Day 10 - Haslemere to Winchester
The route (all links open in a new window)
Start point: Haslemere
I checked the map for the next few days. There looked to be a decent route to "Four Marks" which was roughly 21 miles from Haslemere. After checking the B&B options (none that I could find) and checking the nearest Travelodge (£78 was beyond my budget). My next option was to take a tent and wild camp. Not knowing the area at all this was going to be quite a big gamble. I would need to walk 21 miles, pitch a tent, and cook stealthily in a place I'd never been before. Add to that I have, possibly surprisingly, never wild camped. Partly that is due to the fact I find it really hard to break any rules so just the thought of pitching up on private land raises my anxiety levels. I very much doubt I would sleep at all well (if at all) so I pondered what a more direct route would look like.
I 'plotted' the most direct route simply by using onthegomap.com, placing a starting position, end position, and letting the technology do the rest. It showed me a route of 29.6 miles. To give this some context, the furthest I have walked in one non-stop go is 66 miles back in 2018 so whilst I know I can do the distance, I am somewhat less 'in shape' to be tackling such distances so this was going to be a gamble. Also, letting the technology work the route out for me would come back to bite me on the bum later!
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| 66 miles in one go back in 2018 meant 29.6 miles in 2022 was doable! |
I had my route, now I just needed to get to the start and get tickets for my return journey from Winchester. In the accompanying video I cut a long waffling explanation of how a ticket from Winchester to Headcorn was being very troublesome out to save people time but stick with me here, it is pertinent to the entire day.
The ticket debacle
(You can skip this part but it lends context to why I am rushing to Winchester)
If I looked online I am offered a ticket via london for £60, however, I know going via Redhill is often cheaper (in this case £34) but longer and with more changes. As my budget was an issue, I didn't mind the longer more convoluted route back home. However, trying to buy this cheaper ticket online you are confronted with these messages:
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| 1.) Message from National Rail |
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| 2.) A promising message from Southern |
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| 3.) The final letdown message from Southern |
So, whilst the ticket apparently exists, buying it is seemingly impossible.
On my way to the start of Day 10 I asked the train manager on Southern rail about the mythical ticket. He had the same issue but sold me a ticket for £24 instead (I like this guy, he's speaking my language!) which, he promised, was valid for travel via London. I asked three times if this was correct and he printed me a journey:
After selling me the ticket I noticed the ticket stated "via Barnham" which is an odd journey and one which I could not find online for the £24.
Confused and not wanting to break any laws/rules I asked the next train manager (getting to the start of Day 10 required three separate trains). She also stated there was a £24 ticket and would have sold me the same. When I asked where Barnham was, she was unsure...
This confusion stayed with me all day! I hate doing anything wrong in life and whilst this probably wasn't something I was going to get locked up over, it was an issue because I had a budget and, if this journey that I had been sold was legitimate, I had about 4 extra hours to walk the 29.6 miles to Winchester.
My senses told me that I would get on that train and be charged a penalty fare or something ridiculous so I decided I would get to Winchester as fast as possible so that I could ask the ticket office at Winchester. I'd rather pay the £34 and travel via Redhill knowing I was being a law abiding citizen.
The story continues...
Decision made, I was heading to Winchester as quickly as possible without blowing myself to pieces.
The day started off nice and cool. I had a spring in my step since I'd taken a few days away from the trail to visit Skomer Island. I highly recommend a visit especially if you like puffins!
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| Puffins at Skomer Island. They're a delight! |
I won't go into detail about Skomer Island here suffice to say it is an amazing place which any animal lover should have on their bucket list of places to visit.
My journey today however was far removed from the tranquility of the 'puffin isle' as my auto-generated route had me walking down a very busy road. Although the road was limited to 40 mph, drivers do not like sharing 'their' road with walkers. I wouldn't say this is the same for everyone, but all it takes is one disgruntled driver to give you less room than is comfortable to spoil your day. Luckily the road petered out into a dirt track. I either fell asleep whilst walking or missed the bit where all this traffic suddenly stopped. I think I had been so focused on not getting hit by cars that I must have missed a major turning which all car traffic took, whilst my walking journey continued onwards, down a road that turned to dust and gravel.
It is when I find myself in nature that I feel most at ease. That feeling is likely the same for you, and it is being aware of this that makes me feel very lucky. I sincerely want to bring a tiny part of the countryside to those that maybe haven't experienced it or are concerned about it. As you can see by these pages though, I'm not doing anything special. I'm just putting one foot in front of the other. It is an effort but the rewards are great.
My route took me through fields and winding back roads, some lined with gravity defying trees like the one below. I felt a little intimidated by these because they looked ready to fall. As I noted in the video however, they've probably stood up to hurricane force winds so why would they fall now? That thought boggled my mind. How?
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| Gravity defying trees. |
The day was largely uneventful but was exceptionally hot (little did I know that the follow week we would have temperatures 10 Celsius hotter than this apparent scorcher of a day). I was glad of the tree coverage along the route, especially Selborne Common as this was a National Trust site which I felt like I had to myself. Very blissful. A few miles later my route took me past a camouflage paintballing site. Once upon a time I'd have liked that but I can honestly say I've mellowed somewhat and this walk will do me just fine.
On through little villages. West Tisted for some reason really took my fancy and I am not sure why. Maybe the name is just fun to say or maybe because this was the first settlement I'd seen for a while, who knows? Not me. This settlement visit was fleeting. I found myself back in the woodlands, this time I was on the Itchen Trail where I happened upon this Church in The Woods which you should have a read about after finishing here. It's a quaint and history-filled place with one Google reviewing simply stating "scary as hell after dark"! For me it was a really nice little break from trail, even if it was only for a few fleeting moments.
My time was coming to an end for today. It was looking like I would make my train with time to spare. Cheriton came and went (another quaint little village with a post office if you want to pick up supplies) which signalled to me that all I had to do was cut across a few fields and I would be on the main road into Winchester which would be a final 3 mile road walk.
Then disaster...
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| The expectation... |
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| ... the reality |
... and after assessing the danger, this is the route I took. The detour was not a public right of way so my anxiety levels were up and the road I crossed to get back onto the public right of way was horrendous.
This lost me all the 'spare' time I had so now I had to run, yes RUN. It was now sweltering hot, I had a backpack, I was wearing full length trousers and 28 miles under my belt. Running was not part of the original plane but run I did and arrived with 5 minutes to spare at Winchester station!
I quickly approached the ticket seller who was available. I explained very quickly the £34 ticket I'd like to buy but, as with every other person, she could find this ticket when it came to actually selling me the ticket (2 minutes until my train arrived). I explained the Barnham ticket and asked if it was okay for me to board the train. She 'ummm'd' and 'ahhh'd' and looked at her colleague. The sweat was pouring off of me!
"THE NEXT TRAIN AT PLATFORM ONE IS THE..."
My train was pulling in! "Please, could I just get a ticket that will allow me to travel on this train?" I asked in mild panic.
"Oh, that train? You'll never make that" she tapped away at her keyboard. "That will be an excess fare of £35.20" she looked at me to see if this was okay.
"okay, no worries, I'll take it thanks" I said. It wasn't her fault and I knew there was something not right with that Barnham ticket.
She sold me the ticket but, as I collected myself and said thanks I heard the unmistakable sound of a train accelerating out of the station.
I'd missed my train. The train that I had worked my entire day to catch.
Dejected, I went back to ask the for the next train time which thankfully wasn't much later and besides, now I had blown any hope of staying within my budget by buying this excess fare, I could travel on any train into London. If I had known I was going to be paying this fare I would have taken more time on the walk and I certainly wouldn't have run!
I got on the next train and, to add salt to the wounds, when the ticket inspector came round I showed just my Barnham ticket which he said was absolutely acceptable and the excess fare was missold to me.
So, apart from the ticket debacle, the day was a good one. Even if it was entirely shaped by the ticket debacle.
Still, these things happen for a reason. I have no idea what that reason is yet but it has happened. Maybe it is the thing that will force me to plot a more dynamic route with overnight stays in campsites where I'll meet some new and wonderful people. Who knows?
Day 10. Done!
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