Easy, difficult, long or short, there’s a walk for all ages, tastes and abilities. This year’s Haslemere Walking Festival is taking place 4th – 6th July
This July, Haslemere will once again host its annual Walking Festival. With a collection of varied and rewarding walks for all ages and abilities.
All walks are free but booking is essential, just find one that suits you and step out and explore. Easy walks are mainly on flat paths and suitable for most levels of fitness. Moderate ones will feature a few gradients and steps.
The Different Routes
Kicking off the festival on July 4th is the Grayswood Walk. Join Richard Derwent Cooke for an interesting walk from Grayswood Village Hall. Climbing to the Temple of the Four Winds and on to Gibbet Hill, returning by way of the Wheatsheaf Inn.
Take a Blue Plaque Walk with Sue Manuel in Charming Hammer (4th). Discover the ‘blue plaque’ home of a highly notable engineer who made a major contribution to the creation of the WW2 Mulberry Harbour. Then head towards the undulating Hammer woodlands.
On July 5th join John Casey for the Hankley Common Historical Walk with stories of a murder, a plane crash with connections to a British Prime Minister and the Atlantic Wall used as practice for the World War II D Day landings. Hankley has been used for numerous film sets including Skyfall, 1917 and the historical epic Napoleon.
Local tree warden Clive Davidson (5th) invites you to visit trees that pre-date the dinosaurs as you discover Haslemere’s Notable Trees. Trees that grow as tall as Big Ben have provided wood for temples and churches for millennia.
The final day sees Clive Davidson again taking a woodland walk, this time Surrey’s Tallest Trees. Explore a local woodland that includes not only many native species but also the tallest trees in the county. As well as some unusual and impressive individuals.
Discover the hidden countryside surrounding Haslemere with a relaxed walk led by Paula Shelley on the 6th, taking in beautiful views, wooded glades and the tranquil waterside.
Join Barry Sweetman for Haslemere to the Devil’s Punchbowl, a pleasant wooded walk up to the Devil’s Punchbowl. Chance to stop at the punchbowl for lunch and a drink.
The three days finish with Sir Robert Hunter Walk on Hindhead Common. A dramatized walk bringing the rich and colourful history of the Common and its surrounding area dramatically to life by Sir Robert Hunter, founder of the National Trust who lived in Haslemere.
Where can I book?
Again, all walks are free but booking is essential. For full details of all walks including meeting points, times, estimated duration, refreshments, any supplement notes & to book visit haslemere-museum.arttickets.org.uk
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