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| Midhurst Sand Quarry |
March really was a glorious month
this year and in complete contrast to the cold one of 2013. As is traditional for my birthday I had the
day off work and the rare treat these days of having a day’s walking to myself. I lined up the completion of The Serpent
Trail for my outing, which seemed appropriate as I had done an earlier section
on my last birthday.
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| Midhurst Common |
It was a grey start but with the
promise of a much better day ahead, a phenomenon that seems to be quite
familiar on these Serpent Trail walks. I
drove over to Petersfield and parked by Heath Pond, a largish lake on the edge
of town. This was quite a useful spot to
park as it was both free of charge and at the end of my walk. I got the bus over to Midhurst, getting the
public transport part out of the way first as the frequency of service is two
hourly and I didn’t fancy trying to race for it later in the day.
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| Woolmer Bridge |
At Midhurst I got off at the
southern end of town and retraced my steps back to the old station, which
surprisingly still exists even though a train hasn’t called there in over 60
years! Just past the station I picked up
the Serpent Trail once again and headed out over Midhurst Common. I passed by an old sand quarry, looking
rather forlorn now that its working life is over and nature is reclaiming the
space. There was a rather half hearted
looking fence supposedly protecting it but it was so tumbledown that I didn’t
even need to climb over it to take a closer look at the quarry pond left
behind. I imagine that much of the sand
would have been transported away by rail and a little further along I passed
the broken remains of that former transport route again. It wouldn’t be the last time today…
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| Pussy Willow |
As I climbed up through Midhurst
Common the pastie that I had bought in Petersfield was calling to me, while the
day was also warming up so I killed two birds with one stone and rested for a
while at the top of the hill. As I sat
and watched the world for a while I mused on what changes between February and
March and decided that it is definitely birdsong. I think that birds must be sensitive to the
amount of daylight and warmth for all around me the trees were alive with the
tunes of different woodland birds trying to attract attention over the
background noise of all the others.
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| Peacock Butterfly |
The path dog legged around the
planted forests of Midhurst Common taking advantage of fire breaks until
reaching Woolmer Bridge.
This would once have been crossed by the main A272, but like so many on
that route it has been by-passed on account of being too narrow. Now it seems like a bridge without a cause as
the main road takes a course to the north on a rather brutish looking
embankment. For awhile at least the
traffic sounds of the road rather bothered me and got in the way of my enjoyment
of the normal countryside sounds.
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| Iping Common |
The next couple of miles were
possibly the highlight of the day as I crossed Stedham and then Iping Commons. All around me were signs of spring, although
not the same signs that I had seen on the Canal a few days previously. Now I was seeing pussy willow, lots of blue
and great tits but almost no flowers. I
was particularly pleased to see my first peacock butterfly of the season and
was able to get really close to take a good look. Annoyingly though my encounter was cut short
by a loud barking behind me as a dog walker and her unruly dog approached. I cursed as I walked on, trying to stay ahead
of her as she was clearly walking a lot more slowly than me. The dog bothered me for a while and the
walker made some half hearted attempts to bring the animal under control. I so hate these types of dog walker and dogs
– they are incredibly annoying.
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| Camellia |
At the other end of Iping Common
I was treated to some vibrant colour as I passed by a garden resplendent with
camellias in full bloom. I had to enjoy
it while I could for the walk took a decided turn for the worse as I reached
the road junction just beyond. For some
reason the planners of the walk thought it would be a good idea to route the
Serpent Trail along a stretch of road more than two miles long through the
village of Dumpford and on to Nyewood where I reunited with a path that I had
followed on the Sussex Border Path a couple of years ago. The walk along the road wasn’t all bad though
– some of the houses alongside had some lovely gardens to admire and the views
out across the Downs were lovely too.
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| Apple Blossom |
Eventually I came into Nyewood
village on a very different type of day to the last time I was here. Then it was a hot and sultry August morning,
while today was mid March with little foliage on the trees and a decided nip in
the air still. When I crossed the old
railway once again I was able to see far more than I had on my last visit as
the cutting in which the old station is sited was almost completely clear of
vegetation. Time hasn’t treated this old
line very well though – there is no way that it could realistically be opened
again even if there was a political will to do so. The trackbed has some serious puddles and
trees growing along the line of where the track would once have been. The station is still in good condition though
and probably could still fulfil the role if needed.
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| Spring Colour |
It felt strange retracing my
steps from that August day a couple of years back although today I was pleased
that I could cut off the corner through West Harting. I soon reached the farm that I remembered
with all the old farm equipment and trucks that had been left to rot. In fact the main truck that had caught my
attention that day definitely seemed to be far worse than I remembered it. I lingered for as long as I dared without
drawing attention to myself before heading onward across West Heath
Common. The fragments of heathland were
definitely getting further apart now and each one seemed a little smaller than
before.
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| Abandoned Truck |
I soon met up with the old
railway once again by a removed bridge.
The owners of the land are obviously a bit fed up with people trying to
retrace the route as there were an unusual number of signs making it plain that
the old trackbed was not the footpath.
In fact my path alongside was possibly more interesting as it followed
the normal lay of the land rather than that of the railway and I was soon high
above what must have been quite an impressive cutting when it was built. Oddly the path of the railway was soon
completely obliterated as it left the cutting – all traces of the line had been
completely absorbed into the agricultural land.
I could make out a rather intriguing looking hangar like building on my
left – it looked like some kind of hobbyist shop although I couldn’t get a
clear look at it. On my right the view
was dominated by blossom rich orchards.
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| Durford Bridge |
When I reached the road I was
disappointed to have to walk some more distance along tarmac. I did get to walk across a rather stately old
bridge though and past a bank that was smothered in newly flowering celandines
so I couldn’t complain too much. Before
I reached the A272 the path dived between some houses and back out across
fields for the last countryside section before reaching Petersfield. I got a pleasant surprise passing by Durford
Abbey Farm – the remnants of the old Abbey could still be made out, although
mostly in the form of a moat rather than anything more substantial. The abbey itself was finally killed off by
Henry VIII during the dissolution but in truth it had been mostly a wreck for
some time before that as most of the community had succumbed to Black Death
over 150 years earlier and the old place had never really recovered.
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| Celandine Bank |
As I headed in towards
Petersfield the air was full of a nasty niff and initially I suspected the
sewage works that I had passed. However
it soon became clear that it was in fact a local farmer who was muck spreading
the fields. It was positively foul &
I was very glad that I would be heading home later that day and not having to
put up with the smell.
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| Out On The Pull |
I made my last rendezvous with
the old railway line before entering the built up area of Petersfield. If I hadn’t known it was there I’m not sure I
would have even noticed as all that was left was a fragment of retaining wall
from an old bridge. Onward and into
Petersfield the line has been almost completely subsumed by housing
developments. My route took me along a
residential road before I finally reached the last fragment of heathland on the
edge of town, the appropriately named Heath Common. By now I was looking forward to a cup of tea
and was delighted that the café alongside Heath Pond was open. I took full advantage and got me a brew and
sat and watched the antics of the waterfowl on the pond. I couldn’t think of a better way to end my
day :)
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| Heath Pond |
If I’m honest this wasn’t the
most exciting day’s walking and I can safely say that this was the least
exciting section of the Trail. In some
parts it felt as if it should have stopped in Midhurst, but there are a few
highlights along the way. Iping and Stedham Commons are definitely worth a visit in
their own right and Heath Pond at the end was absolutely delightful. I must think about that as a possible picnic
spot in the future. I did enjoy this
trail as a whole, although not perhaps as much as I thought I would. Heathland can get a bit monotonous at times
and it is probably wise to consider carefully when you plan to do the
walk. Maybe heather time is best?
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