Stage 4 Merstham to Westerham (15 miles) - just follow the M25

I began my previous post claiming that "the beauty of doing a long distance path as day walks, rather than in a single continuous event,  is that I can choose the days according to the weather"; I should not have been so confident. This week I chose the day according to the weather forecast on the BBC home page, as usual. Yes, they said it would be cold but they also forecast sunshine, at least in the afternoon and I though sunshine equals warmth. They were right about the cold but there was no sunshine, which made the cold wind all the more penetrating. I can confirm that it was bitterly cold; winter waterproof jacket, number 2 gloves, hat and hood, sort of cold. I guess a forecast is not a promise.There were positives, however, in that the mud of last week was frozen hard and remained so all day. There was a satisfying crunch underfoot.

I am now out of sync with the guidebook which had stage 4 going from Merstham to Oxted. However, that is only 8 miles and not worth the travelling to the start in my view. So I worked out a route to Westerham which takes me some way into the next stage. I wont get back in sync until stage 9 with the walk into Canterbury. Having said that, travelling today was relatively easy as I did not have to go through London; and despite being at the mercy of the strike ridden Southern Rail all was well, arriving in Merstham before 0930.

This was not to be a day of picturesque scenery. Apart from the low cloud and fog, motorways would dominate the scenery and the sounds today. The M25 and M23 were crossed by footbridge shortly after the start and then the M25 followed for the rest of the day. At some points the M25 was no more than 200 metres away, all 8 lanes of it.

Trig point on Hill Top Lane above Bedlams Bank, Merstham. Today was not a day for views.

There was an information board just beyond the trig point above Merstham extolling the virtues of the chalk grassland on the North Downs. This was at Park Ham, part of the Quarry Hangers Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). I knew how special chalk grass land was but I did not realise the significance worldwide of these areas in the UK. Apparently, chalk only occurs in North Western Europe and Central Texas in the US. Consequently, the chalk downs in the UK are hugely significant with the UK having 50% of the world's chalk grassland. Long may it continue to have protected status and thank you to Surrey Wildlife Trust for the very informative board.

Whitehill Tower on War Coppice Road

There was more evidence of the strategical importance of this part of England in the road name of War Coppice Road. This refers to another of those Victorian Hill forts (War Coppice Fort) built to repel the French. This fort was not visible or accessible from the path but nearby was Whitehill Tower, a folly built by Jeremiah Long, a local farmer, in 1862 to commemorate his son who was killed at sea. Being described as a folly, I am not sure whether it was built in this ruined state or whether it was once a habitable building.

Whitehill Tower

One thing I have noticed about the North Downs Way is that there is no shortage of seats and benches on which to sit and admire the view. I have taken advantage of a few of them for lunch stops already. Today was no exception and there were a multitude of benches at Caterham View. You may be surprised to hear that Caterham View does not afford a view of Caterham although it does sit on the ridge above that town. The grass bank on which the viewpoint sits is so called because people from Caterham come here to admire the view and have a picnic. There were no picnickers out today, probably put off by the layer of ice covering the seats and the bitingly cold wind in the face of anyone foolish enough to look south.

Caterham View, not much to see today

The path faithfully follows the North Downs ridge sometimes following a contour line half way up its scarp slope, sometimes descending down or ascending up it. Above Oxted there is a good view along the ridge from the path about half way up; with Oxted Quarry in the distance and the M25 on the valley floor.

The North Downs ridge. Oxted Quarry sprawls out in the distance.

Oxted Quarry is a chalk pit that has been worked since the mid 19th Century and is still very much in use today with a combination of chalk extraction and landfill. As well as chalk there are also sandstone mines around here too, which was news to me. The Wealden Cave and Mine Society explore, record and maintain a number of mines in the area. The mined sandstone was known as "Firestone" because it was used for fire surrounds or hearths. The path is diverted around the quarry bringing it to its closest point to the M25. The DANGER signs of the quarry and the constant roar of the motorway do not make for a pleasant ramble. However, I guess chalk has to come from somewhere and this will be the industrial archaeology of the future.

On any walk I am often surprised, amazed and fascinated by what I see lying on the path or at the side of the road. I think I could start another blog on the topic (strange how Google's spell checker on their blog platform picks up "blog" as a misspelling offering bog or log amongst alternatives). Today I came across a side of smoked salmon and some Thomas The Tank Engine wellingtons. Smoked Salmon? Yes, lying at the side of the road packaged in a tartan trimmed plastic bag; the strangest road kill to date. Had it not been previously squashed by vehicular traffic I might have been tempted to retrieve it.

Thomas The Tank Engine Wellies, waiting to be retrieved by their careless owner

On one of the many woodland sections of the path today I spotted a white deer in the trees. I don't think he saw me as usually they run off quicker than I can get my camera to my eye. I was probably helped here by the noise of the M25 drowning out my footsteps. It appeared to be a White Hart; the beast of legends. It was probably less than 200 metres away but with a couple of barbed wire fences between me and it, maybe it felt safe. It just sat there staring into space.

A White Hart? I think its a Fallow Deer, although not sure

The North Downs Way is entirely within the boundaries of two counties. Today I passed a milestone (literally) of passing from Surrey into Kent. Apparently I have walked 48 miles from Farnham and have 65 miles to go to Canterbury and 77 miles to go to Dover. As usual with these things that does not quite add up to match my own calculations. According to this milestone Dover is only a short 12 mile walk from Canterbury; I make it much nearer 20.

Milestone at the Surrey / Kent border

There were no cafes on the route today. On a day when a hot cuppa would have been most welcome  not a single facility was to be had. Lunch was a brief affair, in fact two brief affairs, as it was far too cold to sit and admire the view whilst eating my frozen sandwiches. I did have a flask of hot soup, which is just as well, but by the second stop this was more tepid than hot. My hands suffered after each stop and I had to resort to warming them inside my jacket. I was beginning to question why I was doing this in winter; why not wait until spring when the orchids will be flourishing in the chalk grassland? However, it will still be there in spring and winter adds a certain challenge.

Today I had the luxury of a lift back from Westerham as I was now only 10 miles from home. Next up is Westerham to Wrotham (pronounced "Rootem"), a combination of stages 5 and 6 of the official guidebook. I have not yet worked out the logistics of travelling to / from the start / finish but it may require the assistance of the support crew.

AW

Stage 3 Dorking to Merstham (12 miles) - Ups and Downs

The beauty of doing a long distance path as day walks, rather than in a single continuous event,  is that I can choose the days according to the weather. So it was that today I had another day of blue sky and glorious sunshine with a heavy frost underfoot. I wont bore you further with the difficulties of travelling by train to the starting point, just to say that I had the usual problems of train delays out of Waterloo and therefore a late start from Dorking.

The bright, low sun, frost and chalky clay soil together with an absence of green vegetation at this time of year gives the landscape a bleached look which seems to intensify as winter drags on. It also makes for some challenging photography, fine at each end of the day but dreadful in the middle part which unfortunately represents most of my walking day. So, any hint of colour is a welcome sight. Even the red / brown of the vines and the ice in the puddles in Denbie's vineyard provided some colour.

Walking through Denbie's vinyard at Dorking

The frozen ground here was not typical of what was to come. Once the ground had been exposed to the sun for a few hours it returned to the sticky, chalky, clay of the sort that likes to pull your boots off and leaves you with 1970s style platforms.

Box Hill, of Olympics cycling fame (the Zig Zag Road) forms one of the steepest and longest ascents of the NDW but at only 224 metres it is hardly a mountain. Compare that with the highest point of the Pennine Way, Cross Fell, at 893m. The walker on Box Hill is also treated to the aid of steps, all 269 of them by my reckoning. However, the start of the climb is guarded by the River Mole with a set of stepping stones across the water.

Stepping stones?

I was looking forward to the stepping stones. Although I was anticipating that they would be icy I was not expecting them to submerged a good eight inches under very silty water. I guess I should have known better at this time of year. However, no panic required, there is a very fine bridge a short walk downstream.

Footbridge over the River Mole, a welcome alternative to the submerged stepping stones

A plaque at the bridge explained that the current bridge was erected in 1992 and replaced the original bridge which was donated by the Ramblers' Association in memory of members killed during WW2.

The climb up Box Hill. One, two, three... 267, 268...

 The climb was steep. I have to admit that I couldn't do it in one go, disappointingly. I did have a short stop, just to take in the view, of course.

The Hill is owned by the National Trust and I was promised a cafe at the top, however I did not see such a thing, just this viewing point and trig point. Strangely the Trig point is not at the highest point on the hill.

Viewpoint and Trig Point on Box Hill, not quite on the top.

I know there is a cafe here, I have been here before, the NDW obviously bypasses it. I think an amendment to the route is required! Once I had realised that I had missed the cafe I considered that it was too late to turn back for it and remained hopeful for another opportunity later in the day.

Having gained the summit of Box Hill it would have been great to have spent the rest of the walk on the ridge top, but no, the path gently wound its way back down to the valley bottom relinquishing all that height so breathlessly gained.

On the way down, however, I passed Brockham Lime works. This is what Surrey Wildlife Trust has to say about the remains of the works:

"Brockham Limeworks lies within the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of its unique wildlife habitats. Decades of industrial chalk quarrying have shaped the land, and many of the plants only exist because of the chalk. The old chalk quarry lies within the centre of the site. Once the area bustled with activity. A network of narrow gauge rail tracks carried the chalk to two batteries of lime kilns. Here the chalk was burned to produce quick-lime, used to make mortar and fertilisers. The site reached its peak at the end of the Victorian times and digging continued until 1936. Since then the deep scar in the landscape has gradually been reclaimed by nature.The old railway cuttings, spoil heaps and chalk faces have been colonised by many interesting plants and animals. The derelict remains of the lime kilns, now a grade II listed building, still stand and provide a winter roost for as many as eight species of bat. Part of what was the quarry floor has become species rich chalk grassland. Many interesting plants can be seen here such as rock-rose, vipers bugloss and many orchid species. The chalk face reflects sun light into the quarry and helps to maintain a warmer ambient temperature than the surrounding countryside. This is beneficial to the many butterfly species found on site. Of particular interest is the silver-spotted skipper which is found at only a few sites in the south of England."

Brockham Limeworks, remains of the old kiln? Home to eight species of bat.

 I may have to explore that further on a return trip, although it is not clear to me yet just how much I would be able to explore.

The next climb was Colley Hill and this time without the aid of steps and the south facing slope was ankle deep in thick gloppy clay. I met a mountain biker, or rather a gentleman with a mountain bike, pushing his bike up the hill and swearing that he was here on the recommendation of his "mate" and that he wouldn't be coming back! I felt sorry for him, his rear wheel, brakes and chain wheel were caked in clay. I overtook him and never saw him again. I did however note that at the next stile there was a "no cycling" sign, maybe there was a good reason for that.

The top of Colley hill provided an excellent lunch stop with a choice of benches and a splendid view.

Lunch stop.

The white fluff you may be able to make out to the right of the bench appeared to be the remains of a rabbit; not just my lunch stop.

The pictures may be deceptive; there were quite a number of people about, enjoying the winter sun. Mostly dog walkers but a few other walkers and a few runners. Today's errant dog was called Basil, a sort of small brown spaniel thing, who refused to heed his / her owner's calls; I wanted to join in the calls of "Basil!" in a Mrs Faulty sort of way but thought best not.

Further along the ridge is Reigate Hill and the "Inglis Folley" donated in 1909 to the borough of Reigate by "Lieutenant Colonel, Sir Robert William Inglis, VC". Sir Robert had been in the London Irish Rifles and later became the chairman of the Stock Exchange. The guide book and various references on the Internet add the post nominal of VC to Sir Robert as a recipient of the Victoria Cross. However, I can find no such reference in various lists of Victoria Cross medals awarded. Did he have a VC, if so what for?

The Inglis Folley on Reigate Hill

The folley originally housed a drinking fountain for horses en-route over the downs, which on a hot summers day I am sure would have been very welcome, but now contains a topograph with the night sky depicted on the ceiling.

The night sky in the Inglis Folley

Sir Robert saved the land here from developers wanting to build houses on it by buying up part of it. The land passed to the National Trust in 1924 after Sir Robert's death in 1923. Good for Sir Robert!

Shortly after the folley is another war related story and accompanying art by way of commemoration. There is a clearing in the trees and on the grass slope at the side of the path are two oak "wing tips". A nearby plaque explains that these represent the wing tips at the correct distance apart for a B17, Flying Fortress, that crashed here in March 1945 killing all nine crew on board. They were on their way back to their base in Northamptonshire after their 13th mission over the German / Czech border but disastrously hit the top of Reigate Hill. The plaque lists their names.

One of the wing tips by way of memorial to the lost crew of a B17 from 384th Bombardment group of the US Army Air Corps

Next up was Reigate Fort, a Victorian hill fort constructed in 1898, amid fears of a French invasion, as part of a wider defensive network protecting London. The fort is open for exploration and there are plaques explaining the uses of the various structures on the site. There is a tool store, a magazine and two "Casements". I am not clear what Casements are but the forts were part of a support network to troops along the North Downs and were to be manned by volunteers. Seems to me like an earlier version of the Pill Boxes built in the 1940s.

Reigate Fort, the white things in the centre are the remains of snow men.

A window to the Casement. Mysteriously ornate.

By the time I got to the fort, I was running a little late and so I had a quick whizz round but nothing more. I wish now I had taken more pictures of the buildings. Another one for the list of return visits.

Shortly after leaving the fort  I crossed a bridge over the A217 which is in a deep cutting at this point.

A plaque, on the other side of the bridge explained that this is the earliest example in the country of a foot bridge built with reinforced concrete. I am not sure whether that means it was the first such bridge built or whether it is the only one of its type left. Anyway it is 97 feet long and weighs 50 tons and was built in 1910.

More importantly, just after the bridge I entered Gatton Park where that all elusive Cafe finally appeared, courtesy of the National Trust. I had time for a quick coffee and Pain Au Raisin. The proprietor gave me the Pain Au Raisin "on the house". I didn't like to ask why but I suspect it was about to be binned... it tasted fine and I have had no repercussions, so thanks very much!

There then followed a short walk through Gatton Park which is one of Capability Brown's landscaping jobs (of Chatsworth fame), though I could not see any obvious signs of landscaping today. At one time the park was owned by the Colman family, as in the mustard. It is now half occupied by the National Trust with the Royal Alexandra and Albert School having the other half.

I arrived at Merstham station shortly before my lift arrived to take me home. The route is now close enough to home to justify more personal transport means. A good walk today, lots of history again and fine views across the downs. A walk for repeating I think.


Next up is Merstham to Westerham. Westerham being only a few miles from home.

AW

Stage 2 Guildford to Dorking (15 miles) - Pills and Wine

January 10th 2017. Another early start mixing it with the commuters into Waterloo and out the other side to Guildford. Fortunately, I was travelling with Southeastern and South West Trains and not the strike ridden Southern Rail. Waterloo was, however, suffering from overcrowding and delayed trains due to a broken down train outside the station. Tannoy announcements informed us that "exit 2 was congested, please other exits". Waterloo is Britain's busiest railway station by passenger usage; of the almost 100 million commuters who pass through every year I wonder how many know where exit 2 is? I passed through the station for the best part of three decades and I have no idea where exit 2 is. Some thought on communication with the intended audience is required, I think.

Enough of commuter hell. I arrived in Guildford, somewhat later than intended, in mild and bright, blue sky, weather. I retraced my steps along the River Wey, to pick up the NDW at the wooden bridge river crossing. There was a ferry here dating back to the 14th Century or earlier until 1964 with the bridge being built in 1985. Chalk mining and associated lime kilns was the industry of choice in this area. Chalk being used to make lime for building and agricultural purposes and transported by the barge load into London and beyond. The River is a much more peaceful place today.

The "Pixie" Bridge over the River Wey at Ferry Lane

The path then climbs through woodland and across paddocks over very sandy ground up to St Martha's Hill and St Martha's church. The ground is so sandy that it s like walking on a beach and is very hard going, one step forward, one slide backwards. Heavy rain at this point might actually be to a walkers advantage.

St Martha's Church

St Martha's Church was built in 1850 on the ruins of a 12th century church which was on the site of an earlier Saxon church. There is no road to the church, worshippers have to be devoted to their faith enough to want to walk up the hill to a height of nearly 600 feet. The guidebook* tells us that it is thought that pagan Saxons burned Christian martyrs here and that may be the source of the name. The church has its own website which has a fascinating (relatively short) section on it's history, far more comprehensive than I can do here and well worth a read. On leaving the church yard at the eastern end there is a memorial to Yvonne Arnaud (1890 - 1958) who was a French pianist, singer and actress who lived in Guildford for many years and after whom the theatre in the town was named in 1965.

Memorial to Yvonne Arnaud, St Martha's church. Not convinced that the plastic miniature trees are entirely appropriate...

The sandy path continues beyond the church, through pine woods down hill before climbing back up to reach the chalk escarpment forming the true north downs. I almost had the expanse of the downs here to myself apart from a couple of  dog walkers. One dog called Willow was being particularly mischievous, refusing to go to his / her / it's (Willow?) handler's call to heel preferring instead to trot off in the opposite direction behind me. I realised that Willow was following me and so stopped at a bench to allow his owner to retrieve her charge. I smiled but received what can best be described as a grimace in return. Poor Willow, I thought.

Albury Downs, looking west along the Greensand ridge

Albury Downs leads to Newlands Corner where the A25 crosses the escarpment. The Corner is described as a Honey Pot by the guidebook and I could see why. Car parks and two cafes, one on either side of the road and views across the southern counties. Being mid week in January there were few "bees" around today and I took advantage of the "cafe with the view" where I had splendid almond and orange cake with my coffee.

Having had a late start, thanks to the problems at Waterloo and a leisurely cake break I was a little concerned on leaving the cafe at the time given the distance I had to go and sunset at about 1600. Fortunately, the next few miles were largely over flat ground through woods and on good paths through West Hanger, Netley Heath, Hawkhurst Downs and Ranmore Common. This is where the "Pills" come in. The Downs here were used by the Canadian Army in 1943 as a training ground prior to the Normandy landings in June 1944. Evidence of their presence endures in the form of the, now much degraded, road that the path follows and several concrete water tanks amongst the trees. The water tanks are shallow round concrete structures maybe 30 metres in diameter. I don't understand how these worked other than perhaps collecting rain water for the thousands of troops billeted here.

Canadian Army water tank from 1943

I have seen reference to this "thing" on other blogs as being of WW2 origin. I think this is agricultural in origin rather than military; I think it is a dew pond used for watering livestock; I have seen similar in Kent. I suspect it is of a similar age to the water tanks but not for human service.

Concrete Dew Pond? At Combe Lane en-route to Hollister Farm.

Back to the Pills... there are numerous (I counted 8, guidebook says 7) Pill Boxes along the path or just off it. These were rapidly built in 1940 to a war office specification as defence against a perceived imminent German invasion. Thousands were built along "stop lines" and would have been manned by soldiers armed with light machine guns ("...it's a Bren Gun innit..."). The ones in this vicinity have a line of fire down into the valley. They are type 24 shell proof, suggesting to me that they were expecting tanks to roll up the valley towards their goal of London; but that's just my speculation or imagination at this stage.

Pill Box on the NDW

Room with a view? Grand Designs or Restoration Man?

I find these buildings fascinating, sorry, I think it's a boy thing. They look as though they are constructed from brick but that's just the "shuttering" to contain the three feet of concrete to render them shell proof. Given the thickness of the walls, they are very cramped inside, even now without personnel, guns, ammunition and other wartime paraphernalia. Despite being shell proof it feels like the occupants would have been on something of a suicide mission in the face of an invasion in large numbers as seen elsewhere in Europe. The welfare of the occupants did run to a Y shaped "ricochet wall" inside, preventing rounds entering the interior from bouncing around like.. well... the blade of a blender.

Inside the type 24 shell proof. Presumably the occupants sat of kneeled behind their weapons with a very restricted view through the "loophole".

The woods in which most of these boxes now sit are now mature beech woods and although many trees were lost in the gale of 1987 some older trees bear some interesting scars. I came across graffiti on two trees, some dating back to the 19th century and some dated 1940. Did these include the builders and likely inhabitants of the type 24s?

Beech Tree Graffiti. "1940" visible in the centre.

Amongst plenty of modern stuff (of interest to someone in the future...) there is what looks like "AG? 26 1877".

On the smaller far tree you can see "EA 1940"

By now, having dallied around the pill boxes, I was seriously behind schedule to avoid walking the last few miles in the dark. I was prepared, I had my head torch, but would rather not be benighted in the woods. However, I was now approaching the Denbie's wine estate, which I had no idea was so large. Turns out it is the largest wine growing estate in the UK according to the guidebook. I would tell you more but their website is malfunctioning at the moment so I can't. The wine estate sits just outside Dorking and I could see the church across the rows of vines in the valley.

Dorking on the opposite side of the valley which forms part of the largest vinyard in the UK

I arrived in Dorking just as darkness descended, waited half an hour for a train, joined the commuters at Waterloo again and got home at 1900, a long, but rewarding day.


*North Downs Way by Colin Saunders, Official National Trail Guide