Midhurst Footpath Companions
Walking in Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey.

Fernhurst walk on 4th June 2025

Starting from the recreation ground car park we walked across the Midhurst to Haslemere road onto Vann Road and took the footpath towards Hawksfold Farm.  On to Lower Hawksfold, across fields and into Amon’s Copse and more fields until the footpath crossroad near Lower North Park Farm where we turned north.  On entering Furnace Woods we stopped at the Fernhurst Iron Works and Gun Foundry remains for our coffee break. This  is one of the best preserved sites of its type in south-east England.

The Pond was the source of water to power the water wheel which worked the bellows to heat the furnace sufficiently to melt iron ore. Iron making was taking place from the 16th to the 18th Century throughout the Weald and it is said that this was the start of the Industrial Revolution. Iron manufacture in southern England only stopped when coke was developed as a much hotter fuel in the north of England.

The whole area has many hard chips of slag in the ground, a by-product of the furnace process. Reaching Vann Road again we turned west before taking the footpath to the right into Oakreads Wood and then east towards Greenhill House and back to Fernhurst.  Lunch was at The Red Lion on the Fernhurst Green.

There is to be an open weekend in September at the site of the Fernhurst iron works.:- Open day at the furnace site

Waiting nonchalantly for the rest of us to cross

Crossing our first stream

Wild Orchid - Common Spotted?

Searching for more wild Orchids

Walking through the wild flower meadow

Are you sure the path doesn’t go that way?

Iron Foundry Mill Pond

Iron foundry channels for the water wheels and a pit for vertically casting cannon

Piece of slag from the furnace, by-product of iron making

I’m sure there’s a path here somewhere

Crossing the field…

…to pastures new.

Crossing a stream

5.6 mile route from Fernhurst

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