London to Portsmouth may be quicker since the tunnel, but this unique old stretch of road gave a picturesque pause in time for weary road users with plenty of amenities. I miss it .
I totally agree with you, as I used to play in that area as a kid some 60 years ago, whilst living in Grayshott. But sadly as in life we have to move on to accommodate the huge growth in our population, leading to millions of additional vehicles on the roads. How many times do we say, “it’s not like the good old days “.
@@MikeBeelthat’s because it isn’t, I was born in 65 and remember going through the devils punch bowl on the way to holiday with my parents, good times, no computer games or phones in the car, just ‘are we there yet?’ 😂
Oh they always do that. Any excuse: Invasive species; returning to Medieval woodland, wrong type of trees....Forestry Commission! More like No-Forestry Commission. Just making work for their tree cutting mates.
@@chrisst8922 Actually it is to protect the environment from further damage, if you have invasive species which are non-native then they can take over the whole area and kill all native wildlife. Fact check before you make comments on matters.
I was born on the Isle of Wight and moved to London in 1981. I used to drive up and down the A3 almost weekly and watched it change for years. At one time the only serious bit of dual carriageway was between Guildford and London. The approach to Hindhead in both directions was always blighted with tailbacks even though the bit around the Devils punchbowl was a beautiful drive. due to the scenery. I believe the tunnel system was concieved because of all of the road protests, especially the M3 going through natural beauty spots near Winchester anyway I'm glad they did build it. I moved down here to Bath twenty years ago which itself had many road protests when they cut through Solsbury hill for the A46, so have never got to use the new tunnel through Hindhead but now I have seen this maybe it's time to take a look at the Devil's Punchbowl again.
Bath bypass was joke, sad the missing section from A46 to A36 was never done,Bath would be a better place today, & Cleveland Bridge not built for carrying modern traffic, wouldn't be in such a bad state,you can only patch it up for so long...
The tunnel is a major improvement traffic wise. The renaturing of the punchbowl is also a great project to allow people and wildlife to enjoy the punchbowl as it should be. But at times I wished that the old was still there as an alternative for when they close the tunnels.
Very nice video, DRIVEN around there many times before it closed. Also stopped many times in the small laybys to look at the views. One day I'll go back to see it.
My village was by passed in 1991 and the end of heavy traffic and traffic noise was a blessed relief. Any place that is by passed surely welcomes the lack of traffic.
@@_starfiend By pases are usually very welcome by people who have to live beside a very busy road, but some businesses like pubs can suffer. I do know of a pub/restaurant that had to close as 80% of its passing trade went.
@@Glenn1967ful Yes, we were, until we realise that it killed our village. And not just pubs, also petrol stations, small shops and cafes, fast-food places, exhaust and tyre places. If the town or village is too small, a bypass can kill it. Hindhead is large enough to survive, and has the added bonus of being right in the national trust area, not all small villages are that lucky. Often the petrol station is the garage is the tyre place is the small shop and cafe. Bypasses can be good, but there's always unintended consequences.
@@_starfiend Mind you the big killer for pubs is the price of beer. I can buy two 660ml bottles of Staropramen for $ 4.50 in a supermsrket, a pint on draught costs £ 4.60.
Such a shame that Devils punch bowl is not visible anymore. I drove around it in my childhood. I revisited southern England last year after 40yrs absence, so many quaint villages now bypassed.
Loads of accidents there when it was a dual carriageway all the way round. The wrecks were dragged into what is now Barron's the BMW dealer. I worked there in my school holidays cleaning cars. It was a Datsun dealer then and Opel before that.
Wow, I remember the Devils punch bowl. It made for an interesting drive. Great views definitely. But I do understand why the tunnel was required. It’s allowed nature to take over what is an amazing nature reserve.
The long walk through the tunnel ( took about 20 minutes ! ) , before it opened was a ( never to be repeated ) fun day out .... the little road track is still there ... it leads to Gibbet hill , past the cursed Sailor's stone ..................
The public have access, so anyone playing with a motor vehicle needs to be properly licensed and insured. It is classified as a byway and off road cars and bikes can still use it, which we do in complete safety.
I always thought it stupid to grub up the old road. A major terrorist attack on the new tunnel and the subsequent diversion will be about 50 miles around.
London to Portsmouth may be quicker since the tunnel, but this unique old stretch of road gave a picturesque pause in time for weary road users with plenty of amenities. I miss it .
I totally agree with you, as I used to play in that area as a kid some 60 years ago, whilst living in Grayshott.
But sadly as in life we have to move on to accommodate the huge growth in our population, leading to millions of additional vehicles on the roads.
How many times do we say, “it’s not like the good old days “.
@@MikeBeelthat’s because it isn’t, I was born in 65 and remember going through the devils punch bowl on the way to holiday with my parents, good times, no computer games or phones in the car, just ‘are we there yet?’ 😂
Its a shame they cut down the trees. The drive around the Devils Punch Bowl on the A3 was a pretty cool drive with great views.
Oh they always do that. Any excuse: Invasive species; returning to Medieval woodland, wrong type of trees....Forestry Commission! More like No-Forestry Commission. Just making work for their tree cutting mates.
@@chrisst8922 Actually it is to protect the environment from further damage, if you have invasive species which are non-native then they can take over the whole area and kill all native wildlife. Fact check before you make comments on matters.
I was born on the Isle of Wight and moved to London in 1981. I used to drive up and down the A3 almost weekly and watched it change for years. At one time the only serious bit of dual carriageway was between Guildford and London. The approach to Hindhead in both directions was always blighted with tailbacks even though the bit around the Devils punchbowl was a beautiful drive. due to the scenery. I believe the tunnel system was concieved because of all of the road protests, especially the M3 going through natural beauty spots near Winchester anyway I'm glad they did build it. I moved down here to Bath twenty years ago which itself had many road protests when they cut through Solsbury hill for the A46, so have never got to use the new tunnel through Hindhead but now I have seen this maybe it's time to take a look at the Devil's Punchbowl again.
Bath bypass was joke, sad the missing section from A46 to A36 was never done,Bath would be a better place today, & Cleveland Bridge not built for carrying modern traffic, wouldn't be in such a bad state,you can only patch it up for so long...
The tunnel is a major improvement traffic wise. The renaturing of the punchbowl is also a great project to allow people and wildlife to enjoy the punchbowl as it should be. But at times I wished that the old was still there as an alternative for when they close the tunnels.
Been along the old route a few times. Never been through the tunnel. It's a beautiful part of South England.
Very nice video, DRIVEN around there many times before it closed. Also stopped many times in the small laybys to look at the views. One day I'll go back to see it.
My village was by passed in 1991 and the end of heavy traffic and traffic noise was a blessed relief. Any place that is by passed surely welcomes the lack of traffic.
There can sometimes be a downside though in the loss of business from through traffic. Many older towns and villages have died because of a by-pass.
@@_starfiend By pases are usually very welcome by people who have to live beside a very busy road, but some businesses like pubs can suffer. I do know of a pub/restaurant that had to close as 80% of its passing trade went.
@@Glenn1967ful Yes, we were, until we realise that it killed our village. And not just pubs, also petrol stations, small shops and cafes, fast-food places, exhaust and tyre places. If the town or village is too small, a bypass can kill it. Hindhead is large enough to survive, and has the added bonus of being right in the national trust area, not all small villages are that lucky. Often the petrol station is the garage is the tyre place is the small shop and cafe. Bypasses can be good, but there's always unintended consequences.
@@_starfiend Mind you the big killer for pubs is the price of beer. I can buy two 660ml bottles of Staropramen for $ 4.50 in a supermsrket, a pint on draught costs £ 4.60.
Great video editing, highly professiona!
Such a shame that Devils punch bowl is not visible anymore. I drove around it in my childhood. I revisited southern England last year after 40yrs absence, so many quaint villages now bypassed.
Loads of accidents there when it was a dual carriageway all the way round. The wrecks were dragged into what is now Barron's the BMW dealer. I worked there in my school holidays cleaning cars. It was a Datsun dealer then and Opel before that.
A huge improvement
Very pleasant to ride through the dirt track now.
Amazing what can be done when it's in South-East England!
Yeah, it only took about 60 years to get the tunnel built...
The North-West has the mort highly developed motorway system in the UK. Manchester has the only truely motorway ring road in the UK
So the A1/M1 merge east of Leeds counts as south east England?
North of England gets its fair share of road infrastructure projects.
Evocative... Thank you.
Nice camera work and editing too. Thank you #2 :)
Wow, I remember the Devils punch bowl. It made for an interesting drive. Great views definitely. But I do understand why the tunnel was required. It’s allowed nature to take over what is an amazing nature reserve.
Well, yes, but it was really because the traffic was becoming too much for the road through the town.
Great stuff!!!
Nice area, not somewhere I live near though. Very nice.
I did live near this way, early nighties
The long walk through the tunnel ( took about 20 minutes ! ) , before it opened was a ( never to be repeated ) fun day out .... the little road track is still there ... it leads to Gibbet hill , past the cursed Sailor's stone ..................
nice job
Pro stuff
Why not let the local kids have it as a kid way for their own dirt bikes, go karts, scooters, mopeds, etc?
The public have access, so anyone playing with a motor vehicle needs to be properly licensed and insured. It is classified as a byway and off road cars and bikes can still use it, which we do in complete safety.
A colossal waste of money? What Does the devil think?
I always thought it stupid to grub up the old road.
A major terrorist attack on the new tunnel and the subsequent diversion will be about 50 miles around.
It was the only way they could get the tunnel. An agreement with the National Trust.
@@cjmillsnun Thank you.
Not sure its too high on the ISIS list of things to bomb if I'm honest
@@keithriley3159 Colossal inconvenience. A major transport artery to the south coast.
@@fredericksaxton3991 Oh god yea, how would people get to the south coast in times of need 🤦♂