A Road Less Taken

I had intended to go to a local DIY store for some paint with a walk around Waverley Abbey on the way. That plan didn't happen!  I got to the abbey carpark OK, but then rather than head along the River Wey to the abbey ruins I decided to go in the opposite direction.  My hastily plotted 2.5mile route took me to some new places: Mother Ludham's Cave (extras) to the top of Crooksbury Hill via some earthworks known as the Soldiers Ring.

The small cave in sandstone cliffs is now home to bats, and so off-limits, but has a number of legends associated with it, the main one being that of Mother Ludham.  The simplest version is that Mother Ludlam would loan utensils and that a large cauldron was borrowed but not returned; she became enraged and the borrower, scared by her anger, sought refuge in Frensham Church. The cauldron associated with this legend remains in the church to this day, though is more likely to have been used for brewing ale!

The main image is part of the view across Surrey and East Hampshire to the South Downs from the trig point at the top of Crooksbury Hill. Having ascended some 450ft through the woodland, planted during the 1800's to enclose the land and prevent use by the locals, you emerge to this wonderful vista.   I will do this again sometime, though will fine a route that doesn't involve as much walking along roads!