Start point:- TQ146399
Distance:- 8.7 km; 5.41 miles
Time taken:- 2 hours 47 minutes
Route:-
| Ockley
Village Green - Elmers Farm - Eversheds Farm - Holbrook Farm - Osbrooks -
Weare Street - Vann lakes - Vann Farm - CP |
This walk was led by a member of Mole Valley Ramblers with 20 people following the route. The conditions of footpaths and open farmland were very muddy reflecting the Weald clay soil and previous days rainfall. The time taken will reflect the underfoot conditions and the numbers of walkers.
Shortly after leaving Ockley cricket ground there is a restored example of a smock windmill.
Details of the restoration and information about "smock" windmills can be found at these websites.
There is a walk in the area of Vann lakes on the FancyFree website
http://www.fancyfreewalks.org/Surrey/VannLake.pdf
The wooded area of Vann Lake is a particularly fine example of ancient woodland on Weald Clay surrounding an eight-acre lake and is a designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The origins and date of the lake and dam are unclear. The most likely theory is that in the 18th century the reservoir was built to power a proposed linen mill that was never built.
Several different habitats can be found at Vann Lake including both wet and dry woodland and open water. Around the lake alder trees dominate the damp areas and oak the drier parts, with lime, birch, ash, hazel and beech interspersed between. As a single oak can support as many as 400 species of insects, including the rare purple hairstreak butterfly, the site is rich in invertebrates. Other typical woodland butterflies found here include the purple emperor, white admiral and silver-washed fritillary.
The lake habitat supports a large number of species with several visible plants, including irises and water lilies. There are around 10 species of fish, including bream, roach, tench and pike. The lake also supports a large number of birds including kingfishers. In total about 110 bird species have been recorded at the reserve.
Away from the lake the woodland ground flora is particularly rich, supporting a large number of interesting flowering plants: bluebell, snowdrops, primroses and a number of orchids such as the early purple, common spotted and greater butterfly orchid.
Vann Lake is one of the best sites in the country for fungi and the reserve has been studied in detail by mycologists from Kew since 1971. During that time a number of endangered species have been recorded, as well as many new species to Britain and one new to science. To date in excess of 900 fungi species have been identified.
Honeysuckle can be seen climbing around a number of trees and is particularly important to the nationally rare dormouse found on the reserve. Dormice strip off the honeysuckle bark and use it for nesting material. Honeysuckle also provides a home to the caterpillars of the white admiral butterfly.
Like much of the woodland in Surrey active management has declined since the 1940s although the Trust is now working in many areas of the woodland to being them back into a traditional hazel coppice regime. This involves coppicing the existing hazel, removing some of the ash and birch and replanting with hazel.
