Thursley Common
Children will love following the boardwalk, looking for wildlife such as dragonflies and lizards and walking to the play area in Thursley.
The beautiful boardwalk across the common
The Basics
Time: 35 minutes to complete the Dragonfly Trail on the boardwalks or 2 hours 10 minutes for the circular walk via Thursley.
Distance: 1.9 km to complete the Dragonfly Trail on the boardwalks or 7.9 km for the circular walk via Thursley.
Terrain: Mostly all flat boardwalks for the Dragonfly Trail. Sandy heathland paths, some quiet country lanes, road crossings and forestry tracks for the circular walk via Thursley.
Pushchair: A pushchair can easily complete the Dragonfly Trail. The walk to Thursley involves some sandy paths which would be tough with a pushchair and some sections that would be too narrow.
Dogs: They must be on short leads on the boardwalk and should not enter the water.
Refreshments: There are no refreshments or picnic tables at the common, but if you complete the walk to Thursley you can visit The Three Horseshoes, which has a children’s play area and views of the common.
Toilets: There are no public toilets on this route.
Public Transport: There is no public transport to this location.
Parking: Free car park at Moat Pond which can be busy at popular times (Postcode: GU8 6LW - W3W: ///depending.coherent.swim) . If it is full and you wish to do the circular walk, Thursley has a large car park next to the play area where you could start the walk instead.
There are plenty of opportunities for spotting wildlife off the side of the boardwalk
Like a phoenix from the ashes, the boardwalk across Thursley Common Nature Reserve rose again. Snaking its way from Moat Pond to Pudmore Pond across the lowland heath and marshes, this beautiful wooden structure appears to actually enhance the already spectacular natural scenery. This is a famed habitat for dragonflies, so look out for them in summer as well as plenty of other wetland wildlife. If you want a longer walk, we have also added a guide to reaching Thursley where you will find a quiet play area and a village pub.
The Routes
The Dragonfly Trail over the boardwalk on Thursley Common:
The Dragonfly Trail mostly follows the boardwalk in a simple circuit. From the car park, head off onto the common with the pond to your right and begin to walk around the pond in a clockwise direction. You will soon see the boardwalk beginning its journey to your left where there are also some interpretation boards.
Stick with the boardwalk in roughly a straight line until it comes to a junction and a spur of boardwalk heads off to the right. If you want to enjoy all sections of the boardwalk, then we recommend ignoring this for now and continuing forwards until you reach the end of the boardwalk. At this point, double back on yourself, returning to the aforementioned spur.
The spur will soon spit you out onto a rough path. As you follow this through a clump of trees and round the corner, you will be greeted by the pleasant sight of more boardwalk. Follow this, and along this section there is a boardwalk ‘cul-de-sac’ you can walk down to really get a feel of being atop the wetland.
After this section of boardwalk, continue forward and look out for the beautiful dragonfly sculpture on an old pylon. Take the right turn opposite, walking on boardwalk again. Follow it in the direction of the pond/road.
As you approach Moat Pond the boardwalk ends. Turn right to return to the car park, or turn left to continue your walk to Thursley, as described below.
To walk onwards to Thursley Village with a play area, pub* and historic cottages, as well as a route back along the forested edge of Hankley Common:
After turning left at the end of the boardwalk, continue straight along the sandy path. Ignore a blue bridleway marker to your right and keep going forward in the same direction. Just as you reach a thin spread of trees, the path will fork. One bends off to the left, but you should follow the right fork, which is more or less in the same direction you are travelling into the spindly trees. At a meeting of a number of paths, look for the blue bridleway arrow and follow this roughly straight on. The path will bring you down to the edge of the common with a barbed wire fence to your right and trees to your left.
The path narrows and becomes sandier until it brings you into a section of woodland. Just after a blue bridleway marker, the path will begin to veer round to the left and then will curve to the right again after the next marker. Keep right at the fork just after this and then go over a large drainage pipe under the path. The path begins to rise upwards and just before you arrive at the houses, turn right at the crosspath. This will bring you out into an open recreational space and the enclosed play area called Thor’s Den.
From the play area, walk up to the road and turn left. Cross the road when you arrive at the grassy triangle with the ‘Thursley’ sign standing in the middle (if you want to visit The Three Horseshoes, you will need to continue up the main street and then return to this point in the walk afterwards). Walk down the lane called The Lane on your right, passing all the cottages until the lane becomes a thin footpath going under trees with low posts to your left.
Ignore a fork to your right and continue when the path begins to descend steeply towards the road. Turn left at the road and follow it for a short while until you see the turning on your left to Smallbrook Farm. Follow the tarmac access road and then turn right where you see a public footpath sign that takes you along some old railway sleepers and over a stream. Veer left on the other side and continue upwards, going over a little wooden footbridge. The path will pass narrowly between a rhododendron hedge and pony paddocks before bringing you to the road.
Turn right at the road, following it for a few metres, before going left at Houndown Lane. Pass Hounmere House on your left and just after the house, turn right, following the blue bridleway arrow. Reach a tarmac road with MOD signage and go straight on by going around a large metal gate.
This entire section of the walk is the easiest to follow as the path is almost entirely straight, following a continuous forestry/access track. At one point, you will reach a crossroads, but should continue straight across. The first time you will need to deviate from this track is opposite the grand gates to Elsted Manor. You should turn right here and follow this muddier track out to the road and Moat Pond car park opposite.
*If you think the circular walk is too long for your children, then the drive to Thursely takes two minutes and the play area has a large, free car park.
Did you know?
Over 20 species of dragonfly and damselfly can be found in the nature reserve.
Thursley Common has been the victim of two devastating wildfires in recent years and the scars of this can be seen across the reserve. In 2006 60% of the common was burned and then in 2020, during a long hot summer, another wildfire burnt around a third of the reserve. Despite this destruction, it is incredible to see the resilience of nature and just how much regeneration has already taken place. The much loved boardwalk has also risen from the ashes, with the beautiful new structure being completed at the end of 2022. The Ramblers voted it England’s best path in 2024.
If you enjoyed this walk…
…try this one at Zebon Copse where you can also enjoy wildlife from a boardwalk
We are passionate about keeping The Ambling Path as a free resource available to everyone, forever. If you have enjoyed using our walking guides, then please consider leaving us a donation. This will help to cover our costs as well as rewarding the considerable time and effort needed to maintain the site. Thank you.
