England’s Pilgrims Way

From Farnham to Guildford

Day 4 – Distance officially listed at 10.5 miles. We walked 11 miles in 6 hours 45 minutes.

It felt great finally to walk the official distance listed in the book with only adding the mileage needed to reach our hotel which is off the trail.

Today was by far our warmest day at 70 degrees & towards the end, I wished I wasn’t wearing tights.

All morning the path took us beside a road. (Maybe why the mileage was correct.) We passed one beautiful home after another, each with flowers in full bloom. Without a doubt, May is the time to be in England.

Our first stop was at the St. John the Baptist church in Seale.

On the table where you get your pilgrim stamp there is always a guest book to sign. Today I noticed what someone had written from New Hampshire USA saying their parents were married in the church in 1942. Maybe an American WWII GI with a British bride?

Lunch outside the church. Look closely, I brought my Trader Joe’s peanut butter with me. 😋🤣

Other interesting sites along the way.

Our sign posts have now changed to North Downs Way. The rest of the way was through some nice shady woods.

Our next stop was a art gallery/tea shop where we enjoyed some ice cream.

The last 2 miles are always tough.

Almost at the end we visited this ancient church ruin just outside Guildford.

We left the Pilgrims Way path to enter Guildford along the River Wey to make our way to our hotel.

Guildford is another gem of a charming British town. Our hotel The Angel was once the stagecoach stop between London & Portsmouth.

The hotel’s oldest part is its stone vaulted undercroft that dates to the 1300s & still retains some of the original spiral staircase. It has been a hotel since Henry VIII’s reign in the 16th Century.

It has “Posting House” on its facade because it was a place where mail carriers changed horses. Initially, the Royal Mail was carried by boys on horseback who “Posted” meaning they changed their tired horse for a fresh one every 10 or 12 miles. That is why we still refer to the mail as “the post”.

Travelers could leave their personal horses to be cared for & kept at the “Livery Stables” also advertised on the facade.

The Act of Parliament or Tavern Clock hung in the lounge dates from 1688. It would have been very important both to hotel staff & guests as they awaited the arrival for scheduled stagecoach service; basically it served much like a station clock today.

Famous guests who stayed here include Charles Dickens, Lord Byron, Jane Austen, & Lord Nelson.

George Abbot from Guildford was among the translators who worked for King James I to make his Bible version. He funded building the town hospital in 1619.

Other charming sights in Guildford. So glad the Pilgrim Way brought us here. Otherwise, we would have never known to visit this picturesque & historical place.