North Downs – things change

Box Hill to Guildford (15.4 miles)

Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022 MikeBLeave a comment

A warm, sunny day made for a gruelling 15.4 mile hike along the North Downs Way, from Westhumble (near Dorking) to Guildford. I was expecting it to be about 12 miles and I intended it to be a bit of a training session in preparation for a 16 mile walk along part of the long-distance, Solent Way. Not only did I underestimate the length but I also improvised an extra bit at the end in order to pick up the River Wey, just to the south of Guildford. But I now know 16 miles is within my capabilities. Not only that, I’m expecting the Solent Way to be fairly flat, whereas today’s walk was up and down and totalled over 2,000 feet elevation – (walking up Snowden is just over 3,000 feet elevation!)

Surrey/Walks

Dorking to Betchworth

Tuesday, Mar 8, 2022Tuesday, Mar 8, 2022 MikeBLeave a comment

On a glorious day I improvised a new walk, starting from Dorking station and heading through the villages of Pixham, Betchworth and Brockham.

Unusually for me I had a mega-sized pub lunch, at the Red Lion in Betchworth. What with a pint as well, I was feeling distinctly heavy for the last 5 miles. The steak & ale pie meal was very good and the pub is recommended.

In the pictures below, note the very odd scarecrow guarding the fishing lake!

Misc/Surrey/Walks

Obstacles on a North Downs hike

Monday, Feb 28, 2022Tuesday, Mar 1, 2022 MikeBLeave a comment

On an 8-mile walk from Box Hill along the North Downs to Gomshall, there was plenty of evidence of the damage caused by the recent series of storms, and several times I had to negotiate obstacles on the blocked track.