk continues to the scenic villages of Fernhurst and then Henley with their respective pubs, the latter halfway up another steep ascent to Verdleyhill.
Finally it passes Easebourne village and priory and enters Midhurst via Cowdray Park with its polo fields, then past the ruined Cowdray Castle by the River Rother.
This walk is the northerly section of the unmarked Midhurst Way, which has been created by John Trueman, local to the area and a passionate advocate of outdoor pursuits. It runs between Arundel and Haslemere. The southerly section Arundel to Midhurst is available as a separate SWC Walk.

For a shortcut, bus line 70 also stops along the route in: Fernhurst, Henley (above the village on the A-road) and Easebourne (350m off-route on the A286).
As this is such a short walk, why not join the walk poster on a reccie walk through the woods on Marley Heights for a longer option?


Lunch: The Red Lion  in Fernhurst (6.2 km/3.8 mi), or The Duke of Cumberland Arms  in Henley (9.7 km/6.1 mi, food to 14.00).
Tea: lots of choice in Easebourne and Midhurst, check the pdf for all details; recommended are Cowdray Farm Shop & Cafe (2.0 km from the end), Garton’s Coffee House, The Wheatsheaf, The Angel Inn and The Olive & Vine.

For summary, map, height profile, walk directions and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.218

1 comment:

Thomas G said...

Just n=3 walkers today in - almost without interruption - w=rainy-weather, at times with a "refreshing" breeze as well. The ground is now saturated everywhere, so we encountered a fair amount of mud in them woods, although - with the constant rain - boots and clothes looked fairly respectable at the end.
Got to the Cumberland Arms just before 1 and had a quality meal in the bar area (with a roaring fireplace nearby). Not many views were to be had, of course, but the South Downs made some cameos in the pm whenever the clouds lifted a little. Got to Fitzcane's for 15.40 and decided to let the next bus go and rather indulge in tea and cakes. Quality day out.