Farnham to Frensham: A Tame Walk and a Wild Swim

You might want to pack your trunks along with your lunch for this one. To be honest, the walk, on the pine-forested, bracken-covered, steep-sided knolls of Bourne Woods will neither be that tame, nor the swim, in the sandy-bottomed, lifeguard-supervised, top-rated waters of Frensham Great Pond, that wild. If you'd rather not swim you can enjoy a leisurely lunch break lolling on the sandy beach or visiting the cafés. Bonus features of this walk include the pretty village of Frensham, and the National Trust-protected woods and heaths roundabout, but the centrepiece will be (weather, crowds and blue-green algae permitting) a summertime splash in a superb setting. 

The sights:

Frensham village: St Mary's Church dates from 1239 and contains many original features, despite restoration. There is also a large cauldron which allegedly either belonged to the local witch Mother Ludlam, or the fairies. 

Frensham Great Pond, Frensham Little Pond and Frensham Commons: The lakes are 12th-century fishponds created for the Bishop of Winchester. The Commons that surround them are important SSSIs, home to Dartford warblers, sand lizards and nightjars, and managed by the National Trust. In World War II the ponds were drained, but they were subsequently restored and became a popular spot for London daytrippers in the past and the film and TV industry forever since (for example Carry on Jack (1963), Carry on Columbus (1991) and The Mummy (1999), doubling as the River Nile). Waverley District Council run a café and toilets next to the Great Pond where the swimming takes place. 

Bourne Wood: Silver birches and pines cloak a knoll in which a clearing affords lovely views over Farnham and surrounding woodland. Here, the Forestry Commission and RSPB have to balance the needs of nature, recreation and, notably, the UK film industry as it is frequent film and TV location (including Tenko, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Gladiator (2000) (where it stood in for the forests of Germania), various Harry Potters, War Horse (2011),Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Napoleon (2022). See here for a list of films shot here.

Swimming at Frensham Great Pond:

Swimming isn't compulsory or prolonged and it will coincide with our lunch break. The two designated swimming areas are not large, or deep, but are enough to cool off. The water is clean-smelling and slightly silty. The water quality, regularly sampled, is generally rated 'Excellent' or 'Good' but after prolonged spells of warm weather blue-green algae can bloom and preclude swimming. I will, of course, monitor the situation. Dogs are not permitted on the beach but can go near the café and walk through the site. In very warm weather the pond and adjacent beach gets busy and people are warned to stay away as the car park closes (which won't affect us). We will see how we feel about the situation on the day. Check for more details here. 

Dogs

I love having dogs on my walks, and this is a good dog walk as there is little livestock to be encountered, abundant heathland over which the dog can run free and trees to provide shade. However, there will be some roads to cross and short stretches of road walk along. Furthermore, dogs are not permitted on the beach at the pond and hot weather could be exhausting for them. 

The route (please click the link here):

A range of pleasant and prosperous suburban streets will lead us through The Bourne, Shortheath and Boundstone (in short, the southwestern suburbs of Farnham) to Rowledge. Switchback Lane will take us to Frensham Heights School and a lane will take us east to Broomfield Lane to Shortfield Common. Footpaths heading south will take us to Frensham village and then Frensham Common. Bearing east after lunch, we'll walk from the Great Pond to the Little Pond. We'll then head northeast to cross the River Wey and cross The Reeds Road. We'll head northwest across Farnham Heath and Bourne Wood and go through Lower Bourne along suburban streets back to the station.

(Images credits: The beach, Frensham Great Pond; Sandbank, Frensham Common; and Sandy tracks, Frensham Common: Photos © Alan Hunt (cc-by-sa/2.0); Path into Bourne Wood and Path on Tankersford Common: Photos © David Martin (cc-by-sa/2.0); Small Ford on Grange Road: Photo © Nigel Mykura (cc-by-sa/2.0); Frensham Little Pond and Frensham Little Pond view from the west side: Photo © Stefan Czapski (cc-by-sa/2.0). All images are copyrighted but are here credited to their copyright holders and are licensed for reuse under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA/2.0.)