Bentley Station and Binsted

Richard Clayton

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This is a walk which we have planned not only for walkers who arrive by car, but also for those who are happy to catch the train where possible. Bentley is in Hampshire, but is not far from Farnham, in Surrey. It lies beside the north branch of the Wey, a river that is also more associated with Surrey.

Arthur Young (travel writer 1741 – 1820) calls the vale between Farnham and Alton the finest ten miles in England. 'Here is a river with fine meadows on each side of it and with rising grounds on each outside of the meadows, those grounds having some hop-gardens and some pretty woods'. The hop gardens have now gone, but the river and hills are still here to enjoy!

The walk takes in an SSSI famous for its butterflies and leads you up on to chalk downs and along hangers typical of this part of Hampshire. It starts from a surviving railway line – electrified in 1937 incidentally – and crosses one that did not survive beyond Beeching, but which may have a future after all – see Additional Information.

Two hours into the walk, you reach the attractive village of Binsted, where you may visit the church and the grave of Montgomery of Alamein. A shorter return journey, just over an hour's walk, takes you back along the valley and past Monty's old house, Isington Mill.

England - South England - Hampshire - North Downs

Features

Birds, Butterflies, Church, Flowers, Great Views, Hills or Fells, Pub, Public Transport, River, Wildlife, Woodland

8/26/2020 - andy hasted

Very pleasant walk and dog friendly with only one easy to get under stile. At point 5 the three stiles referred to are gone and there are now a couple of metal gates with new buildings either side. Walk between the buildings through one gate to the next one where there is a faint footpath marker. At point 25 you will find Mill farm organic shop which is open wed-sunday and sells hot and cold drinks etc. Its quite a diversion to Monty's house and really nothing to see. Not recommended!

1/6/2019 - roland brooks

We did this walk today and can thoroughly recommend it. Its quite a gentle walk with no major climbs. It was a bit muddy in places, but hey, this is Early January. Parking is by Ringo or machine £2.50 for sat or sun. Also can confirm the lady at the stables is still present. We did this with our 3 yr old Collie who is pretty good at stiles but there are not too many as most are kissing gates. Pub on map in Binstead still shut. :-( Walk is mostly on paths and tracks but did have a fair crop of sheep and horses to negotiate. So calling this dog friendly but with care.

6/9/2012 - Pete Steele

A beautiful walk but not very dog friendly due to the stiles. If your dog can jump and is used to climbing stiles like mine you'll be fine but otherwise you'll have to lift! Be careful of point (7) the stiles are in a poor state. The last stile when you come out of the old rail ditch is broken and propped up with a stick. The stick is hidden and gives way when you step over the stile and may well cause an injury if you tumble to the floor. Otherwise a beautiful walk and well worth the visit.

3/11/2012 - Susan Pyne

A very enjoyable and varied walk, though muddy in places where horse riders had churned up the footpath. A few wonky stiles to watch out for - especially at waypoint 6. The fingerpost at 22 has broken and is lying on its side, though the track is easy to find. Detours to see Monty's grave and house definitely add interest to the walk. Parking at Bentley Station is free at weekends. All in all highly recommended.

9/25/2011 - Mark Bailey

Great walk and for once no traffic noise - a real plus when walking in the south east. Highlight was the Monty Grave and the beautifull mill. Seven miles and very easy - we did it in two hours twenty so with time at the Church - would probably say one of the easier walks. Def' worth checking out.

6/1/2010 - Chris Christodoulou

30/05/10 Chris Christodoulou: We repeated this walk again today and it enjoyed even more than last time, conditions were sunny and breezy. Unfortunately we didn’t see any butterflies in the conservation area. The parking machine at the station took our money this time, we also experienced the smells mentioned earlier by Steve Harris this time round and concluded it was manure laying. The `Cedars'pub only serves food `till 5pm on Sundays. At 17 when you reach the fingerpost, you should turn right here toward the Church spire although it isn’t confirmed in the instructions. It's also worth taking the slight detour at 25 to see Isington Mill, it's such a pretty and peaceful spot. All in all a great walk, do it on a fine day to get the most enjoyment from it. Chris.

6/1/2008 - Chris Christodoulou

31/5/08 Chris Christodoulou: This is an excellent walk with fine views especially so at this time of year, we were fortunate enough to have an excellent day. Previous comments re waypoint 9 were a help as we found difficulty finding this path as it was densly overgrown with nettles etc and not at all obvious, it leads down the side of the last building. Fortunately we didn't experience the bad smells later! We also had the same adventure with the ticket machine at the station. The Cedars is an open all day pub as is the Jolly Gardeners which serves good food after 6pm, it's a short drive from the station and marked on you WW map.

5/18/2008 - Stephen Harris

Generally a fine walk. Perfect directions and varied interesting sections make for a nice afternoon out. Be careful not to stray into the stables proper at waypoint 9 as we did or you will be at the mercy of the owner who shouted at us!. If you find yourself walking with stables on your left you have gone wrong so retrace back to the path and walk about 25 yards and you will see a way through the nettles. There was a rather horrible smell between points 14 and 19 probably horse manure and / or pesticides, quite nauseating.!. Aside from this a very good walk and about the right distance. I would rate this as easy, only moderate because of the length!. Parking at the station is free on Sunday's for rail users but the machine refused my £1.50 three times so I guess it must be free and we had no problems. Well done. 8/10.