Discover Hidden Hindhead on the Devil’s Punch Bowl Walk in the Surrey Hills

Circular Walk at the Devil’s Punch Bowl

The Devil’s Punch Bowl is a well-known beauty spot in the town of Hindhead in the Surrey Hills. It is a National Trust site offering visitors the chance to enjoy spectacular views across the Surrey Weald and explore the area on woodland walks.

You will find five signposted walks to choose from. They vary in length from a one-mile to a three-mile trail across open heathland and shady woodland. The walks cater to all abilities, so you will surely find one suitable for you.

Sailors Stroll is the shortest walk. It’s an easy one-mile return trail from the car park to the Celtic Cross viewpoint. It’s waymarked with blue directional circles helping to keep you on the right trail.

Hidden Hindhead is a more challenging three-mile walk with a mixture of slight inclines and flat woodland paths. It starts from the car park and is waymarked with pink directional circles. It follows the same route as the Sailors Stroll and continues along part of the Devil’s Punch Bowl ridge and through Hindhead Common.

Fun Fact:

The old A3 motorway used to run through the middle of the Devil’s Punch Bowl and Hindhead Commons. In 2011, the Hindhead Tunnel was opened taking the A3 traffic under the common and skirting the edge of the punch bowl, therefore returning the areas of the previous motorway to their natural beauty. The Hindhead Tunnel is the longest under-road tunnel in England.

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Discover the Hidden Hindhead Trail

On my visit to the Devil’s Punch Bowl, I chose to walk the three-mile (5k) Hidden Hindhead Trail. The loop trail passes by the Sailors Stone (more about this spot in the post), Gibbet Hill, Celtic Cross, Temple of the Four Winds (don’t get too excited, there is only a base marker left) and through woodlands to Hindhead Common.

The walk took me two and a half hours, with stops along the way to enjoy the views. There are plenty of directional markers throughout these walks to keep you on the correct trail, so there is no fear of getting lost.

Why is this area called the Devil’s Punch Bowl?

One mythical explanation for naming this part of the Surrey Hills countryside is that the Devil scooped up a handful of earth and hurled it in anger at Thor, God of Thunder. The depression the earth made as it dropped onto the land shaped the Devil’s Punch Bowl. Interestingly, the local village of Thursley means Thor’s Place!

Another legend tells that the Devil became annoyed by the number of Christian churches in Sussex during the Middle Ages. In anger, he dug a channel from the English Channel through the South Downs to flood the area and stop more churches from being built. The flooding resulted in the crater shape of the Devil’s Punch Bowl.

A more realistic and scientific explanation is that the deep impression is a result of erosion caused by springs beneath the earth. Over millennia the shape has formed into how we see the Devil’s Punch Bowl today.

Helpful Information about the Devil’s Punch Bowl

Address: London Road, Hindhead, Surrey GU26 6AB

• The National Trust car park is open from dawn to dusk and costs £4 or free to National Trust members. I always pay for parking via the National Trust App, which means if you take longer on your walk, you can top up your car parking fee as you go.
• The Devil’s Punch Bowl National Trust cafe is open daily from 9 am – 5 pm
• The toilets are available when the cafe is open.
• There is a large picnic area behind the cafe.
• Dogs are welcome, and there are bridleways for horse riders throughout Hindhead Common.

You will notice this wooden sculpture by the picnic area and the Devil’s Punch Bowl information board.

It is one of the sculptures that make up the Surrey Hills Sculpture Trail, and you can find another ten similar designs dotted around Surrey. They are by the sculptor Walter Bailey and are themed on plant seedpods.

Places to stay in Hindhead

Want to spend a few days in Hindhead and the Surrey Hills? The Devil’s Punch Bowl Hotel is across from the NT car park and offers comfortable accommodation in a historic building dating back to the 1800s.

For groups of ten, this stunning luxury Surrey Hills Getaway is a great place for friends or family to stay with views overlooking the woodland valley. Or how about The Old Cooks House a lovely 2-bedroom holiday property with its own tennis court!

And a short drive away are the Merry Harriers shepherd huts, and they even have a herd of llamas you can take for a walk. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Hidden Hindhead Walk

Leaving the car park, we headed along the pathway that was once the Old Portsmouth Road until we reached Sailors Stone.

Sailors Stone

One thing I didn’t expect to see on my Hidden Hindhead walk was a headstone, yet here it was!

The stone headstone commemorates the murder of an unknown sailor in the 1700s. The poor sailor had bought his assailants a beer with his earnings; they then followed and murdered him for his clothes and money.

They were subsequently caught, tried and hanged on nearby Gibbet Hill. Their bodies were left there for three years to deter other would-be murderers of their fate!

The Sailors Stone is in a beautiful spot overlooking the Devil’s Punch Bowl, and a nearby bench is a peaceful place to take in the views. The sailor’s final resting place is in the church of St. Michael and All Angels in the village of Thursley.

Gibbet Hill

Continuing from Sailors Stone, the pathway takes you to Gibbet Hill, the site of the gallows where the sailor’s murderers were hung.

The gallows were 9 metres high, and criminals would be left to rot on them to deter highwaymen and other criminals from what fate would befall them.

The Celtic Cross

Follow the pathway to the left-hand of this sign, and you will reach the Celtic Cross, erected in 1851 to dispel the fears of residents of evil spirits being present around this site. The granite cross also marks the end of the one-mile Sailors Stone Trail.

If you get a chance, look at the base of the cross. There is a Latin inscription on each side meaning the following:

POST TENEBRUS LUX – Light after darkness

IN OBITU PAX – Peace in passing away

IN LUCE SPES – Hope in light

POST OBITUM SALUS – Salvation after death

Gibbet Hill Viewpoint

Gibbet Hill Viewpoint is the second-highest hill in Surrey, the first being Leith Hill, and a part of the Greensand Way, a 108-mile route from Haslemere in Surrey to Hamstreet in Kent.

This point has some incredible far-reaching views across the Surrey Hills landscape.

You will find a Hindhead Commons marker in the centre of Gibbet Hill and several benches to take a break. To the right of the white marker is a steep downhill pathway that continues on the Hidden Hindhead Trail.

One look at the pathway and you might be put off in continuing the Hidden Hindhead walk, but it is not too bad and evens out quite quickly.

Just remember what goes down must come up, and there are a couple of steep ascents at the end of the trail.

At the bottom of the hill, you will come to a fork in the woods. Follow the pink marker, which will take you through the centre of a clearing of huge trees.

Once you have made your way through the trees, you will come to the Temple of Four Winds.

Temple of the Four Winds

Sadly, only the base of this once grand hunting lodge is left. It was owned by Viscount Pirrie, chairman of the shipbuilding company that built the Titanic.

His elaborate lodge was a place for entertaining wealthy hunting parties and was located primarily for its outstanding views across his estate and deer park.

Nowadays, the lodge has long gone, but the views remain the same, and a bench by the site allows you to sit and enjoy them for yourself.

With your back to the Temple of the Four Winds, follow the pink Hidden Hindhead marker down a long pathway passing a coppiced wood on your right-hand side. At the bottom, you will need to turn right, past a hidden lake.

Take a moment to look at the tree reflections in the lake; they are quite lovely.

After the lake, the route got a little muddy, which is a good reminder to ensure you wear the correct footwear.

Following on, we headed through a gate into a small green open space and proceeded up a slight hill.

At the top of the hill, we found a wooden bench where we stopped for a while and enjoyed a flask of mulled wine; yes, we still have leftovers from Xmas!

Back on the trail, we followed the pink marker to the right of the bench – do not take the steep pathway directly next to the bench.

After some more incline walking, we passed a few houses to our left-hand side and eventually came to an open heathland with more fabulous views across the Surrey Hills.

Again, there were many places to stop and rest for a while.

The Carved Bench

We eventually came to a fork in the route with a wooden bench at its centre. Take a closer look at the carvings on the seat of a dragonfly, lizard and mouse.

Afterwards, take the left-hand pathway to continue along the Hidden Hindhead Trail.

Toward the end of the Hidden Hindhead walk, you will come to a statue and, beyond it, the car park. Don’t cut short your walk by taking this pathway, or you might miss the ponies on Hindhead Common.

Instead, walk straight across the pathway, leaving the statue on your left-hand side. I’m not sure what this statue is about other than the Celtic cross!

Exmoor Ponies on Hindhead Common

You may be lucky and see the Exmoor ponies grazing on the common.

They are not owned by ‘commoners’ as with the wild ponies in the New Forest but have been brought here to help stop the spread of birch and bracken across the heathland.

These species of plant spread after commoner pony grazing stopped in the 1900s. The area is being restored to its former glory by grazing the Exmoor ponies on Hindhead Common.

Follow the pathway through the common and back to the start of the Hidden Hindhead Walk – you made it!

Before you leave, stand at the viewpoint and enjoy one last look at the beautiful Devil’s Punch Bowl.

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