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