Surrey Hills: No More Pining

Surrey Hills: No More Pining
13 and 15 April 2001

Location	Surrey Hills, Surrey, OS Explorer 133 Finally the restrictions on walking were lifted inch by inch. It took the government a long time to realise that walking doesn't spread Foot and Mouth. To become a carrier you have to come in contact with infected animals and then come near uninfected animals. For the local councils it is taking even longer. The restrictions that were enacted overnight are taking months to lift. I spent some time in Surrey because Surrey was one of the first counties to lift restrictions and give walkers enough information about where we could go. On the 13th I first went to Hindhead. There is a National Trust property there called Devil's Punch Bowl. I walked the one path that had been opened and had a cream tea in the cafe. Not satisfied I went on to Black Down, another National Trust property south of Haslemere. There much more was open and I had a satisfying walk among the pines and the heather. On the 15th I also went do Black Down. When I got bored of if, I visited Haslemere itself and then Frensham Common.

Weather	On the 13th it was partly cloudy with some nice warmth in the sunshine. On the 15th there were heavy showers clearing up towards evening.

Click on the images to see larger versions.

	This is the view down into the "punch bowl". The NT leaflet says that it's called a punch bowl because it is often filled with fog that looks like it's spilling over the rim of the bowl.

A sign of the times.

	The path in Devil's Punch Bowl.

The rowan was just getting leaves. This was taken with my new trekking pole cum monopod. I just love that tentative green. Unfortunately the aphids do too.

	While the sun was out I got some pictures of gorse flowers. The yellow colour is so intense.

Here you can see very clearly that the gorse is a kind of pea.

	The first bumble bees were out. This one was a bit confused.

On my first visit to the Black Downs I was struck by how different it was from other places I've visited in the UK.

	With the sun streaming down between the tall, straight pine trunks this looks even more like Sweden than the previous picture.

The ground is strewn with pine needles accented with pine cones.

	More dead straight pines. This time the heather in front is highlighted by dappled shade.

Sand doesn't hold much water so most of Black Down was mercyfully un-muddy. But there were a couple of ponds. This is one of them.

	The same pond showing the reflection of the sky.

Another pond showing the reflection of some pines and the sky behind. As you can see there was no wind at all.

	The view towards the west.

Across the heather towards the next pine woods. Evening mood.

	The next time I went to Black Down was on the 15th. The weather was not nearly as inviting.

Because of the wide view I was able to get some interesting cloudscapes.

	The moss on this tree on the southern slopes relished the rain.

I stopped and took some photos of the greenness.

	One last look at the mossclad trunk.

In the woods on the southern slope I found this stump. I just had to photograph nature's gaudy colour sense.

	It is also on the southern approach that I found this milestone. I'll show you Haslemer later on this page.

After the rain the sun came out again and set everything glittering.

	But between the trunks of these trees you can see lingering storm clouds.

This birch is newly leaved. Birches are not nearly as common in the UK as in Sweden.

	One last shot of the heath and pine landscape of Black Down.

Returning to Haslemere I couldn't resist this old-fashioned sign.

	Haslemere is a quaint little village with a number of pubs. The one on the left is called the Swan.

The town hall of Haslemere stands on an island surrounded by streets. With the clock and the bench it looks more like a miniature railway station than a town hall to me.

	I like the way the sun and shade trace this wrought iron gate.

You might be forgiven for thinking that this is a pub but the hanging basket isn't quite exuberant enough for that. It is in fact a fabric shop.

	When I felt done with Haslemere, I drove on to Frensham Common to savour the last of the long day. There I found this yearling swan on the beach.

The pond had rushes and sedges growing around it.

	The sandy, heather-clad slopes did support the odd tree, such as this birch.

Two more trees on either side of the shaded, sandy path. In the background the hill catches the last of the sun.

	By now the sun was setting fast. I walked to the other side of the road to capture the process.

The pasture looks very inviting. Here the sky is still rather monochrome.

	A few minutes later, the sky is pink and grey.