Enjoy this lovely 2.5-hour, five-mile walk, along the sandy paths in the far west of our county, that feels more like a walk in the Scottish Highlands than the Home Counties

Information

• Start: Frensham Little Pond, access via Priory Lane off the A287. Postcode GU10 3BT

• Parking: Frensham Little Pond, before the main car park. Parking charges apply for non-National Trust members. Coins only.

• Nearest railway stations: : Farnham, 5 miles away.

• Grid ref: SU859415

• Length of walk: 5 mile (8.1 km), 2 .5 hours

• Food and drink: The Tern Café at Frensham Little Pond is an outdoor café, run by the National Trust, where you can enjoy looking at wildlife on the pond. Very popular with dog walkers.

• While you are there: Visit the Sculpture Park, Jumps Rd, Churt, Farnham GU10 2LH. It features over 600 ever changing sculptures on exhibition from over 200 well-known and upcoming sculptors, throughout 2 miles of trails

The walk

1 From the back of Frensham Little Pond car park, turn left on the smaller path, avoiding the main wide sandy track straight ahead. A ridge on your right conceals a pond and the path runs parallel to the road on your left. Pass the main Frensham car park on your left but keep ahead, ignoring a main path on the right, which leads to the pond waterfront. When you reach a small open area, with the Tern Café on your right, keep straight on. Follow the yellow arrow-marked path. Cross over a driveway, around the top of the pond.

2 Follow this path alongside the pond. Go over a bridge by a stone wall and then follow the path right, along the bank. About 600 metres after the top of the pond, the path forks. Take the left fork and follow the yellow arrows. At the next junction go straight ahead between the wire fences. After passing fields on either side, you’ll reach a barrier that joins a bridleway.

3 Ignore the bridleways left and right and continue ahead until you reach the corner of a garden, a few metres on. Turn right onto a straight track, which leads to Sandy Lane. Turn right and, almost immediately, go left at a footpath sign, through a metal gate. Take the wide path straight ahead through a pine wood, with a rhododendron hedge on your right.

4 Follow the path until you reach a wooden gate leading to open heath. Go through the gate, ignoring the main wide track ahead and turn immediately left on a small almost indistinguishable path next to the wire fence.

5 Stay close to the fence until you pass a yellow arrow, cross a bent two-plank bridge and come to a T-junction. Turn right onto a narrow path and immediately left over another small bridge. Go right on a wide sandy bridle path indicated by a blue arrow. Do NOT follow the yellow-arrow over the bridge and footpath ahead.

6 When you come out of the trees, turn left and immediately right on a narrow path parallel to the bridle path. This open space is known as “The Flashes” and is owned by the National Trust. The path merges with the bridle path and then splits again. Small rounded hills ahead are known as the Devils Jumps. Go straight over the wide crossing track, onto a woodland path marked by a yellow arrow and “Footpath Only” sign. Your path now runs steeply (and unevenly) up the slope of the eastern jump, the top of which offers fine views.

7 From the top of the jump turn back towards the path you ascended on. Turn right by the bench on the top of the jump onto a path leading down to the right of the hill. Avoid paths off to the right, and keep veering left. At the first path on the left descend down the slope and turn left along a sandy wide path that takes you back to the base of the jump.

8 Keep ahead following the wide sandy path across the centre of the common.

9 Turn right on the major sandy path parallel to the outward route, passing a small pond on the left.

10 Cross back over The Flashes and arrive back at the wooden swing gate you passed previously. Retrace your steps until you come to the small metal gate on Sandy Lane.

11 Turn left on Sandy Lane. Continue along the road until you reach a footbridge beside a ford.

12 Cross over and, opposite a driveway for a house called ‘Grey Walls’, turn right beside a wooden barrier onto a footpath. Ignore paths off to the side. The path arrives at an open area with a multiple junction, keep ahead and merge with a much wider sandy path coming in from your left. This will eventually meet the lakeside path.

13 Go left beside the lake and then, at the T-junction, go right, avoiding forks to the right. Stay on this wide sandy track into woodland and back to the start.

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