Serpent Trail

A 64 mile (108 km) route starting at Haslemere and ending at Petersfield.

Tell me more

This serpentine shaped route snakes through the beautiful West Sussex heathland.

Find us

Visit the iMap for route details.

- In the blue 'Search' field on the left, select City, Town or Village from the drop-down list.

- Enter Midhurst > Search.

- Under Local Information, select 'Walks within 5km'.

- Select Serpent Trail > Further information from the options provided.

Route information

Start/finish

  • Haslemere High Street - Grid ref: SU 905331
  • Petersfield - Grid ref: SU 754226

For use by

Access to the trail is granted to walkers. The trail uses public rights of way, private permissive routes and a few quiet roads, which link much of the access land in this area.

Nearest locations

Petworth and Midhurst.

Terrain

Heathland. 

Highlights

Waymarked by Serpent Trail discs, the route showcases the work of the Sussex Wealden Greensand Heaths Project and highlights the outstanding landscape of the Greensand hills. The trail 'snakes' by Liphook, Milland, Fernhurst, Petworth, Fittleworth, Duncton, Heyshott, Midhurst, Stedham and Nyewood to finally reach the serpent's 'tail' at Petersfield.

Transport

Maps

Information about useful leaflets, booklets and maps is available from the Long Distance Walkers Association website.

About the Serpent Trail

The official guide is from the South Downs National Park Authority.

  • The Serpent trail passes through a number of National Trust sites including Black Down, Marley Common, Woolbeding Common and Lavington Common. Visit the National Trust for more information.
  • The Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) works on several heaths to restore and recreate heathland on the greensand. SWT sites on the route include Stedham Common, parts of Iping Common, Burton and Chingford Ponds and The Mens. Visit Sussex Wildlife Trust for more information.
  • The Serpent Trail would not exist if it wasn't for the hard work and dedication of the heathland volunteers.
  • Where you see the open access symbol, you can leave the trail and walk, picnic, observe wildlife, run or climb within the mapped area. You can find further information on open access land on GOV.UK.