Saturday Walkers' Club

Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1

Walk 12 : Farnham to Godalming

River Wey, Waverley Abbey & Peper Harrow Park

Length 19.9km (12.4 miles), 6 hours. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 9 hours.
OS Maps Explorer 145 or Landranger 186. Farnham, map reference SU 846 455, is in Surrey, 15km west of Guildford.
Toughness 6 out of 10.
Features This walk starts and ends along the River Wey. In between, it passes close to the ruins of Waverley Abbey and goes through woods to the suggested lunchtime pub in Charleshill. After lunch, there are further sandy bridleways through woods, before entering the parklands of the Peper Harrow estate, which has its own church and cricket pitch. The tea place is in Godalming's ancient centre.
Shortening the Walk Buses run once an hour or so (Monday to Saturday only) from Tilford to destinations such as Farnham, Godalming and Haslemere. Phone Traveline on 0870 608 2608 for information.
History

The town of Farnham (the name derives from the Saxon for 'ferny water meadows') prospered through trade in corn, wheat and hops. Its Norman castle was built by Henri de Blois, a grandson of William the Conqueror.

The twelfth-century Waverley Abbey – now in ruins – was the first Cistercian monastery to be built in England.

Peper Harrow estate was the home of the Earls of Middleton until the line died out. It became a home for disturbed adolescents, but is presently being converted into flats. Its Church of St Nicholas is a Norman church restored by Pugin, the Victorian architect. It contains a memorial to Vice Admiral Thomas Brodrick – he helped court-martial Admiral Byng, who, in 1757, was shot on the quarterdeck of his own ship as a scapegoat for the navy's failure to save a besieged garrison on Minorca or, as Voltaire put it, 'pour encourager les autres'. The church can only be visited by arrangement a week in advance (phone the rector on 01483 810 328, or the warden on 01483 415 702.)

Godalming is thought to mean 'field (-ing) of Godhelm' (the putative first Saxon to claim the land). It was a coaching town between London and Portsmouth, and a centre of trade in wool, stone-quarrying, timber, leather, paper, corn and brewing. The High Street has many half-timbered buildings.

Saturday Walkers' Club Take the train nearest to 9.30am (before or after) from Waterloo Station to Farnham (perhaps changing at Woking). Journey time about one hour. Trains back from Godalming run two or three times an hour. Journey time about one hour.
Lunch The suggested lunch place is The Donkey pub (tel 01252 702 124) in Charleshill. It serves simple homemade food at reasonable prices, midday to 2.30pm daily; booking is recommended for indoor seating. Alternatively, you could eat 2.75km (50 minutes) earlier at the Barley Mow pub (tel 01252 792 205) in Tilford, which is by the green, with a riverside garden. It serves food midday to 2pm daily; groups of more than 12 people should book.
Tea The suggested tea place is the small but excellent Café La Crème 15 Church St Godalming (tel 01483 414 150). For larger groups there is also a Caffè Nero 69 High Street, a Slug and Lettuce and a Wetherspoons also in the High Street and open until late on Sundays.
Travel by Train
  • Out: (not a train station)
  • Back: (not a train station)
Travel by Car

Start: Farnham Station is near : GU9 8AD [gmap]

Finish: Godalming Station is near : GU7 1EU [gmap]

Return to your car by train:

  • (park at the start) at 4pm
  • (park at the end) at 10am
OS Explorer Map

145 : Guildford & Farnham [Amazon]
Revised

This walk was fully revised in : Aug-08.

Download the PDF (link above) for the revised instructions, but for the map, you'll still need the book.
Other Surrey Hills Walks Liphook to Haslemere, Gomshall to Guildford, Milford to Godalming, Haslemere (round walk), Milford to Haslemere, Holmwood to Gomshall, Witley to Haslemere, Ockley to Warnham, Guildford to Farnham, Guildford to Gomshall, Effingham Junction to Westhumble, Coulsdon South Circular, Haslemere to Midhurst,

Walking Instructions 


Walk Map: Farnham to Godalming

Note: Bold numbers in square brackets refer to the Walk Map in Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1.

  1. [1] Coming off platform 2 at Farnham Station, with the Waverley Arms on your right-hand side, cross over the railway lines, your direction 330°. In 20 metres you pass a petrol station on your right-hand side and head down Station Hill.
  2. In 100 meters you reach the A31 dual carriageway. Turn right here, your direction 250°, and, in 80 metres, fork right on a track signposted the North Downs Way. In 220 meters you come to a minor road. Turn right here and follow the road round to the left. There is a BP garage on your left with an M&S shop where you can buy a sandwich or bottled water.
  3. In 350 metres you are beside the River Wey (on your left-hand side). In a further 200 metres, you pass the entrance drive to Snayleslynch Farm on your right-hand side.
  4. In 100 metres, before you go into the grounds of a house called The Kiln, go sharp right, following the North Downs Way, your direction 120°. In 35 metres you go under the railway line. In a further 85 metres, ignore a footpath signposted to the right, to go straight on with open fields on your left-hand side.
  5. In a further 220 metres, at a path T-junction, follow the North Downs Way footpath sign to the left, your direction 60°.
  6. In 65 metres ignore the gate to your right, to go straight on. In 60 metres you cross the river on a wooden bridge with railings. In a further 140 metres, go through the gateway of High Mill (marked 'Private'), following the yellow arrow. In 25 metres go over a small stream. In a further 30 metres, you exit the property. In a further 65 metres, at a T-junction, go right on a bridleway, heading due east.
  7. In 150 metres ignore a tarmac lane uphill to your left and follow the lane half right your direction 150°. In 650 metres [2] cross a tarmac road to continue straight on, through the entrance gateway to Moor Park House your direction 135°.
  8. In 50 metres notice the ornate gatehouse to Moor Park House on your right but keep straight on, you are now on the Moor Park Heritage Trail. In 700 metres you pass a machine-gun nest on your right-hand side. In 450 metres you pass a cave on your left-hand side. In 85 metres go through a wooden kissing gate. In 40 metres you pass Stella Lodge on your left-hand side to come out on to Camp Hill road [3].
  9. Go right on this road downhill for 20 metres, then left on the road signposted to Godalming, your direction 145°. In 185 metres take a public byway on your right, your direction 185°.
  10. In 200 metres, in winter, you can see Waverley Abbey House away on your right-hand side, and the ruins of Waverley Abbey, due west (300 metres to the left of the house).
  11. (If you would like to detour for a closer view of the abbey, in 110 metres take a path down to your right between yew trees; in 45 metres, you are beside the River Wey, with the abbey ruins opposite – at 280° from you.)
  12. Continue on the main path. [!] In 115 metres, where the path starts to descend and there is a metal gate on the left go sharp right up the hill, your direction 230°.
  13. In 370 metres you cross a tarmac road (with an antique post box opposite) to continue on a gravel road signposted with a red arrow, your direction 230°.
  14. In 40 metres fork left, your direction 190°. In 10 metres you pass Sheephatch Farm (marked on the OS map) on your left-hand side. Keep to this path, ignoring ways off. In 450 metres you pass the entrance drive to Tilhill House on your left-hand side, to continue straight on, now on a tarmac lane.
  15. In 130 metres, by the entrance to a cottage that has white stones marked with the post code on the verge, fork right off this lane on a signposted public bridleway, your direction 170°. In 15 metres ignore a stile on your left-hand side. You are back near the River Wey on your right-hand side. In a further 185 metres, ignore a path going up to the left.
  16. In 285 metres you come to the main road, with Tilford Post Office on your left-hand side. (If you want to eat now, turn right, over the bridge, to the Barley Mow pub in Tilford, on your right-hand side.)
  17. The suggested route is to go left, your direction 45°. In 15 metres you pass the post office, still on your left-hand side. In a further 210 metres, you ignore Whitmead Lane to the right. In 75 metres, as road bends left, cross over to take the tarmac lane to your right, your direction 125°, with Marley Cottage on your left-hand side.
  18. In 75 metres [4] take the public footpath signposted left (a tarmac road), your direction 60°.
  19. In 150 metres, at the end of this driveway, by the entrance to a house, fork right on a public footpath, following a yellow arrow.
  20. In 400 metres, go towards a metal gate. Immediately turn left and follow the path around a garden to emerge on tarmac road next to Pooh Corner House. Go right on the road, your direction 190°, downhill, with Highmead House on your left-hand side.
  21. In 240 metres, by the entrance drive to Whitmead House, fork left on a vehicle-wide byway, your direction 95°, with a timber-framed lodge house on your right-hand side.
  22. In 950 metres you pass the entrance to West Wey House on your right-hand side. In 80 metres, at a crossing of lanes, fork right, downhill, your direction 95°. In 30 metres you pass the entrance to Riversleigh Farm on your right. In a further 55 metres, you come to the suggested lunchtime stop, The Donkey pub in Charleshill, on your right-hand side.
  23. Coming out of the pub after lunch, turn right. In 55 metres you come to the main road. Cross this and take the public signposted tarmac lane straight on (the entrance to Foxhill is on your right-hand side), your direction being 345°.
  24. In 35 metres turn right, following the bridleway sign, to go uphill, your direction 65°. In a further 215 metres, your way becomes a tarmac drive. In 210 metres you pass black iron gates on your right-hand side, to fork left, your direction 60°, on a tarmac way. There is a column with an entry phone on your left-hand side.
  25. In 80 metres [5] you exit through the Three Barrows gateway to cross the tarmac road and go straight on, your direction 70°, along a signposted public bridleway, ignoring field gates off to the left and right-hand sides.
  26. In 800 metres, by the entrance drive to Fullbrook Farm, you come out on to a tarmac road and cross it to continue straight on towards Broomfield Cottage (private), your direction due east.
  27. In 170 metres [6], by a turning circle or parking area on your right-hand side, go through a swing gate on your left-hand side, following a public bridleway wooden sign, and then go half right, diagonally across the field. In 25 metres you pass the first oak tree, on your left-hand side, your direction 60°, and keep going in this direction, ignoring all ways off. Aim for 30 metres to the left of the right-hand corner of the wood, some 400 metres ahead of you.
  28. Enter the wood by a wooden swing gate, and continue on, your direction 65°, along a potentially muddy way. In 60 metres cross a stream on a bridge with wooden railings. In a further 170 metres, you come to a tarmac road by a bridleway sign, and you turn right, your direction 110°.
  29. In 60 metres go over a stream. In a further 30 metres, by a footpath sign opposite Brookside House, turn left, your direction 20°.
  30. In 190 metres you come to a tarmac road T-junction where you go left, with Kingshott Cottage on your left-hand side, your direction 55°. In 45 metres follow the blue arrow straight on, ignoring a fork left to Broad Firs. In a further 220 metres, ignore a way off to the right (with a field gate also on your right-hand side). In 200 metres ignore ways off to the right and left. In 150 metres ignore a post with a blue arrow to the left (indicating a bridleway) to follow the blue arrow straight on. In 30 metres ignore a way to the right.
  31. [!] In 275 metres [7] (5 metres before a post with red arrows to the left and ahead), go right on an unmarked path, your direction 190°.
  32. In 60 metres fork left. In 260 metres you come out on to a tarmac road where you go right, your direction 215°. In 40 metres you pass the entrance to Prospect House.
  33. In a further 55 metres, go left on a sandy road, signposted public bridleway, your direction due south.
  34. In a further 240 metres, ignore a more minor fork to the left. In 65 metres cross a stream.
  35. In a further 70 metres, at a T-junction, with a cottage on your right-hand side and a wooden field gate ahead, go left, your direction 80°.
  36. In 240 metres go straight on where an unmarked track crosses. In 85 metres, within 20 metres of the end of the wood, at a junction, go right, your direction 125° - just within the edge of the wood on your left-hand side.
  37. Keep to this main path, ignoring all ways off. In 360 metres you come to a tarmac road where you turn right, your direction 195°.
  38. In 45 metres you pass Headlands House on your right-hand side. In a further 240 metres, you come to the main tarmac road.
  39. Turn right and, in 40 metres [8], turn left off the road, following the public footpath sign down the tarmac road into the Peper Harrow estate (which is marked on the OS map).
  40. In 180 metres you pass through a wooden field gate. In a further 10 metres, ignore a fork to the right by a post box. After walking a further 200 metres, you come the (locked) Church of St Nicholas Peper Harrow.
  41. In 30 metres take the stile (with a metal field gate to its left) signposted public footpath, going to your left, heading due east. In 30 metres you pass close to a wooden farm shed on your left-hand side and head to the left of the green pavilion ahead, with no clear path.
  42. In 135 metres you pass the pavilion on your right-hand side and keep parallel to the mini-pylons. Enter the wood, some 30 metres to the left of its right-hand edge, going over a stile.
  43. At the other end of the wood, at a T-junction [9], ignore a foot-path straight on and go right, coming in 8 metres to a small metal swing gate and bridleway sign where you go left, with the field fence on your left-hand side and your direction 70°.
  44. In 150 metres veer right with the bridleway, a field fence still to your left-hand side.
  45. In 235 metres go through a metal field gate to cross the A3 on a bridge. On the other side, go right downhill towards a petrol station. In 80 metres turn left on Lower Eashing Road (with the petrol station opposite), your direction 120°.
  46. In 40 metres turn left between Greenways and Lower Eashing Farm Cottage, on a tarmac road, which is a signposted public bridleway, your direction 40°.
  47. In 40 metres this tarmac road becomes a concrete road, passing Greenways Farm and Stable on your right-hand side. In 120 metres, by a pillbox on your right-hand side, ignore a path off uphill to your left. In a further 75 metres, you pass under pylons.
  48. In a further 110 metres, you leave the concrete road to go straight on through a wooden field gate, on a car-wide earth bridleway, your direction 55° – in 10 metres passing a pillbox on your left-hand side.
  49. In 230 metres go under pylons (a potentially muddy area). In 110 metres you pass under two lots of pylon cables.
  50. In 245 metres ignore a path to the left, marked by a post. In 30 metres, [10] by a garden wall and by a post with multiple arrows, go right, following a public footpath sign, your direction 145°.
  51. In 80 metres go past the entrance to Milton Wood (on your right). In 150 metres go through a metal barrier, now back alongside the River Wey.
  52. In 500 metres go through another metal barrier. In 40 metres, [11] 1 metre before the start of a tarmac road, follow the signpost right, marked 'Public footpath to Godalming', your direction due south.
  53. In 75 metres go over a concrete bridge straight on. In 15 metres you turn left under the pylons, your direction 140°, with the River Wey on your right-hand side.
  54. In 30 metres you pass under more pylons and fork left, your direction 170°.
  55. In 40 metres continue to the left, your direction 100°, alongside the River Wey on your right-hand side.
  56. In 120 metres you again go under pylons and again in 55 metres.
  57. In 120 metres, by a bench, yours becomes a tarmac path. In 55 metres cross the stream on a bridge. In a further 280 metres, cross a bridge with scaffolding pole railings. In 5 metres go through a metal barrier, across an entrance drive to offices on your right-hand side, and straight on, with the stream still on your left-hand side.
  58. In 65 metres, at a tarmac road, go right, your direction 170°.
  59. In 20 metres go under the railway line. 10 metres after the bridge, fork right on a signposted public footpath. In 110 metres, having kept parallel to the road, cross the river on a wooden bridge with wooden railings.
  60. In 35 metres you are back on the main Borough Road, straight on. In 65 metres, by the entrance to the Church of St Peter and St Paul, go left up Church Street, which is a car road made of bricks your direction 125°. Going uphill, in 100 meters you come to Café La Crème at no 15 Church Street the suggested place to have tea.
  61. If it is closed or you are a large group continue for 30 metres to turn left into the High Street, Godalming. In 140 metres you come to Caffè Nero, on the right hand side, the alternative tea place, at 91 High Street.
  62. Coming out of Caffè Nero after tea, retrace your steps to the church – in other words, turn left into the High Street. In 140 metres, by the Old Town Hall, turn right down Church Lane to go back down to the church – but then straight on to pick up a passageway leading to the station, again straight on.
  63. Once at Godalming Station, go under the subway for the London-bound platform.