Midhas one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Midhas here.

I did this route from Haslemere to Midhurst, after a period of wet weather. In general, this route has issues with accuracy, as the route does not follow the paths outlined and therefore is actually longer by quite a distance. The walk started off quite muddy, so waterproof boots with good grip are a must. After getting to Wadesmarsh Farmhouse, the route tells you to turn east and then south, but the connection to the public footpath is cut off. Whether this is by someone to cut off access to the public or if there were issues with the footpath, I'm not sure. So I backtracked and followed the road until reaching the public footpath near the border of Lye Wood. Unfortunately, the path just east of Shalford Copse is a complete swamp during wet conditions, so we had to go back northwards and go east on the public bridleway to Bell Road. While there was a footpath on the road, it was quite busy and unpleasant to walk on. I appreciate that's not part of the route, but there might be another alternative to this if the first option is impassable! (We didn't have time to keep diverting due to time constraints) I rejoined the route around Fenhurst. It was going fairly well until we reached the merging with Midhurst Road, where there was no protected footpath and you were navigating speeding drivers and hedges/trees on the side. It isn't for a long time, but it does feel quite dangerous. But after this, the route soon joins the Serpent Trail, which is a lovely part of the walk. From there the route goes through Easebourne and past the Polo Fields and Cowdray ruins, which are really beautiful. It's then a very lovely entrance into Midhurst. Overall, the last 1/3 of the route is gorgeous and 5 stars, but the first 1/2-2/3 can be quite unpleasant, more around 1-2 stars.

Nice route up and out of Midhurst on the Cowdray Estate and then down into the valley around Fernhurst before the mostly uphill stretch into Haslemere.
A couple of nice pubs en route at Henley and Fernhurst, plus a cafe at the cricket pavillion in Fernhurst.
Paths generally in good condition except for one section of byway north of Fernhurst past Upper Sopers that was extremely muddy - very hard to pick a route that didn't involve being at least ankle deep in sticky mud! We did walk this in mid-May after a few weeks of rain so whether or not its always this bad, I'm not sure.
The main issue with this route though is a short but nasty section where you have to walk along the busy A286 just south of Fernhurst. This is a busy road at the best of times and there is no pavement and barely any verge to use, and due to the bendy nature of the road, the cars and trucks have little or no time to adjust their line or speed for pedestrians. Dangerous!
Other than that - just a few stiles to negotiate, some of which were in a poor state.
I would recommend using the bridleway across Valewood park (NT land) between Wadesmarsh Farmhouse and Stedlands Farm, rather than walking along Fernden Lane as the Slow Way currently proposes.

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