Length: HOOP Route – from 10.3 km to 26.8 km
Ascent/Descent: from 215/169m to 623m
Net Walking Time: from ca. 2 ½ hours to ca. 6 ½
hours
Toughness: 8 out of 10 (full route)
Sunset in Haslemere will be at 17.51, so there will
be light for walking until about 18.30.
Longer walks: walk to and/or from the Orbital Route along one of
the spoke routes (see the webpage for more details).
Shorter walks: walk only parts of the HOOP and take a bus
back to Haslemere or walk back along one of the spoke routes (see the webpage
for more details).
Take the 09.30 Portsmouth Harbour train from Waterloo (09.55
Woking), arrives Haslemere at 10.21.
Then take Bus 70, hourly from opposite the
station (direction Midhurst) at 10.42, arrives Kiln Meadow, Kingsley
Green 10.52. The 20-minute wait can be
bridged by frequenting either The Cabin House Coffee or
the South Downs National Park Information Centre next door. Return buses: xx.35 to 16.35, then xx.39 to 19.39. Return trains: xx.00 and xx.33.
This is an interesting circular route orbiting around Haslemere,
covering plenty of areas and sights familiar from other SWC walks, but also
lots of new ground, for example Bramshott Common, the Waggoner’s Wells ponds,
Whitmore Vale, Grayswood, Ansteadbrook and the woods west of Black Down. The
Haslemere Outer Orbital Path (HOOP) was originally conceived by Neil Hook and
was initially featured – with written directions – on a website run by him.
This no longer exists.
The route starts at a bus stop in Kingsley Green served by an hourly
service (Mon-Sat), 3 km outside of Haslemere, but additional start or finish
points can usefully be accessed either by other bus lines or on foot, along
spoke routes from Haslemere Station, using some of the existing SWC walks. For
details see below. The HOOP route is map-led, while fully written directions
exist for the spoke routes in the walk directions pdf linked above.
Walk Options: four bus lines and six fully written up spoke
routes enable you to:
- walk just parts of the HOOP,
- avoid the bus journeys at start or finish by walking from/to Haslemere
Station.
For details see the webpage and study the route map.
Lunch and Tea: The
Prince of Wales, Hammer Vale, 4.6 km into the route; The Fox &
Pelican, Grayshott, 10.3 km into the route; Café Twenty5,
Hindhead, 12.6 km into the route; The
Devil’s Punch Bowl, Hindhead, 12.8 km into the route; The National Trust Café, Hindhead, 12.8 km
into the route; The Wheatsheaf Inn, Grayswood, 16.7 km into
the route (currently closed); The Cabin
House Coffee and Harper’s Steakhouse & Bar by Haslemere
Station.
For summary, walk directions, map, height
profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here.
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