Farm buildings appear on your left and when the path reaches a tarmac lane, turn left. Shulbrede Priory, a former 12th-century home for Augustinian canons and now a private house, is on your right. Visits are usually by appointment only (01428 653049; donation appreciated), but it is open to the public on two bank-holiday afternoons—the last one in May and August (£3.50).
Turn right before the red-brick house and follow this track to reach a three-way sign. Fork left uphill towards a wooden observation tower. Follow the main path, marked by yellow arrows, as it meanders through the woods, reaching a stile. Immediately after it, turn right down a steep, overgrown track. Emerge on a lane and walk downhill, passing Cartref Farm. After you pass Thrae, go left, following the yellow arrow, over a stream and up a track, emerging by the busy Midhurst Road. Cross the road and follow the sign to The Red Lion. Hearty sandwiches, from £4.80; cheeseboard £5.50; or slow-cooked lamb shank, £12.50. After lunch, turn left out of the pub and left again, following the footpath sign, crossing a stream and on uphill to emerge by a barn. Turn left and left again at the next junction. At the next junction, go right ahead uphill, then, at the junction after, fork left on to a level, grassy track in a birch plantation.
Continue following bridleway signs, bearing right to pass a conifer plantation on your left and emerging above a barn conversion. After a short, steep, uphill section, follow the sign downhill, cross over a lane and continue on the track for about 140m. Follow a yellow arrow right steeply uphill to a broken fence, turn left and cross a stile. Follow the fence along the field edge. Cross a second stile, keeping to the right, then a third, and follow the path opposite Wadesmarsh Farmhouse. Cross and take the bridleway to the left, entering Valewood Park, with its glorious views of Black Down.
Opposite a barn, fork left to the woods. Enter by a gate and keep straight on. Just before another gate, follow the sign, right, down a flight of steps, emerging by the entrance to Valewood Farm House. Turn left, then right, passing Stedlands Farm, and veer left uphill. Where it meets the road, turn left. In 20m, turn right, following the footpath downhill to Haslemere, passing recreation grounds on your left. At the main road, turn left for Haslemere High Street, from where the railway station is signposted.
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