SWC 263: Haslemere to Midhurst via Temple of the Winds and the
tiny hamlet of Henley T=SWC.263
Distance:
14.1 Miles (22.7 km), with options to shorten to approximately 12 miles (19.4
km)
Difficulty:
8 out of 10 (7 out of 10 with both shortcuts)
Train:
Take the 9:30 Portsmouth Harbor train from London Waterloo to
Haslemere, arriving at 10:21. The return journey requires taking a 70
bus from the Midhurst Bus Terminal to Haslemere station (20 minutes) – buses
run at 17:05; 18:05 and 19:10 and return trains to Waterloo from Haslemere are
frequent (02; 15; 32 and 39 past the hour – dropping to 02; 15; 32 at 20:00
until 21:32 with a last train at 22:15) -- trains at 32 past the hour connect
well with the bus. Groups of 3-5 may want to consider sharing a taxi –
Midhurst Taxi – 01730 622 013) back to Haslemere. Buy a day return to
Haslemere.
I
appreciate that this walk was only posted in February….but in fog with low
numbers ….can’t guarantee the weather will be better…but April is a much more
suitable time for this little gem….combining some of the best features of the
route from Haslemere to Midhurst – first gently climbing to the Temple of
Winds viewpoint on the Black Down before dropping steeply into the
valley to lunch in the tiny hamlet of Henley. After lunch the route again
climbs for more stunning views back across the morning route and onward to the South
Downs in the distance before dropping down to finish with a stroll through
the Cowdray Estate and its evocative house ruins. The walk instructions
and more details are available here.
The
recommended lunchtime pub is the Duke of Cumberland Arms in Henley
(tel 01428 652 280), about 8 miles (12 km) into the walk,
which serves food until 2:30PM. A booking has been made at 1:30. An alternate
pub, the Kings Arms (tel 01428 641 165), which also serves food until 2:30
can be found with a diversion from the main route.
The
recommended tea stop is the Cowdray Farm Shop and Caf̩ Рopen until
5:00pm. Midhurst also has a several options for post walk libations.
Enjoy
the walk!
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3 comments:
You may come across some protests outside the Cowdray Farm Shop. Locals are upset about Lord C's proposal that 70 hectares of woodland on his estate (in the South Downs National Park) should be the site of two new sand quarries.
This walk wouldn't be directly affected if the scheme went ahead (the woodland is to the west of Midhurst), but there'd be a lot of additional lorry traffic and noise through the village.
I'm intending on doing this walk.
Both the weather and the season of year were much improved since the last posting of this varied route between Haslemere and Midhurst, with a total of n=15 (including 1 late starter) under w=mostly-sunny-skies-with-a-cool-breeze-at-times. At this time of year, the route passes though a number of small woods with good (but not ostentatious) displays of wood anemones, celandines and bluebells (a perfect spring trifecta of white, yellow and blue). With some rotational seating, the 9 lunchers managed to make the most of our booking for 6.....at the chaotically busy Duke of Cumberland...as it took a while to place our order (though once ordered the food came fairly promptly in good portions), the sandwichers moved on ahead of us...we caught them briefly at the Cowdray Café...leaving as we arrived (nothing personal, I hope)....the later group enjoyed G&Ts, tea, coffee and cakes in the outside in the sunshine watching a dark cloud approach....We experienced a light shower on the final approach to Midhurst and grabbed a swift half before catching the 18:05 with some supplies for further refreshment on the train back to London...
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