The Devil's Punch Bowl and Black Down (Haslemere)

18 miles - ( maybe not quite the 18 we were intending, but still 18 miles :) 6.5 hours


A beautiful, bright, sunny day welcomed myself and Mnsemonye  to Haslemere in April. It is an area not far from where we both went to college, but of course in our teenage years we'd managed to miss some of the beautiful places on our doorstep.

The plan was to combine two walks, taking in the local land marks of the Devil's Punchbowl and Black Down, so we would end up walking a sort of figure of eight, with Haslemere at the centre.

Taking the loop around the Devil's Punchbowl first, we headed north, up towards Gibbet Hill, a lovely spot, where apparently they used to leave criminals to die in Iron Maiden cages hanging in the trees. Once this practice had ceased, the locals were still a little fearful of the place, so a large Celtic cross was erected and  the site was blessed in the hope of quietening any unhappy spirits still lurking nearby. We used the area to break out the cereal bars, apply sunscreen and Compeed.

Leaving Gibbet Hill behind, we started around the punchbowl itself. I had hoped that it would be particularly easy to wonder around a big hole in the ground without getting too lost..... however, there was a bit of confusion caused by having walk instructions a bit older than the new new tunnelled bypass. Luckily we figured it out and found our way around the punchbowl and were able to stop at handy cafe to re-hydrate before heading back into Haslemere town, where we stopped for a bit more lunch.

Weird conjoined trees

Map of three counties seen from Black Down

For the second leg of the walk, we headed south. After climbing stairs and then entering a wooded area we passed over a marshy area with the help of several short boardwalks. There were a few more climbs before we reached Black Down, the highest peak in the South Downs. The best views of all though came from a point called "The Temple of the Winds" which gave us clear sight out across the South Downs.

The view of the South Downs (in the distance) from the Temple of the Winds on Black Down.

After drinking in the natural splendour for a few minutes, we realised that we had to be at a dinner with friends in a very short period of time. I think it is probably the fastest either of us have moved on a training walk! Flying back to the car, as we retraced our steps, we realised how beneficial it is to actually be familiar with your route. It made life so much easier not to have to consult the map at every other junction because we had already made the mistakes on the way out. The way back was much faster and easier, allowing us to arrive at our friends' house just in time for celebratory bubbles!

P.S. Here are the links to the walks we used:

http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/walks/walks/walk_a/1514/

 http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/walks/walks/walk_b/3228/