Leave station via main exit & follow road left until at sharp right take allyway straight ahead. At Church take road left, then just past Church, but before bridge, cross road and enter the very nice Jack Phillips Memorial Gardens which run alongside River Wey.
After gardens cross river over road bridge, cross road and before Church rejoin Wey, now on towpath. Town recedes on opposite bank and with open grass land to your left your getting into rural solitude fairly quickly. Brief canal boat section at Catteshall Lock.
Leave River Wey over majestic bridge and onto public footpath / light road lane. Lane runs between heavy grass and reed beds to the left and nice light wood glades to the right. Seen deer close up in grass area and fox in the glades. View ahead past farmhouse of Farley Hill.
Careful navigating at farmhouse, bridleway off left is after house and driveway. Then right turn up sunken lane with field to left and wooded embankment to right. At top, follow end of field up to left (with brief views back) and find rain channel off hill and climb up.
Once hill levels out enjoy views out left across to Guildford & North Downs. Pleasant bridleway leads to road. Cross and immediately enter Bramley Golf Course, careful not to surprise any golfers teeing off. Easy navigating, mostly in slightly sunken lane.
After gardens end is open land to the right which looks like could be a way to miss out Bramley and brief road section. Bramley has pub and few shops if needed. Come off main road at old tree and through houses until finding sunken lane and climb into woods up Hurst Hill.
As with all open land near populace, lane up looks a bit scrappy. At top you exit woods onto nice open horse fields & start long straight section. A bit narrow at times as you pass fenced in fields and bit leading upto Upper Bonhurst has been gravelled over.
Can get a bit muddy in the sunken lanes leading up to the turn off bridleway and on to footpath. Exit off is a bit hidden, its just after a bridleway meets from the left and small kink. Footpath is up and across working sheep field. Climb gives good views out east.
Over stile & enter brief woods then out across fenced off field until coming to very nice view but tricky enclosed descent. It might be old age memory lapse - but I'm sure you used to be able to enter field, which gave a slightly easier descent and better views.
After descent come to road past house, turn left but cut back at next fork. Still on road, cross over stream and look for footpath off road to left. Nice open section here, past house & gardens (with barking dogs) on left and view up right. Take unsigned field gate.
Could have veared off footpath to the right before coming to house, but if taking footpath need to take abrupt right up driveway & close past cottages. Gate on right to enter open field, meeting with point if had veered off. Uphill & come to entrance to nice woods.
Read warning signs, 'Agricultural & Sporting Pursuits' - 'sporting' used to have a different meaning in the countryside. Nice woods, varied trees & winding path. Ends to soon so reduce walking pace accordingly keeping an ear out for the ghosts of foxes and grouse.
Just before gate exit, look into field on right for view. Exit onto small road - no verge so don't be caught trying to look at view through trees on right as you shortly leave road and get views by cutting back to field gate on right. Views continue as you progress through light woods.
No walk of mine is complete without some form of moan, and they usually come whilst forced into hemmed-in sections. Then again, contrast is a basis of human exitence, you can't have good without bad, light without dark etc etc.. Section not too long anyway.
Final bit of free walking is a long, slightly downhill section. Hugging a large elongated field to left and woods up to the right. The monotony is broken up (like the stones under foot) by the variety of width with narrow sections then wider bits. Seen fox in field to left.
Walk ends as driveway to Catteshall Farmhouse starts. Option to walk back to Tannachie by turning right at Springfield Farm & retrace route back along River Wey, but you'll miss the delights of downtown Godalming - but as I said, contrast is everything.
Once you get into Godalming prober, its quiet charming. High street has plenty of opportunity to replenish your nutritionally habits. Can even find way back down to Phillips Memorial riverside park and have that sit-down I promised you. Or head straight back to Station.
Godalming is only 40 minutes, or so, from Central London - by train on the Portsmouth Harbour line. It provides lots of choices for walking with a number of public footpaths radiating out in all directions with destinations including Winkworth Arbortum, Hydons Ball & Pepper Harrow.
