Devil's Punchbowl Circuit, Hindhead

 

Sunday had the first Bagpipe band practice, and Monday, I had a date with Jim for finger exercises, so it was Tuesday before we set out for our, now, weekly walk.

I had suggested Hindhead as we could stop off in Haslemere on the way back and do the weekly shopping as well.

We arrived just after 9am and already the carpark was filling up ...  it seemed it was a popular spot for the "ladies who lunch" to get some exercise in after dropping the children at school, together with the later dog walkers. We would also encounter the elderly walkers on our return...  I was just glad we had not come at the weekend! The idea was to walk down one side of the punchbowl from the top, across the bottom and back up the other side.

The clouds were down when we arrived, although the forecast promised better weather to come.

Looking down into the bowl from the view point was a sea of mist.

we set off down the large bridle path to the West of the bowl. This soon disappeared under the tree canopy.

Before long we came out into the heathland, sections more attributable to this NT area.

It was still misty across the bowl to the other side.

Once more the landscape changed as we began to descend more seriously and back into a wooded area - it just seemed to be each side of the track up the banks, after that it was open fields.

The base had been newly laid with loose gravel and made for good walking.

As we came off the track and onto paved roads we turned right to go across the end of the bowl. this involved the steepest descent down a dirt track with some large steps - definitely not suitable for consumer vehicles.

At the bottom Bertie went for a cool off and tank up in the river, before an equally steep but paved track up the other side.

The return to the top followed the "greensand way" which was more an off road vehicle track used by a variety of modes of transport, however we were lucky to avoid all but walkers until we met the track of the old A3 (before the tunnel was completed).

The track started off sandy then moved over to a more metalled surface as we came out of the woods on to the heathland once more.

the clouds were still down, but the other side was now visible.

the highest point on the walk soon followed as we reached Gibbets hill - slightly off the track, but if it had been clear we could have seen quite a way. the cross is to dispel the ghosts of the people hanged up here.

From here it was a short step around to the car park at the edge of the bowl.

Still not clear, but once we got away from the top was fairly solitary.

next an early lunch and off for the next job.