2019 Walk Day 02

Saturday 16th March 2019

Guildford to Thursley,near Devils Punchbowl

Well today was a mixed bag of blessings and curses!! 

Blessing number one was a smooth run to the start of the walk as no commuters!! Curse number one was the very changeable weather. The wind was very blustery all day; not to bad when walking in woodland though I did keep an eye out for creaking branches and falling trees! It was a different matter when in the open, particularly on the hills (of which there were many!!) Why is it that no matter in which direction you walk the wind is always in your face and blowing you backwards? Unless, of course, you are negotiating a slippery, narrow and sheer-sided ridge in which case it gusts at you from the side almost blowing you off!

Wey South Path playing trains!

Who knew that the Wey South Pathway (named after the River Wey which flows through Guildford) would stop following the river at Shalford and instead traipse along an old railway line? Not I (OK so I didn't study the map that closely before I started - its fairly obvious when you look again!!) 

At least the "Cooos" didn't mind the mud!

The next part of my walk was along the Greensand Way. 

Green Sand??

Up into the Surrey Hills - oh joy!! 

Every time I climbed I got hotter so I took my jacket off and then the wind blew & the rain miserable, mizzled!! So back on went the jacket and the wind dropped (probably coz I was in the woods) and the rain stopped! . . . and I got warm . . . and so it went on all day!!



Lunch was at a delightful pub, The White Hart, at Hascombe where I spent a little longer than intended with my lovely niece, Bethan. No it wasn't the beer . . or the lovely food . . . or my wonderful nieces company that kept me. As I arrived I noticed that my GPS gizmo was running low on battery so the very nice lady who ran the place found somewhere to plug it in for me. We had our lunch and a drink and then I went to pick up the gizmo only to discover that she'd plugged it in but not switched the socket on!! The machine was severely in the red!! So we stopped for a coffee and another chin-wag before deciding that it would have to do!! And it did until I was driving home later on when it died!!

I've often heard of "The Surry Hills" but this was the first time I'd experienced them - I can't say I'll be sorry to see them disappear behind me (Got a bit more of them tomorrow first though!)

The rest of the walk was a bad-tempered slog battling hills, churned up bridleways, rock & root/branch strewn descents, wind, rain, fire and tempest (well maybe not the last two!!) By the time Denise picked me up I was snappy, foot-sore, shin-sore, tired, hungry (even after lunch!!) and generally disagreeable!! My! I do have an amazingly patient and understanding wife. Never mind - food eaten, Blog almost done; just thank-you emails to my most recent donors to do then shower & bed . . . . and start all over again tomorrow 😉😏 

A special "Thank-you" (I think?!) to Sue Hatton of the Sandhurst Trust putting on their Facebook site pictures of me as a VERY young Officer Cadet and recently at Sandhurst Gates. I wish my limbs were that young again!!