Serpent Trail
The Serpent Trail is a 64 mile (103 km) long-distance off-road route in Surrey, West Sussex and Hampshire. It’s a beautiful long distance footpath through greensand hills, lowland heath, woodland and river meanders. Worldwide some of these habitats are rarer than rainforest. Follow the Serpent Trail waymarker discs to explore some of the most breathtaking countryside in the south-east of England.
Beautiful colour paintings will help you to identify the special birds, wild flowers, reptiles and insects that you might see. This guide also describes the wildlife, history and conservation of these habitats.
The name of the trail reflects the serpentine shape of the route. It starts with the serpent’s tongue in Haslemere High Street in Surrey. Then the route leads to the serpent’s head at Black Down in West Sussex. From there the body turns west, east, then west again along the greensand ridges. The trail snakes through Liphook, Petworth, Heyshott, Midhurst and Nyewood before finally reaching the tail at Petersfield in Hampshire. Public rights of way, private permissive routes and a few quiet roads link much of the Access land in this area.
FSC Serpent Trail was produced in partnership with South Downs National Park.
