October 4th Witley to Haslemere via Hindhead
This was a replacement walk as my planned one from Petersfield was scuppered by railway engineering works. The weather forecast was dire, with storm Amy expected. Despite this, there were six of us who took a punt on the rain staying away.
We alighted from the train at Witley, a station some way from the village of that name. It has the benefit that you exit the station directly onto a hikers’ footpath rather than an undistinguished High Street.
It was obvious that there had been rain and high winds earlier. There was a lot of tree debris underfoot. One still needed to have concern for the security of one’s hat, but we enjoyed a largely blue sky and patches of sunshine.
We followed the Greensand way, this section following old paths through woods with the occasional bit of road walking. Much of the woodland was sweet chestnut and the path was thick with their prickly cases. Robert had a convenient bag and foraged a good couple of kgs.
After passing through Sandhill and Brook we entered woods, to the side of a stone-built lodge to Witley Park. This is mentioned in the Domesday Book but one of the most important owners, at the end of the 19th century was an industrialist, Whitaker White. He completely rebuilt the original house and landscaped the park, including three lakes. Under one of these, he had a conservatory built with a glass roof. Access was via glass tunnels. Unfortunately, Whitaker White was convicted of financial fraud in 1904 and he committed suicide on hearing the guilty verdict. His financial empire collapsed and large chunks of the estate had to be sold off. On the positive side, some of these are now accessible to the public, as Witley, Thursley and Hindhead commons.
You can read up about this in the usual places, but I enjoyed this account by the Thursley Historical Society which has pictures of the underwater glass conservatory which survives. I for one would pay good money to see that.
https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/post/witley-park-1
Leaving Witley Park, our route swung southwest and we walked parallel to the A3 which was some way above us. We passed some old farm buildings and there was a sense that we were following an original section of the London to Portsmouth Road.
The small group size meant that we were making good time. The morning was to take over three hours, so after crossing the A3 via a very dreary underpass , we had a ten minute stop for a drink and a snack.
We were soon heading south, a 3km gradual climb up to Hindhead and the Devils Punchbowl. The autumn colours were glorious and we could look down onto the Devils Punchbowl itself. It’s a tranquil scene these days, it being about 12 years since the A3 was put into a tunnel and vegetation allowed take over the original road.
We had lunch at Hindhead. Despite the loss of passing trade, the enormous Devils Punchbowl Hotel has survived and indeed was fully booked. We dined modestly in the National Trust Café.
Our afternoon was a gentle hour and a half downhill to Haslemere. The pretty high street still has plenty of independent shops and food outlets. We had welcome cups of tea and buns before heading for the station.
Many thanks to those that came out and to Sigrid for her photos.
Mike Coyle
