Pilgrims Way as it passes underneath the old bridge that used to carry the A3 towards Portsmouth. The main carriageways have now been re-routed further west, over huge steel girders, supporting large concrete trays. This old bridge still carries the old road, but this is now merely the southern sliproad leaving the new A3.

This quaint little cottage sits quietly to the south of the Hogs Back, and bounds the Pilgrims Way just before the path enters a wooded area near the A3. There appears to be a small-holding at the back, with all sorts of produce being grown, and the odd goose wandering about.

They don't build walls like this in five minutes! Another little gem on the way out of Puttenham.

Some natural building materials on farm buildings on the way out of Puttenham......just playing with patterns really!

All ready for the return walk home from Puttenham, feeling the need to burn off some of those newly consumed calories. We decided to take a quicker, but steeper route home to save time, taking us back along the Pilgrims Way, up Down Lane, past the Watts Gallery, and up to the Farnham Road. A quick cut through to High View Road, along Manor Way, and over the recreation ground, where we split to go our separate ways.

Good job nobody decided they wanted a game of darts, would have added too much extra spice to our lunch! Bertie had another drink of water before snoozing peacfully under Anna's bench.

Proper pub grub! Bangers and Mash all round, so everybody is happy. Anna had a Pear Cider, and I had a pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord. First sip posed a question, second sip answered it....yup, that was the dregs from the bottom of the barrel. Anna looked uncomforatble that I was whizzing off to the bar to request a replacement. Fortunately for me, the bar staff were expecting trouble, as another pint had just been returned by another punter from the other end of the bar. Phew, it's always reassuring to know I have correctly diagnosed the problem, rather than just not like the taste!

Food was fabulous, first pint from new barrel hit the spot, and we both enjoyed a really lovely time at The Good Intent.

Watts Gallery is being restored, but the Watts Tearoom state that it is open, business as usual. Yeah, right!! Open unless the day it was open last just happened to be a Bank Holiday Monday, in which case it would be closed on the Tuesday instead. It doesn't normally open on a Monday anyway! I was impressed that Anna took this sad news on the chin, and we resloved to continue our walk along the Pilgrims Way, for a pub lunch at The Good Intent at Puttenham.

Hmmmmm....signs of civilisation (?) as we walk down firmer gound, approaching the Watts Gallery.

Nearly at the ancient crossway.

Lookin' up!

Anna has a very keen eye for spotting fungi however well they try to blend in with the background!

Fungi flourish on the woodland floor, disguised amongst the fading leaves of former years.

Backlit side path from Loseley Park.

Old victim of The Great Storm!

Walking though woodlands is like travelling back through time. I have traversed these paths many times when my family was young, and it's good to see some familiar old stumps that have gained more interest as they weather the elements.

Vertical dark pine trunks, and backlighting on the green ferns adds a new dimension to our walk.

The sandy path rises through the woodland, and the depth of the rut gets bigger! Loseley Park Estate is off to the left of this image.

Silver Birches, silvery sand and a deeply worn ancient pathway leading westwards along the North Downs Way

Once you start looking, they pop out allover the place! As we turn towards Watts gallery along the North Downs Way, the path turns to sand. This wears away very quickly, and the gulleys that form are refilled with fresh sand from time to time.

Close-up of friendly fungus along the Way!

Anna has a knack of finding all sorts of Fungi to photograph along the way. I shall be interested to see if any of her images end up on her blog, although it might seem a strange mix with all the cupcakes and afternoon teas!

Bertie taking a well earned rest at the at the junction of Sandy Lane on the Pilgrims Way, while Anna takes a phone call!

Looking northwards from the North Downs Way/Pilgrims Way, past the old studio at Conduit Farm.

Closer view of the transmitters on top of The Mount.

Another shot of these interesting looking flowers climbing the fence, with the blackened bean field providing a helpful contrast as a backdrop.

Looking North from the stile at the bottom of the path, just next to Conduit Farm. The transmitters can be seen for miles around, and deal with TV, radio and mobile phone signal in the area. The ancient route to Guildford follows the line of trees on the horizon.

Looking northwards, back up the chalk path, towards the ancient route to Guildford to the east, along the top of The Mount. The path is to the left of this hedgerow, which is rapidly overgrowing into fully formed trees.

Walking through our beautiful countryside reminds me that I ought one day to make a proper study of the names and life cycles of the flora and fauna to be encountered. Then I would be able to put a meaningful comment about some of the things that I see. I am pretty sure that this one is closed related to the barbed wire family though.....

Approaching the final slope down past Conduit Farm, to link up with the North Downs Way/Pilgrims Way. I passed this way a month or so ago, and I think the crop in the field below was of Broad Beans. Why it is all so blackened now, I'm not sure, but maybe that is all that is left after beans have been harvested. Either that or just ready for Blackbean Sauce!

Levelling out, halfway down the first slope, still walking southwards towards Conduit Farm.

This is the southerly view from the top of the chalky path leading down the slope towards Conduit farm from The Mount. If you look carefully on the left ofthe skyline in this image you can see the charactaristic spires and pinnacles of Charterhouse School rising above the woodland. It the extreme far hazy distance, to the right of centre, you can just make out the escarpment at Blackdown, near Haslemere. With the naked eye you can also see a transmitter mast to the left of this escarpment, which kindly pointed to the location of my former furniture-making workshops.

Pinch and a punch....!

Seemed like a good idea to start a new blog today. The air feels very warm and optomistic, and I feel sure there is an Indian summer on the way. Had a long overdue walk with Anna yesterday. The intention was to wallk over the hills from home to have tea and cakes for elevensies at The Watts Tearoom, beside the Watts Gallery. As it had been open the day before, which was a Bank Holiday Monday, it was CLOSED as we arrived on the Tuesday. A quick chat with those on site, to check on progress of the rennovations, and we decided that we would continue on our walk, along the Pilgrims Way, for a well deserved lunch at the pub in Puttenham, appropriately named The Good Intent!

The photos here are some I took along the way, and are just to remind me of a glorious walk I had with my daughter, and Bertie the dog.