Soak it Up
This was a rebellious walk that may not have happened. I'd pulled something in my back and a few days earlier and I'd barely been able to get dressed because of spasms. With the relief that just a low grade burn remained, I took on a route that defies the niceties of landscsape and nature. If only my feet had remained dry, it would have elevated me from the feelings of grind at the lower levels. I have to say that the initial watery jeopardy on the first part of this route was enjoyable and has inspired thoughts of further exploration of this seasonally flooded area. As usual, the colour and nuance displays itself via a look at historical and geographical detail. Having a real-time commentary by a notable radio voice, for example, certainly would have helped.
Redhill is really convenient to get to via a train to Three Bridges or Gatwick, in less than an hour. Return via South Godstone is made in around an hour.
If you come out of Redhill Station on to the roundabout (not sure if there is another exit), go back on Redstone Hill and under the railway bridge. I chose to take Cavendish Road in the darkness but you could equally follow Noke Road to have immediate contact with the Redhill Brook. Either way, cross the Quarry Line at the end of Cavendish Road and follow the footpath and route 21 cycle route into an area collectively known as Nutfield Marshes. The reserve comprises a series wetland sites - The Moors, Spynes Mere, Holmethorpe Lagoons and Mercer Country Park. Much of it is inaccessible
Gone was the slightly comforting glow of the The Home Cottage. Now the overgrown tree hedgelines on each side of the path were ever so slightly creepy in the darkness. The hum of the Patteson Court Landfill Gas Plant increased and the dark pools and rivulets formed a primordial waterland. Sand and mineral extraction and landfill has shaped this area. Redhill was one of the few places where fullers earth was extracted. Soon you discover that this shifting landscape has made the cycle path unusable and you must follow the route of many ingenius hominids and take the higher path next to the fence. This is not free of slippery hazards but will get you Cormongers Lane and the end of this stretch of Warner's Brook. A buzzard approached me directly and wheeled round in silence on realising its mistake.
Take to the road, go south and cut back in to the right side and the path. This had all been too much for Mr Fox who alarmed me with his perfectly laid out dead body ahead of me. Cross the Road and take Chilmead Lane east. After the barns, take the footpath on the right and go through the gate into the area of the former landfill site. Cross the field obliquely between the vents and go through the gate onto the Tandridge Border Path. Go north. This was very wet and muddy. A cormorant spread its wings on the lake at my left, in an area known as Nutfield Biodiversity Park. Back on the lane, turn right and continue northeast to cross the green at Nutfield Marsh. Beyond the cricket pitch, you will spy The Inn on the Pond which has views of both the cricket and the pond.
Having crossed Nutfield Marsh Road, continue to Nutfield Marsh Lane and go north on the bridleway to Mercer's Farm. Mercer's Lake to the west is a former site quarried for sand and China Clay. Mercer's Country Park is formed by this lake, the West Lake and Spynes Mere. The path around the latter looked horrendous. After the mere, be sure to follow the larger track north, rather than the path it parallels. At the Bletchingley Road, go left and then continue on the footpath to the increasing sound of traffic.
The Tandridge Path now takes you to 150 acres of Merstham Interchange. Surprisingly not as hectic as you might expect, the path takes you by the side of the road before crossing the M25. Once over, you traverse in an easterly direction, a field with a number of motorcycle carcasses. At Rockshaw Road, go east. The turbulent history of motorway planning has left this settlement a sorry sight, sandwiched between the M25, M23 and the railway. Take to the bridleway on the north side and continue over the M23.
Follow the signs for the North Downs Way and you ascend to the trig point. Go east on the Pilgrims Lane. Over the Hilltop Lane, this becomes Pilgrims Way. At Quarry Hangars Farm, take the footpath south and then the bridleway east. You can just as easily remain on the North Downs Way and avoid the heartbreak of the ponies on the backyard rubbish tip at White Hill Lane. Over the junction and on War Coppice Road, is the Whitehill Tower at Tower Farm, built in 1862 as a folly in memory of Jeremiah Long's dead son. There is a story of a drowning of the former Lancing College pupil in the river Adur. Ancient fortifications at War Coppice Camp were built on in the 1800s, in the early concrete of oriental style to form 'The Mound'.
At the junction with Haxtall's Lane, continue on the footpath that runs a little lower than the North Downs Way. This is the same route as the Pilgrim's Way, an ancient trackway between Winchester and Canterbury. It is an historic pilgrimage route from the Cathedral in Kent, home of the shrine of the martyred archbishop, St Thomas Becket.
Continue on the now bridleway to the Caterham Viewpoint. Here the sun brightened and I had my pick of memorial benches to eat an apple. Views are towards the M25. Just after this area and above you, is the Pilgrims Fort, one of 15 mobilisation centres built in the 1850s. Another is visited here.
Just after this, take the footpath down the hill and steps to cross the M25. Turn right just after the motorway and follow a straightforward and a straight line to the right of a barn. At North Park Lane, go south and reenter the sheep field to go southeast next to the East Reservoir Nature Reserve and enter the field beyond. I climbed the tumulus to plan lunch.
Head into Godstone. There are options for lunch but a little early for the pub, I ate at Blossoms Brunch before crossing Godstone Green to Ivy Mill Lane. Go south and leave the road on the footpath through Garston Park. The horses were uninterested. Cross Rabies Heath Road with no health consequences. Join the Greensand Way and bridleway for a time, going west. Turn south at Coldharbour Farm. Prominent is a hill of around 132 metres that has no name and the path has taken you round it and now to the foot of it.
The southward path merges with a bridleway to Cucksey's Farm and then crosses the line of the Redhill to Tonbridge railway. I forgot to look for the air shafts from the tunnel you are crossing. There are hedges either side of the Lane. You pass Pound Hill Wood, go through another and cross the Salfords Stream. Leave this bridleway for another on your right that leads to Outwood Lane. Turn left on Brown's Hill and take the next footpath on the right. The eventual westward path crosses another and joins a The Tandridge Border Path again leading south into Outwood Common. As this is access land, you can bear east on various paths. You will pass or maybe visit the church of St John the Baptist. Head parallel to the road, cross a stream and reach edge of the cricket field. The south side will take you through to Outwood Lane and the windmill. I am gratified to learn that E. Hole & son of Burgess Hill had a hand in repairs in 1958. The redundant mill is now privately owned.
Take to Gayhouse Lane and then go south on the byway Wilmot's Lane. A footpath on the left will take you to Hornecourt Wood where there will be bluebells in the Spring. Those times feel a long way off. Cut through the middle and turn left at the edge. Looking south, you will see Hornecourt Manor Farm, once owned by Jesus College Cambridge until it was bought by Alfred Howard Lloyd in 1891. You have walked through the beginnings of the Harewood Estate, made of the former farms that were once all contained within the South Park deer park of the 13th century. Now it is quite difficult to imagine these uninspiring muddy fields filled with aristocrats chasing animals. A path will take you to Hornecourt Hill. Go north and take the bridleway on the right, where the car park is. Take the bridleway north. After Lodge Farm, turn right to Lower South Park Farm and join the footpath going east. Tilburstow Hill Road is a Roman road that you cross to get to the A22.
Going north you will reach the Godstone station by turning left after the bridge and going into the car park.
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