Walk 29th February 2016 - Peaslake Walking Bottom CP - Youth Hostel - Holmbury Hill - Pitch Hill - Ewhurst Windmill - CP

Start point:- TQ083455

Distance:- 11.8 km; 7.33 miles

Time taken:- 2 hours 48 minutes

Route:- 

Walking Bottom CP (Peaslake) - Hurtwood Chase - YH - Somerset Hill - Holmbury Hill - Duke of Kent school - Pitch Hill - Ewhurst Windmill - Peaslake House - CP This walk builds on one led by a member of Mole Valley Ramblers on the 24th February 2016. After leaving Peaslake you will pick up part of the Shere Millennium trail http://shereparishcouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/shere_millennium_trail.pdf Walking on towards Holmbury Hill / Fort with a gentle climb to the hill, my route took me around the southern part of the fort. There are suggestions that the fort was abandoned in 1BC. The fort was mainly used for trading, but an information board advises that sling shot stones have been found at the site showing that at times the fort had to be defended. There are post holes within the fort marking livestock pen boundaries. Wild life that can be found include badgers and stone chats. Some of the wooded area has been cut with a view to encourage this bird to re-establish itself. There are good views looking south from both hills with viewpoints opening up as you walk from Holmbury hill towards Pitch Hill. The latter hill juts more than Holmbury, so from Pitch hill you can see Gatwick airport and Crawley to the east. Ewhurst windmill is a grade 2 listed building https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurt_Wood_Mill,_Ewhurst Its was built in 1845 to replace a post mill  which had been blown down earlier. Paths on this walk are mostly mud free and well drained. There are walk-around to get by any areas of mud that may be found en route.

Walk 25th February 2016 Young St CP (top) - Leatherhead Downs - Mickleham Church - Norbury Park - Ice Coombe - Crabtree cottages - Bookham Wood - CP

Start point:- TQ151548

Time taken:- 2 hours 57 minutes

Distance:- 14.10 km; 8.76 miles

Route:-

Young St CP (Top) - Bocketts Farm - Hawks Hill - Downside Manor - Leatherhead Downs - Mickleham Downs - Mickleham Church - Mickleham Priory - Ice Coombe - Sawmill - Crabtree Cottages - Bookham Wood - Admirals Road (Track) - The Hazels - CP A variation on a walk completed on 22nd February 2016, passing Mickleham Priory and taking the path up to the Sawmill at the Ice Coombe. The path passes under the railway, and runs parallel  to the road to Norbury House. The trees on this route are moss covered and there is a good autumnal display. You've a number of options to vary the route bu turning off to the right at the first path after passing under the railway. Jane Austen apparently was a Surrey girl, one unpublished novel "The Watsons" was set in Surrey. In the book "Emma" she describes the "ideal english view" From the Ordnance Survey map, we know the exact spot the author stood when describing this view. There is only one ‘bank of considerable abruptness and grandeur well clothed with wood’ in this area, and it lies directly behind Mickleham Priory, the original of Abbey-Mill Farm, with its meadows in front and the broad curve of the River Mole behind it. http://www.surreyhills.org/jane-austen-was-a-surrey-girl/ This walk will not provide the views of Leatherhead seen from the S curves in the road leading to Norbury Park House, but will take you past the Priory as well as a working farm. the cottage at the Ice Coombe must be a cold house simply because of its location within shadow mostly. If you do not go under the railway there is a path to the right which will lead to Young St car park at the bottom running parallel to the River Mole. In winter this path can be very muddy

Walk 24th February 2016 Walking Bottom CP Peaslake - Pitch Hill - Holmbury Hill / Fort

Start point:- TQ083445

Distance:- 8.96 km; 5.57 miles

Time taken:- 3 hours 2 mins

Route:-

Walking Bottom CP (Peaslake) - Hurt Wood - Pitch Hill - Duke of Kent School - Coverwood - Holmbury hill / fort - reservoir - Spurfold Copse - CP I joined a walk led by a member of Mole Valley Ramblers, starting from the car park at Walking Bottom in Peaslake.

Peaslake is in the centre of the Surrey Hills AONB. Hurtwood control coppices almost 302 hectares of the surrounding forest. There several car park areas within the control area which can be used as starting points for walks into the area. A map showing the location of car parks in Hurtwood control area can be downloaded from the following web site:-

http://friendsofthehurtwood.co.uk/things-to-do/map

There is a village school in Peaslake which is owned and run by the villagers, following its closure in 1994 by the local education body.

Pitch Hill (Coneyhurst hill) - good views south. Leaving Pitch Hill you'll pass the Duke of kent school - a very interesting building.

Coverwood farm  rears pedigree Hereford cattle, Ryeland sheep and has gardens that can be walked around during limited times of the year. Coverdale - home once of Henry Charles "Inky" Stephens. 

Holmbury Hill / fort has iron age settlements with a fort on Holbury hill. Indications that the site dated back to 1st century AD, constructed by the Belgic tribes of the Celts, settled before the Roman invasion. The hill fort was defended by double ramparts and sits just below the summit of the hill at 261 metres. Holmbury hill is the 4th highest point in Surrey.

Walk 22nd February 2016 Young Street - Cherkley Court - Mickleham - Norbury Park

Start point:- TQ151548

Distance 14.2 km; 8.83 miles

Time taken :- 3 hours 27 mins

Route:- 

Young St CP (Top) - Bocketts Farm - Hawks Hill - Downside Manor - Leatherhead Downs - Mickleham Downs - Mickleham Church - Sawmill - Crabtree Cottages - Bookham Wood - Admirals Road (Track) - The Hazels - CP A slight variation on a previous walk taking a small deviation with Bookham wood. Weather was light rain throughout and a walk a round the muddier sections on the track leading to Bookham Wood had been churned up by cyclists, obstructions (logs) placed on this path had been removed. The Hazels - wild primroses are beginning to come into flower. Snow drops are in abundance on other parts of this walk. Walking towards Admirals Road after leaving Bookham wood you will get a view of Woking and beyond that Bagshot Radio transmitter on a clear day

Walk 18th February 2016 Chinthurst Hill - St Catherine's chapel

Start point:- TQ015463

Distance 10.9 km; 6.77 miles

Time taken 2 hours 34 mins

Route:- 

Chinthurst Hill - Cycle route 22 - Wey Navigations - A3100 - St Catherine's Chapel, Shalford - Manor Farm - East Shalford Lane - RGS sports ground - Lower Chinthurst Farm

Chinthurst hill has good views of Guildford and the surrounding countryside. It is maintained by the Surrey Wildlife trust. A folly was built on the hill in the 1930's and is now a grade 2 listed building. The hill has oak, rowan, sweet chestnut and hazel trees managed under a system known as coppice with standards. (This is a coppice with large trees scattered throughout the wood. These need to be well spaced out so that they don't shade the underwood.)  

http://www.malverncoppicing.co.uk/coppicing_with_standards.html Woodpeckers, nuthatches and wrens can be found along with bluebells, foxgloves and wood anemone flowers. Wildlife is encouraged when coppicing management is done. At other times I have found pigs grazing in managed conditions on the slopes.

Cranleigh / Guildford railway line - this line was closed in 14th June 1965, with recent calls to reopen this historic line . http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/heated-debate-over-reopening-historic-8816988 . The Bramley Wonersh railway station is still preserved and the line is now a cycle-way with opportunities to walk using the route of the old line as a basis for exploration. A lot more information on this line can be found here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranleigh_Line

GHQ defence line - following the route of the railway towards the Wey Navigations you will find an old WW2 pill box which formed part of the GHQ defence line. And this was part of a series of static defence lines built to slow down a German invasion post Dunkirk. Over 50 defensive lines built this one was designed to defend London. a series of concentric circles around London, this one forming part of the "A" ring. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GHQ_Line.

Wey Navigations - after the pill box you will follow the Wey Navigations and pass St. Catherine's lock the shallowest lock on the canal. You can see Shalford church which is Victorian in origin.

St Catherine's chapel - from here there are views of Guildford castle, The Chantries and surrounding countryside to the south. “The views from the tops of St. Catharine's and St. Martha's hills, on which are situated chapels of interest, are lovely, and in fact there are endless points in and around Guildford from whence fine views are obtained. The old legend records that two sisters, Catharine and Martha, built with their own hands the two chapels which still bear their names. These ladies were of the giant race, and the only working tool they used was an enormous hammer, which they tossed from one hill to the other as it was wanted.”J.B.Dashwood 1868"

From here you will cross the Wey navigations and enter part of Shalford water meadows. Crossing a footbridge which was built to replace a ferry across at this point. http://www.weyriver.co.uk/theriver/god_nav_d.htm The golden sands from the hill is said to have given Guildford its name. The site also of an ancient ford. In parts there is evidence of medieval ridge and furrow farming.

Walking along part of the Pilgrims way towards Manor farm looking back you can see the Chapel and also a glimpse of Guildford Cathedral.

Chinthurst hill car park is a good base for a number of different walks within the locality

Walk 17th February 2016 Milton Heath - Logmore Green

Start point :TQ154488

Distance 8.4 km; 5.21 miles

Time:- 2 hours 46 minutes

Route:-

Milton Heath CP - Mad Horse Copse - Logmore Green - Wolvens Lane - Sylvanus Wood - Rookery hill Farm - Miltoncourt Farm - CP This is a walk led by a member of Mole Valley Ramblers - starting at the Milton Heath CP towards Logmore Green, following Wolverns Lane and picking up part of Cycle route 22 and crossing back over to Milton Heath. The first part of the walk can be described as muddy, and Wolvens Lane in common with the same time in previous years is deeply rutted in parts with standing water. There is a walk around with a path which runs parallel to the lane. The route will pass Old Bury House. Robert Barclay bought a 1000 acres owned for 150 years. Created ornamental gardens and lakes. The house being used by the military in WW2. There is an ice house on this walk which has recently been restored. http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/places/surrey/mole_valley/dorking/dorking_bury_hill_and_the_barclays/

Wolvens Lane has been identified "There are lots of great byways east of Westcott in Surrey. One in particular is Wolvens Lane. - - - This fantastic byway runs for 2.6 miles and will take over ten minutes at a steady pace of 10-15 miles per hour." 

You are legally entitled to drive down Byways open to all traffic (BOATs) under the 1968 Countryside Act and Public rights of way bylaw, so if you are a walker be prepared in winter for plenty of mud and water.

Before joining Wolvens Lane at Logmore green looking north there is a good view of the Berry Hill etstate, Westcott and Ranmore Common church

Walk 16th February 2016 Young St - The Gallops via Leatherhead - Norbury Park

Start :- TQ151548

Distance 15.8 km; 9.82 miles

Time 3 hours 13 minutes

Route:-

Young St CP (Top) - Bocketts Farm - Hawks Hill - Downside Manor - Leatherhead Downs - Mill Way (Nower) - The Gallops -  Mickleham Downs - Mickleham Church - Sawmill - Crabtree Cottages - Bookham Wood - Admirals Road (Track) - The Hazels - CP This is an extension of the walk completed on 11th February 2016, with plenty of scope to extend the walk to Headley and also to Boxhill. The path from Nower Wood back to White Downs is often muddy and so it was today. However the route overall is not too bad. There are areas which will display bluebells - this will include the path towards The Gallops. The history around Whitehill / TheGallops extends back 3,000 years. (further information to be added) This map shows the location of swallow holes on the River Mole

Walk 11th February 2016 Young St - Mickleham Downs via Leatherhead

Start point:- TQ151548

Distance:- 14.25km, 8.86 miles

Time taken 2 hours 57 minutes.

Route:- 

Young St CP (Top) - Bocketts Farm - Hawks Hill - Downside Manor - Leatherhead Downs - Mickleham Downs - Mickleham Church - Sawmill - Crabtree Cottages - Bookham Wood - Admirals Road (Track) - The Hazels - CP This walk is an extension of the one taken on the 2nd February 2016. It covers more of the boundaries of the golf course development at Cherkley Court. This development caused a stir locally, going to appeal several times with the case eventually lost. The end result there are now two golf courses side by side, field with masses of cowslips have been destroyed and areas of chalk being removed and dumped in the surrounding boundaries of the development. Footpaths are being closed and signs erected warning people not to trespass on private land. There are supportive messages welcoming the development. http://www.cherkleycourt.com/support.php Mickleham church has been on its site since Saxon times. http://www.micklehamchurch.org.uk/history.htm There is a pub opposite - the Running Horses. My walk then crosses over the A road into Norbury Park and follows the route from the 2nd February 2016 with a slight different route in Bookham Wood. The weather being sunny so good views looking towards Leatherhead, back across to Cherkley Court, Ranmore Common church and Bookham village from Admirals track. This walk can be extended towards Headley, High Ashurst and White Down so there are plenty of opportunities to get similar length walks or longer using this as a basis.

Walk 10th February 2016 Boxhill - High Ashurst

Start point:- TQ179513

Distance :- 8.34 km; 5.15 miles

Time taken:- 2 hours 41 minutes

Route :- 

Boxhill NT CP - viewpoint - Brockham Warren - High Ashurst - Juniper Top - Flint Hill - CP

Today's walk was lead by a member of the Mole Valley Ramblers. Starting from Boxhill NT CP (where some work is being done, the entrance point being relocated further towards the viewpoint).

Walk 8th February 2016 Young St - Norbury Park viewpoint

Start point:- TQ151548

Distance:-  9.98 km; 6.20 miles

Time taken :- 2 hours 14 minutes

Route :- 

Young St CP (Top) - Fetcham Woods - Updown Wood - Druids Grove - Viewpoint - Crabtree Cottages - Bookham Wood - Hazels - CP

Weather conditions - the tail end of Storm Imogen, gusts to 50 mph, and remained dry throughout the walk duration.

The walk is a variation on previous walks in Norbury Park, after leaving the car park head down the hill to the farm and follow in part the stony track which leads to the sawmill, before reaching it there is a footpath taking you to Fetcham Downs - again a viewpoint, working your way to the sawmill via the path which passes the wood sculptures of which 2 are now rotten and have fallen down or been knocked over. This path you will find the Roman snails later in the year. Take the path leading over the railway tunnel and follow and here standing water and mud covered the path just beyond a small foot path leading up past the house perimeter to the viewpoint which overlooks Mickleham and Cherkley Court. Then on to Crabtree lane car park to the cottages with a view of Ranmore Common church. Into Bookham woods and back along Admirals track taking a path earlier to enter the The Hazels (where you will find primroses)

Cherkley Court, at the extreme south-east of Leatherhead, Surrey, in England, is a late Victorian neo-classical mansion and estate of 370 acres (1.5 km²), once the home of Canadian-born press baron Lord Beaverbrook. The main house is a Grade II listed building. Currently being converted to a golf course complex and hotel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherkley_Court

Walk 3rd February 2016 Silent Pool - NDW - Shere - Albury

Start point:- TQ060485
Distance 10.8km; 6.71 miles
Time 2 hours 59 minutes
Route:-

Silent Pool CP - Fox Way - Hollister Farm - Netley Heath - Gravelhill Gate - Hawkhurst Downs - Beggars Lane - Southbrook Farm - Towerhill Farm - Gomshall - Cycle Route 22 - Shere Church - Silver Wood - Albury Church - CP

Today's walk is using the same route as that on the 25th January 2016 for Mole Valley Ramblers. The start point - Silent Pool was probably an old chalk quarry fed by underground springs and would have been a precious source of pure water in days gone by. The pool and nearby Sherbourne Pond became home to many different species of aquatic life and one can often glimpse the blue flash of a kingfisher as it darts across the water.

More recently the pool has had a tendency to dry out due to the springs feeding the Pool suffering from the lower than average annual rainfall.

Silent Pool has always been a popular place to visit and many feel an eerie stillness looking out over the still water surrounded by the evergreen box trees.

Legend has it that this is due to the fate of a woodcutter's daughter who was surprised by a nobleman on a horse as she bathed in the pool. Having failed to lure her to the bank, he rode his horse into the water and caused the girl to move out to deeper water where she drowned. When the woodcutter returned and found her body, he also found the nobleman's hat floating on the water. It bore the crest of none other than Prince John!

Additional detail about Silent Pool can be found at this website:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Pool
From Cycle route 22 you can see Netley Park and house, but they are not open to public access. They are owned by the National trust.

Walk 2nd February 2016 Young St - Mickleham via Leatherhead

Start point :- TQ141548
Distance 13.1 km, 8.14 miles
Time 2 hours 42 minutes
Route:-

Young St CP (Top) - Bocketts Farm - Hawks Hill - Downside Manor - Givons Grove - Mickleham - Sawmill - Crabtree Cottages - Bookham Wood - Admirals Road (Track) - The Hazels - CP

The morning started out with light drizzle but by the time I re-entered Norbury Park from Mickleham the sun was full out. the bridge over the River Mole is Victorian, the river gets its name from the fact that at times it disappears into sinkholes in the chalk and on one occasion an oak tree was seen to disappear down one. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickleham,_Surrey ) PC Middleton in the 1950s.

1822 Henry Piper Sperling bought Norbury House and was responsible for building the Weir Bridge over the River Mole. The bridge is now a grade 2 listed building.

Walk 1st February 2016 Dorking Road - Mogador

Start:- TQ 227544
Distance 11.3 km, 7.02 miles
Route:-

Walton-on-the-Hill - Chussex Plain - Thistle Hill - Mogador - Banstead Heath - CP

A walk from Walton-on-the hill (Dorking Road CP) to Mogador with views from the hills looking south, returning back to Banstead Heath. There were two areas of deep standing water, which could not be avoided. The locations being TQ231526; and TQ244535.
Along the walk route you will find white metal posts - these are Coal Tax posts - now listed buildings. There is a ring of these posts around London. The purpose of the posts was to give notice of where the boundary ran so that no-one could claim ignorance of liability to pay the duties. However, in general, duties were not actually collected on the boundary. Full details can be found at the following web site.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal-tax_post