Walking The Greensand Way Part 5 - Hydons Ball and Holloways Heath

View north from the Greensand Way to Hydon’s Ball

Start & Finish: National Trust - Hydon's Ball and Heath car park, Salt Lane, Godalming, GU8 4BB
Distance: 9.3 km (5.8 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 172m
Greensand Way section covered: Hambledon Church to Hascombe: 3.7km
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Octavia Hill Trail
Other routes touched (cycle): None
OS Trig Pillar: TP4093 - Hydons Ball
Pubs / Cafes on route: None
Map: Guildford & Farnham Map | Godalming & Farnborough | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 145
Links: National Trust - Hydon's Ball and Heath, Octavia Hill, Hambledon Church

This is the fifth of a series of short circular walks featuring the Greensand Way. The full trail is a long distance path stretching from Haslemere in Surrey to Ham Street in Kent. Our walks take in short sections of the Greensand Way and loop back to the start on other paths. The Greensand Way is well sign posted however you’ll need a map or GPX route to keep on track for the return sections of the loops. The guidance below will help but don’t use it as a fully accurate turn-by-turn guide.

For this section we parked at the free National Trust Car Park at Hydon's Ball and Heath. Follow the paths through the heath in a southly then south-westerly direction to the top of the hill with the OS Trig Pillar and stone memorial bench to Octavia Hill. Stop for a while to take in the view to the south and the Greensand Way at the bottom of the hill.

From the Trig Pillar follow the Octavia Hill Trail west for ~120 metres, then take a left hand path to follow it down to the memorial pillar. After the memorial continue along paths in a south-westerly direction for approx 1km until you reach Hambledon Church. You’ll now have reached the start and finish of section 4. Take the left hand track onto the Greensand Way and follow it in an easterly direction for 3.7 km.

This section of the Greensand Way is very quiet, along pretty holloways with occasional long vistas to the south. When you get to the edge of the woods just before The White Horse Pub at Hascombe you’ll leave the Greensand Way on a north-heading path. Continue onto this path onto Hoe Lane, then take a left-hand path that climbs steeply up a hill, initially on wooden steps and back into Holloways Heath. Cross over Mare Lane and follow a private road with some very expensive houses on it for just over 1km until you reach the junction with Hascombe Road. Take a sharp left onto a path before Hascombe Road and follow this in a south-westerly direction back to the Hydon’s Ball car park.