Witley Common
Children will enjoy the series of rustic, woodland play areas on this walk.
Tree stumps and dens at the first natural play area
The Basics
Time: 1 hour for the Heathland Hike (shortened) or under 30 mins for The Nature Trail
Distance: 3.7 km for the Heathland Hike (shortened) or 2km for The Nature Trail
Terrain: Woodland paths, a couple of gentle hill climbs, some sandy heathland paths
Pushchairs: Pushchairs could probably get around the shorter Nature Trail, but the paths are rougher and narrower on the Heathland Hike
Dogs: Yes, under good control
Refreshments: None, but plenty of picnic benches
Toilets: None
Public Transport: South West trains between Guildford and Portsmouth stop in Witley from where it is a 15 minute walk to the common. Stagecoach routes 70 between Guildford and Petworth and 71 between Guildford and Haslemere stop at Petworth Road
Parking: National Trust car park off Haslemere Road, Cash payments or Pay By Phone App, £1.50 per hour for first 2 hours; £4 for up to 4 hours, National Trust members free. (Postcode: GU8 5QA - W3W: commands/strange/viewer)
Views across the heath from the highest point of the walk
Witley Common comprises a variety of landscapes from sunny, sandy heathland to green, wooded glades. A walk here is an absolute joy for all ages, and it is made all the more enticing by the rustic wooden play features found near the start of the trail.
The Route
There are two marked trails starting out from the car park/play area:
The shorter Nature Trail sticks mainly in the woodland, with a short distance across the heath. It is clearly marked by green markers and should be accessible by pushchairs in most weathers.
The longer Heathland Hike passes through various woodland types, as well as sandy, heather and bracken clad heathland. We really enjoyed this walk, but cut it shorter to make it a better length for children.
For both walks, begin by heading back down the lane in the direction of the road. On your right, you will see a turning with a large wooden signpost and a post marking ‘Wild About Witley’ - the name of the play trail. As you walk down this path, you will soon see the first section of the play area on the left and right. There are also a few picnic tables here.
Continue straight after the play area and almost immediately, a wooden arrow will point down to the left where there are more play structures and another picnic bench.
Back on the main path, continue as the path curves around to the left and a third play area will come into view in a grassy opening. You will also find two more large picnic benches.
From here, take the path to the left after the monkey bars and you will soon pass around the back of the Witley Centre.
Shortly after this, the path split and you will need to chose whether to stick with the green markers of the shorter Nature Trail or follow the pink markers of the Heathland Hike. We found the routes to be so clearly marked along the way that there is actually very little point in giving detailed directions. Every turn is well marked by either a pink or green post. If you do want written directions for the Heathland Hike, then we recommend using these ones from The National Trust website. You can also take a photo of the map board in the car park.
We decided to cut out the second loop of the Heathland Hike by taking a short cut back to the car park. We did this by following just pink markers from the point where the nature trail and the heathland trail first diverged until the point where they met again. At the sighting of the second green marker, the two trails split again and here we left the pink markers behind and followed the green ones back to the play area and then the car park.
Did you know?
During the second world war, the common was the site of The Witley Camp. A whole ‘village’ of buildings was erected to house soldiers in training, much of which has now been deconstructed. There are still a few signs of what was once there such as two clearings create for a parade ground and a recreation ground.
