Walk 3rd November 2016 Chatley Heath semaphore tower - Wisley Airfield - Mill Lane - Wisley Common

Start point:- TQ079583

Distance:- 11.0 km; 6.84 miles

Time taken:- 2 hours 37 minutes

Route:-

Ockham Common Pond CP - Chatley Semaphore Tower - Hatchford Wood - Hatchford End - Wisley Airfield - Mill Lane - Ockham Mill - Wren's Nest CP - Pond Farm - Hut Hill Cottage - Currie's clump - CP

Today's walk followed on from the discovery of a walk on the Fancy Free website from the 2nd November 2016. Taking the path from the Ockham Common Pond CP to the semaphore tower - all well signposted and on to the mausoleum then down towards Hatchford End. Unfortunately the minor path I decided to follow was well hidden by fallen autumn leaves so I ended up "off piste"!

My walk took me to the beacon on the Wisley Airfield, across and to the footpath splitting into 3 directions. The crops had been harvested so I wrongly followed the edge of the field which would have had the sweet corn crop instead of climbing over the stile (TQ081572) and following the boundary fence of that field which contained cattle.

The walk goes under the A3 and you need to exercise care in crossing as the slip road from the A3 is busy. (TQ062574) The route follows Mill lane with a small diversion to Ockham Mill. One of the largest formerly industrial millhouses on the Wey comparable to the converted ones in Old Woking and that of the Surrey Advertiser millhouse in Guildford, Ockham mill is dated 1862 and is a Grade II listed building. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ockham,_Surrey#Ockham_mill

After leaving Wisley RHS Gardens and taking a path from Wren's Nest CP, into Wisley common where near to Cockcrow Hill is a bell barrow. Bell barrows, the most visually impressive form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 1500-1100 BC. They occur either in isolation or in round barrow cemeteries and were constructed as single or multiple mounds covering burials, often in pits, and surrounded by an enclosure ditch. The burials are frequently accompanied by weapons, personal ornaments and pottery and appear to be those of aristocratic individuals, usually men. Bell barrows (particularly multiple barrows) are rare nationally, with less than 250 known examples, most of which are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods provides evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst early prehistoric communities over most of southern and eastern England as well as providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a particularly rare form of round barrow, all identified bell barrows would normally be considered to be of national importance.

Despite partial excavation, the bell barrow on Cockcrow Hill survives well and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1012204

Finally across Wisley Common over the A3 using a footbridge and return to the car park again making the mistake of thinking a short cut existed by using a minor less popular footpath back to the car park.