Milford to Farncombe, 3 August 

This is a good ramble for summer as we walk through many woods, giving us shade from the sun. As well as the woods, highlights include walking through the NT’s Winkworth Arboretum on a public footpath and visiting a churchyard where you can go inside the huge hollow trunk of a very old yew tree (to see how the fairies live!).

Lunch Please bring a picnic as we won’t be stopping at the usual pub for lunch because it’s become a gastropub with limited menu choices and high prices. Moreover, the picnic spot opposite the pub has been turned into holiday homes.

We will be having our picnic lunch at the outside tables of the cafe at the NT’s Winkworth Arboretum. However, the cafe has no inside seating and its menu is limited to cakes, ice creams and tea/coffee/soft drinks. So, please ensure you bring food for your lunch.

Train Buy a return ticket to Milford as it’s further out from London than Farncombe. Our train is the 8.45 from Waterloo (Portsmouth & Southsea train) arriving 9.38 at Milford with no changes. Stops on the way include Clapham Junction 8.52, Woking 9.13 and Guildford 9.25. Don’t miss this train as the trains to Milford are only once an hour on Saturdays.

Hazards Most of the walk is relatively flat, but there are a few short, steep uphills and downhills and also some longer, more gradual, gradients.

There is one long section through a downhill gulley where the conditions underfoot are very uneven, stoney and sandy.

There is 1 stile in the morning and 1 stile in the afternoon.

Dropout points There is one dropout point, which is at our lunchtime stop at Winkworth Arboretum. The number 42 bus goes from there to Godalming and Guildford. However, the bus only runs every 2 hours on a Saturday.

Terry