The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Thursley

The old A3, historically the Portsmouth Road, was a vital 67-mile artery linking London to England’s premier naval port. Its strategic military importance peaked during the Napoleonic Wars, though it was notorious in the 18th century for daring highwaymen and smugglers. Turnpiked to accelerate horse-drawn mail coaches, the route was officially designated as the A3 in 1922. For decades, it suffered severe bottlenecks, most famously the narrow single-carriageway wrapping tightly around the Devil’s Punch Bowl. The opening of the Hindhead Tunnel finally bypassed this stretch, allowing the old road to be reclaimed by nature as scenic trails.

Erected in 1786 along the Old Portsmouth Road, the Sailor’s Stone is a historic boundary marker commemorating a notorious local tragedy. It marks the exact spot where an unknown seafaring traveler was brutally murdered and robbed by three men he had just befriended in a nearby pub. The stone features a stern biblical inscription condemning the crime and features a famous, ominous curse on its reverse warning anyone against moving it.

Gibbet Hill is the second-highest point in Surrey, offering an extraordinary viewpoint that stands out within the Devil’s Punch Bowl landscape. Standing beside the historic Celtic cross, you look out over a breathtaking panoramic landscape of rolling hills, deep valleys, and open heathland. On crisp, clear days, the scenery opens up dramatically, allowing you to trace the horizon all the way to the iconic skyline of central London, miles to the northeast.

Built around 1910 by shipbuilder Viscount Pirrie, the Temple of the Four Winds was a grand stone hunting lodge and viewing pavilion. After falling into severe disrepair, the unsafe structure was dismantled in 1966. Today, only its restored stone plinth remains on Hurt Hill, offering magnificent, sweeping views.

Erected in 1851 by judge Sir William Erle, the granite Celtic cross on Gibbet Hill was built to dispel local fears of evil spirits. It marks the notorious site where three highwaymen were hanged and displayed in chains in 1787 for the brutal murder of an unknown sailor.

Looking out from the rim of the Devil’s Punch Bowl, you’re treated to a spectacular vista of a massive, natural hollow carved into the Surrey Hills. The sweeping valley below is alive with a colorful patchwork of purple heather, bright gorse, and thick woods, while sharp eyes might catch the London skyline far in the distance on a clear day.

The most typical feature in the design of Celtic crosses is the circle connecting the horizontal and vertical bars. This is sometimes interpreted as a symbol of the sun; in this sense, Celtic crosses are sometimes also called sun crosses. I found the following meditative reflection on this topic while working as a chaplain in the Protestant deanery of Nassauer Land: "The sun cross is a special symbol of Celtic Christianity. It can become a symbol of spirituality. + What you can practice – the horizontal arm of the cross. Your conscious rituals, prayers, quiet moments. The attention you give to the sacred. + What happens to you – the vertical arm of the cross. Experiences that touch and transform you. Moments in which you sense something greater than yourself. + What gives you interpretation – the circle that encloses both. Words, stories, and traditions that help you understand and share these experiences. Spirituality connects you to sources of strength that reach deeper than what you can see. For me as a Christian, spirituality is a word for encountering the God who revealed himself in Jesus."

Big views which are rare in these parts!