Haslemere to Midhurst via Lurgashall Walk

21.7 km (13.5 miles), with 469/587m ascent/descent. For a shorter walk see below Walk Options.

6 out of 10, with 5 hours 15 minutes walking time. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 8 hours.

The route leads from Haslemere station through the town’s centre and along the waymarked Serpent Trail through a small Nature Reserve to rise steeply out of town and back down through Camelsdale to then rise with the Sussex Border Path through pastures and pine and heather covered slopes up to Black Down. Following the crest through open heathland, with far views across West Sussex and out to Hampshire, you reach the Temple of The Winds viewpoint, with further panoramic views over the Rother Valley to the South Downs escarpment and easterly across to the West Weald.
A long descent through the sloping open grounds of Blackdown House and through bluebell-carpeted woods leads to the classic Sussex village of Lurgashall, with its pub and church at the corner of a picturesque village green and cricket pitch. The afternoon takes you through a mix of flat farmland and wooded hills to the Cowdray Estate, with its golf course-with-views as well as several polo fields, to the romantic ruins of Cowdray House, as captured by JMW Turner.
Climbing from the River Rother’s banks, Midhurst's Norman castle ruins are passed en-route to the old market town's attractive centre with its many tea options.

A variant of the middle of the route, south of Black Down, enables a lunch stop at The Three Horseshoes Inn (cut 900m).
In Midhurst, go straight to the Bus Station from the Rother crossing, instead of going up through the town (cut 700m).

OS Explorer: OL33 (Haslemere & Petersfield)
OS Landranger: 186 (Aldershot & Guildford) and 197 (Chichester & the South Downs)

Haslemere Station, map reference SU 897 329, is 62 km south west of Charing Cross, 139m above sea level and in Surrey. Midhurst Bus Station, map reference SU 887 218, is 11 km south of Haslemere, 25m above sea level and in West Sussex. Haslemere station is on the Portsmouth Direct Line from London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour, with up to four trains an hour Mon-Sat (two on Sundays). Journey time is from 48 minutes Mon-Sat (56 minutes on Sundays). Midhurst Bus Stand has services connecting to Haslemere, Petersfield, Pulborough and Chichester stations. Line 70 to Haslemere runs about hourly Mon-Sat (last at 19.15 hours) and every two hours on Sundays (last at 18.35). The fare in 11/21 fare was £5.40.

Saturday Walkers' Club: Take the train nearest to 9.00.

The Noah's Ark Inn, The Green, Lurgashall, West Sussex (01428 707 346). Located 10.3 km (6.4 mi) into the walk. Booking is recommended on weekends.
The Village Shop on the opposite side of the green can supply some snacks.

The Three Horseshoes, Highstead Lane, Lickfold, West Susssex (01798 422 070).The Horseshoes is located 11.0 km (6.8 mi) into the walk.

The Cowdray Farm Shop & Café, Easebourne, Midhurst, West Sussex GU29 0AJ (Tel: 01730 815 152). It is located 1.9 km (1.2 mi) from the end of the walk.

Plenty of Options in Midhurst, see page 2 of the pdf for details.

After the walk, please leave a comment, it really helps. Thanks!

You can also upload photos to the SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are:

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Jun-23 Thomas G