Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
Walk 27 : Milford to Haslemere
Thursley, Hindhead & the Devil's Punch Bowl
| Length | 17.1km (10.6 miles), 5 hours 10 minutes. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 8 hours 15 minutes. |
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| OS Landranger Map | No.186. Milford, map reference SU 955 414, is in Surrey, 3km south-west of Godalming. |
| Toughness | 6 out of 10. |
| Features | Take long trousers in summer for 300 metres of nettles at point [7]. This long walk along a road out through Milford is rewarded by the beauty of the landscape beyond. Beware that now the pub in Thursley has closed it is a 5.5km further walk from there to the all-day Devil's Punchbowl Hotel in Hindhead - it will be more like an early tea than lunch (and no food after 3pm). Bagmoor Common Nature Reserve's heathland of purple moss grass and heather, and woodland of oaks and Scots pine, leads on to the lakes of Warren Mere (a nice spot for a picnic lunch) and across to the village of Thursley, which has a fine old church. On the way to Hindhead, you pass through National Trust land - sandy bridleways through ancient established woodlands and the heather, gorse and bilberry of the heathland. After walking through the Devil's Punch Bowl, you ascend to the Hillcrest Cafe. From there you follow the Greensand Way with fine views out towards the South Downs, with finally a footpath into the High Street in Haslemere for tea. |
| Shortening the Walk | You could order a taxi from Thursley; or you could catch a bus from near the cafe in Hindhead. |
| History |
The Church of St Michael and All Angels, Thursley, has heavy-duty wooden roof beams, added in Henry VII's time to support a new tower. Its Saxon windows up by the altar on the north wall are the only ones in England with their original timber frames (thin horn or oiled linen was used for window panes). Legend has it that the Devil's Punch Bowl was formed when the Devil scooped up earth to hurl at Thor, the god of thunder, who lived in Thor's Lie Thursley); the punch bowl refers to the mist that seems to flow over the rim of the bowl. The heathlands here were among the UK's earliest cultivated areas - clearings in the forest, that were abandoned as the nutrients leached away into the sandy soil. The spring line between the sandstone top layer and the impermeable clay beneath led to erosion of the sandstone, thus creating the Devil's Punch Bowl. A sailor in 1786 bought drinks for three men at the pub in Thursley. Later, they were seen murdering him at the Devil's Punch Bowl. Found guilty, they were hanged in chains on a hill nearby, now known as Gibbet Hill. Only the tower of St Bartholomew's Church in Haslemere is ancient, the rest having been boldly demolished by the Victorians. There is a stained-glass window here dedicated to the poet Tennyson. His house, Aldworth, is on the slopes of Black Down where he loved to walk. In Tudor and Stuart times Haslemere was a centre for the iron industry. With the coming of the railway in the mid-nineteenth century it became a popular spot for literary people. Tennyson's house, Aldworth, is on the slopes of Black Down where he loved to walk; and the novelist George Eliot wrote Middlemarch in Shottermill. The town has an interesting museum up the High Street, 100 metres north of the Georgian Hotel. The museum is open 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Saturday, and has a fine explanatory display of local wild flowers in the foyer. Other highlights include an Egyptian mummy and an observation beehive. |
| Lunch | The lunch pub, The Three Horse Shoes in Thursley, has permanently closed. The former Hillcrest cafe at Hindhead (5.5 km further on) (at point [10])) has now reopened as the Devils Punchbowl cafe, run by the NT. It is now the main lunch stop, as it is now open 9 to 5pm daily (or till dusk if earlier than this) with hot lunch meals (tel 01428 608771). Groups of more than 10 should book by phone. Alternatively walk relatively fast and get to the Devil's Punchbowl hotel opposite the Hindhead cafe before they stop serving food at 3pm (their bar is open all day for drinks, plus nuts, crisps, tea, hot chocolate, coffee,). If you phone the hotel (tel 01428 606565) and pre-pay for sandwiches etc you can have food waiting for you even if you are arriving later than 3pm. |
| Major Updates | The lunchtime pub has reopened (gastropub, nice beer garden). [details] |
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| Warning | This text was taken from an older edition of the book, and is a little out of date. Please check the updates for this walk. |
Walking Instructions
For a map and detailed walking instruction, please see Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
