Getting back to the GW from Witley Station is nice and easy; just wander to the south end of the London bound platform, pick up the footpath on the right for 70-80m or so and the GW is first footpath on the right. This section is quite different from the first, taking in small villages, farms and the odd mansion, but otherwise deep and pretty isolated countryside.
Within 30 minutes I was climbing up onto Hambledon Common. The view was spectacular and took in a huge vista across Surrey and chunks of Sussex. As (possibly overexplained) signage told me, even the possibility of spotting a ship! The heather is obviously not at its best in February but would be a sight to see later in the year.
Descending from the common and then climbing up again towards Court Farm, the path underfoot started to get seriously muddy. This was to become a theme throughout; kudos to my excellent Scarpa boots for ensuring I still had dry feet at the end!
The GW follows bridlepaths headed towards The Hurtwood (such a great name). This is a mixed deciduous and coniferous managed forest. Swathes have been cut down and replanted and it vacillates between baby trees and feeling like Mirkwood.
A steep path (parts of which really made me wish I’d brought a stick) takes you down through woodland into open fields and into Hascombe. The White Horse looked like a tempting proposition for a sneaky pint but it wasn’t open yet (boo!) so I made do with an early lunch stop at St. Peter‘s church. Glad I did, this was a remarkable little place with truly spectacular wall paintings and decoration. Well worth a visit.
Hascombe behind me I tackled the muddiest bit so far, with more of a climb up to the forests around Juniper Hill. These are coniferous and with the wind getting up it started to get a bit creepy with creaking trees all about.
The GW covers the route between Juniper Hill and the crossing at the River Wey over more open fields and bridleways. A feel of real peace here with some glorious views over rolling farmland, extra lovely in the sunshine.
It’s apparent that the first hints of spring are here already; snowdrops and crocuses abound.
The final leg of this stage was a steep climb up to the various Copses (Great Copse, Rock Copse) that make up the woodland before reaching Winterfold Heath. Nearly ankle deep in mud at some points through this, testament to all the rain that still seems to be draining down the hill.
The GW meets a small car park just after crossing the road on the western border of Winterfold Heath and here I found three dodgy looking fellows who purported to be my family. I was muddy and tired so threw caution to the wind and hitched a lift......
Including lunch and a bit of church exploration this took me 4.5hours, which was a decent pace especially given the mud. Basic map above but the route is available/searchable on the OS Maps app as ‘Greensand Way Stage 2’.
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