Hills and Home Front
Yet another Friday route on a Thursday, for better atmospheric conditions. Never let it be said that I am a fairweather walker, rather, when it has been so wet under foot, a crispy start is more desirable. A colder, brighter day is welcome, rather than a relatively warmer and wetter one. Also, I fancied an away day in Surrey, as far as the North Downs. And so it was that I set out alone, counter-intuitively, from the bustling hub of many peoples' noisy journeys. You are never far away from the insistent shout of the motorway and aeroplane traffic but the feeling of this jaunt is not exactly that of an urban one. There are some magnificent old oaks lying in wide pasture and I had some unexpected wildlife encounters In parts, the surroundings hark back to the dawn of popular air travel and beyond to one of ancient manors and byways.
A little goes a long way. Gatwick Airport is very easily accessible by train from Burgess Hill in around 20 minutes and this is the attraction, despite being an ususual trailhead. A return from Dorking can be made via Horsham and Three Bridges or Gatwick, in not much more than an hour.
It was still dark when I left the lights and human activity of those on the dawn of their own adventures. Luckily, my exit from the station and airport complex was not my first rodeo. It is important to exit on the lower floor to join the footpath to the east, that runs north to south. From the drop-off point at the entrance, turn left and follow the railway north. The dawn chorus was battling to be heard above the aircraft. Once under the A23, turn right at the railway bridge to squeeze past the horse field on what is the Sussex Border Path. Beyond this is a derelict house. I disturbed a deer in the grounds. Turn right on to the Balcombe Road and then left. You'll rarely be so close to a motorway for a stretch. I took the first footpath going away and north on what was a trail of that forbidden combination of enclosed mud and bramble. You might find the next path, that meets the same point later, a better fit.
Turn right on the bridleway to what was Thunderfield Castle. The idea is compelling but the reality is one obscured by trees, fencing and abandoned vehicles. The moated mound was probably the site of an old manor house that served as the court of Haroldslea, with possible earlier fortifications. The moat received a lot of modification in Victorian times and you'll find little to drive your imagination from the track. Continue round it to the north and continue to the junction of Smallfield Road.
Take the bridleway over the road which follows the Burstow Stream, a large but depressingly filthy waterway. Leave the bridleway and continue on the banks of the stream via the footpath and along the edge of the Brook Wood. You pass the sewage works on the right and then some of this environmental gloom lifts. The fields are a little wet in places but are broad and lined with quite magnificent specimens of trees. All about, you are observed by pill boxes, the threat of German invasion via the A23 and the Burstow being a particular WWII fear. Bear left to roughly follow the line of the stream until you reach a substantial footbridge over it. Do not cross but head north on the edge of the field towards Littlelake Farm. Turn left to Lake Lane, once used by Anglo Saxon swineherds. I had a quite unexpected flurry of bird activity including shy but numerous fieldfares and redwings. My bird app implied I'd heard also heard a parakeet. I thought there must be a mistake but, in actual fact, this would not be the first observed in the area.
Another derelict building lies at the junction with Cross Oak Lane. Turn left and cross over to join the byway and cycle route 21 heading north. Another pill box is on the right. More birds lined this pleasant, traffic free path known as Gall Lane. You are alongside the railway and pass through Salfords and by the railway footbridge on your left. Cross Honeycrock Lane and stay on the cycleway after Dean Farm. You cross the Salfords stream, not quite as bad as the the Burstow but close. The track becomes Green Lane as you are spilled out into Reigate. You are also on the Millennium Trail, a route created from the Banstead Downs to Horley. You will follow this for a while. Slip between the houses and out onto Bushfield Drive. At the junction with White Bushes, continue over it to the roundabout, where you head up the Royal Earlswood Park Road, still in line with the railway. Once level with the tunnel to go under it. I had a dither, feeling that I was missing out on Earlswood Park and what remains of the Asylum for idiots and imbeciles. While the following loop allows you more of a view of the building, I would have preferred to leave this in faviour of an extension on to Redhill Common.
Turn right on to Asylum Arch Road and the Greensand Way, leave it at the next junction to turn right following the Redhill Brook and loop back with better views and proximity to the modern hospital on your left. Back at the roundabout, return to the Royal Earlswood Park Road and then the Greensand Way. I needn't have done this.
Turn left and cross Horley Road. You are now within Earlswood Common. Explore at will. Visit the Earlswood Lakes to feed the ducks. The golf club marked on the OS map ceased in 2019. St John's steeple is prominent on Redhill Common. We leave Earlswood via the Greensand Way and the early 20th century housing. Pendleton Road meets Mountview Drive. Take this rather enclosed route to Cronks Hill Road and go north. I took the path up the sandy cut through to High Trees Road and met Cronks Hill. I feel the views south from here are probably quite good but difficult to see from the path beyond. Some views of the hills are apparent also to the north. Go down the hill a little way and turn right, squeezed between the fences and hedges. Furzefield Crescent is a pleasant little green that leads to Smoke Lane. This brings you down Isbells Drive and out onto Cockshot Hill. Go north and enter Reigate Park. I took a brief look down the hill to The Priory school and museum. It seems I missed out on the remains of the priory, the pond and the 2008 Pavillion and Cafe, which you could visit. Instead, I climbed the hill to the memorial and the first trig point.
Descend deeply to Park Lane where you can see Reigate Heath and the Windmill on the golf course. Take the byway that is Littleton Lane to Skimmington. Despite the kitchen troubles, The Skimmington Castle, a 17th Century pub, provided lunch. Continue north on Bonnys Road and cut through the Heath to Flanchford Road. Go east a little way and you can cut through along Buckland Road. Walk a little way along what becomes West Street, past the end of the driveway and take the byway between the houses. Cross the railway and carry on Coppice Lane. Follow the Underhill Lane until the steepness is saved for the last moment, up the Reigate Hill Path. Stop at the memorial and admire the view. A bit further, thinking I'd done the memorial, I completely ignored the steps that I guess would have taken me to the Inglis memorial but continued west to the ridge of Colley Hill. Don't do this.
When you've taken in the view from the striking circular monument I never visited, go west and keep just south of the trees to get the most out of the view. Rather than descend the hill to the trackway known as the Pilgrim's Way, I continued above on the bridleway. I found there was no view to be had here and descended steeply the footpath on Mount Hill to The North Downs Way. You walk through the yew bestrewn path through a bit of Dawcombe Nature Reserve before meeting Pebble Hill Road.
Cross the road and take the path beside it south before heading up The Coombe. This will take you steadily back up to the chalk habitat known as Betchworth Quarry and Lime Works. The area has been mined since the 1860s but shut in the 1960s and was used for landfill and largely buried. Since then, it has been managed as a nature reserve. Two series of the Doctor Who were filmed in the quarry: The Genesis of the Daleks and The Deadly Assassin, with my favourite Doctor, Tom Baker. A redundant and never-fired Smidth kiln still stands, only for the birds. The North Downs Way takes you to Quick's Grave, amongst the trees. He was clearly a beloved greyhound and a thoroughbred. The path follows the line of a straight bit of the Zig Zag Road to Box Hill. Make sure you stay on the North Downs Way and ignore the National Trust path marked 'Box Hill Hike' which goes downhill again.
At Box Hill, I enjoyed the sun that was beginning to descend, as was I and the company of most friendly robin, who has clearly been indulged by Surrey's many visitors. Down the stairs, you'll thank me for choosing to walk in this direction and you'll reach the stepping stones that span the Mole. The water quality is the best you'll find on this walk, which isn't great. If you're brave, you can cross here or follow the bank right to the footbridge. Once at the road, turn right onto the A24, go over the roundabout and enter the station car park on your left.
I actually have a bit of a fear about river crossings and after watching the school kids get their feet wet, coming over in the other direction, I stood on the first stone and chickened out. My hesitation did not cost me as I had excellent timing for the train home.
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