Pitch Hill

About
Gallery
Parking
Poo bins?
Self-guided walk

About

Pitch Hill is part of the Hurtwood, a privately owned woodland to which the public has had access since 1926, as granted by Reginald Bray, the Lord of the Manor of Shere. The Hurtwood got its name from its carpet of Hurts, the local name for billberries (blackberries.) The area is managed by the Friends of the Hurtwood, a registered charity.

Pitch Hill itself is a narrow sandstone spur that rises from the village of Peaslake to a dramatic 257m high summit with fabulous views to the South Downs. Apparently, George Harrison’s song ‘Here Comes the Sun’ was inspired by this view.

The whole Hurtwood area is a mecca for mountain biking, but particularly Pitch Hill, so watch out for bikes using the steep narrow tracks that cross major paths.

Gallery: What’s it like here?

Parking

Free parking in one of the many car parks dotted around the Hurtwood. This car park is known as Hurtwood car park 3: Pitch Hill

WHAT3WORDs: https://w3w.co/fact.affair.flesh

GOOGLEMAPS LINK: https://maps.app.goo.gl/5QEr542RmB3y5rGG9

NEAREST POSTCODE: GU6 7NN is the nearest but it’s a little bit out

Poo bins?

None. Please take waste with you.

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Self-guided walk

Here is a Footpath app route from Hurtwood car park 3: Pitch Hill. Also on AllTrails.

Length: approximately 2.2 miles/3.6 km
Terrain: Woodland, mainly on wide, main paths. Some can be a bit muddy in places, other parts of the route are sandier, quite rugged underfoot, undulating route with a couple of slopes including a downward one that is fairly steep in places.
Stiles/kissing gates? No stiles, no kissing gates.

Park up and walk to the far rear of the car park (opposite end to the entrance) and take the path that exits from the far right-hand corner. This path heads away from the car park through the woods.

Stay on this path, ignoring any coming off in either direction. After quite a long way, you’ll pass a fallen tree, which lies along the right-hand-side of the path.

A little way after this fallen tree, there’ll be a path off to the right, which heads diagonally away from you and up the slope. Take this path.

Halfway up, there’ll be a path intersecting left-to-right. Go straight across this and continue up the hill. It gets really quite rugged underfoot.

At the top of the hill, you’ll meet with another main path crossing left-to-right. Continue straight ahead on the main path directly in front of you. This path has trees on to the right but to the left, it’s just bracken and ferns.

At the end of the path, turn right onto another really wide, main path.

You now stay on this path for ages, ignoring any other paths left or right, small or large.

After quite a long way, the path will run alongside a hedge, behind which there’s a house and its garden. When you get to the wooden barrier that goes across the path, continue straight ahead onto the tarmac drive (which turns into the house on the right).

After a short way on the tarmac path, look out for a marker post on the right-hand-side, which has green arrows and a sign for the Greensand Way. Turn off the tarmac here and follow the little path into the woods and up the slope.

The path winds up the hill and gets quite narrow at points. Downhill to your left, you can see the tarmac drive continuing below you. The slope will steepen a little and be quite rugged as it takes you up the hill. At the top, it comes out by another marker post with a green arrow and Greensand Way sign. Turn left here.

Walk ahead to the bench, where there is a view over to the left looking towards Ewhurst.

When you’re done at the bench, continue ahead on the wide path until you get to a fork where the path on the left has wooden barriers across it to stop cyclists using it. Take this fork and follow the narrow path along the side of the hill. At its end, you’ll pass between two more wooden barriers.

Once through the wooden barriers, you’re at a fork, take the left-hand path and follow it ahead to the Pitch Hill viewpoint, passing a wooden sign that says ‘footpath only’.

At the viewpoint, there is a stone information point and a bench. I don’t really think much of the view here but there is a board explaining what you can apparently see.

When you’re done, go back down the side of the bench and this time, with a post ahead of you, turn left onto a path that takes you up to another viewpoint where there is a Hurtwood donation stone, a trig point and, set to the left, a bench under a nice tree.

Enjoy the view towards Cranleigh and then continue on your way on the main path, passing the two stones.

The path then goes back into the woods. It will take you all the way back to the car park – but do take care, there are a couple of steep bits, where tree roots are quite handy to use a bit like steps.

The path brings you to the front end of the car park next to the entrance.