Habitat and wildlife Greensand Way Surrey The combination of male southern hawkers The Greensand Way is a the Surrey Hills and crosses stunning spring displays of patrol woodland rides. long distance walking route Leith Hill. If you would like bluebells in Frank’s Wood, The flowering heather that starts in Haslemere, to know more and download rhododendrons in the brings extra colour to the Surrey and ends at maps, please visit Surrey Leith Hill Rhododendron Wood and heathland in the autumn, Hamstreet, Kent. It follows County Council’s website: abundant primroses and whilst the sunken lanes and the Greensand Ridge along www.surreycc.gov.uk Walks foxgloves in areas of newly holloways lined with beech coppiced hazel herald the trees start to lose their start of the new year and leaves and carpet the warmer months to come. woodland floor. The An early morning visit will outstanding figure of Leith be rewarded with the Hill Tower becomes a amazing sounds of birds navigation point for many singing their dawn chorus. birds migrating south to Summer brings much warmer climes; birds of nocturnal activity with prey in particular can be woodcock roding and seen soaring in the last of nightjars churring on Duke’s the warm weather. Warren, whilst badgers and Crisp, fresh walks in the bats search for new forage winter weather can along traditional feeding produce amazing views routes. Butterflies are across mist-filled valleys abundant on the south and birds such as redwings, side of Leith Hill with white redpolls and crossbills add admirals and silver-washed colour to the leafless trees. fritillaries in Church Wood On the heathland small Leith Hill office and Dingwall Wood. hints of yellow can be seen Leith Hill Place Estate Yard, Leith Hill Lane, Dragonflies, such as the as the gorse starts its Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6LY golden-ringed, can be seen unseasonal bursting of Telephone: 01306 712711 on Duke’s Warren, whilst coconut-scented flowers. Email: [email protected] www.nationaltrust.org.uk/leith-hill

NationalTrust-SurreyHills The highest point in south east England For alternative formats, please Leith Hill is set within the beautiful call us on 01306 712711 or email Surrey Hills. Its gothic tower rises majestically above the surrounding [email protected] hills providing sweeping views.

Photography: NTPL/ John Miller, Andrew Butler, Ruby Cole, Rob Adam, Colin Clarke, Cliff Reddick, Arnhel de Serra, John Millar Printed on 100% recycled paper. Please recycle this leaflet after use. © National Trust 2015. The National Trust is a registered charity no. 205846. A close relative of the The collection of towering Woodland, heathland, Wedgwood family, Charles specimen trees include Darwin frequently stayed at redwoods to provide the parkland & farmland Leith Hill Place. While at shade needed for the the property, he conducted rhododendrons and set in the Surrey Hills research around the estate azaleas that line the and his ‘worm-stone’ still sits serpentine paths. Some within the grounds today. of these rhododendrons Leith Hill Tower are believed to be the The composer, Ralph first introductions into Leith Hill’s majestic tower Richard Hull was buried Vaughan Williams was the the country. rises above the hill to display beneath the tower and his last of the family to live here. sweeping views across 14 remains were found during He gave the Leith Hill Place Sadly some of the trees counties. London landmarks a recent excavation of the to the National Trust in 1944. and shrubs were lost during to the north and the English foundations. Leith Hill Place can be the Great Storm of 1987. channel to the south are all seen along the route of Extensive replanting, visible through the free Leith Hill Place the circular woodland trail. thinning and aftercare has telescopes at the top. Also included on this trail now restored the damaged This seventeenth century are General Folliot’s parkland parts of the wood to their This Georgian prospect house Georgian house sits quietly and Darwin’s worm stone. former glory. was built by Richard Hull of among the rolling parkland Leith Hill Place in the style of a and beautiful woodland. Open throughout the year, gothic tower. Large amounts Rhododendron the wood has blooms that of sandstone were used for Created by General John Wood are at their best from early wall construction and the Folliot, Leith Hill Place and spring to summer. The many hollows on the nearby its grounds grew to become This beautiful shaded and Rhododendron Wood can slopes are evidence that a landscape of natural formally planted landscape also be seen as part of the material was quarried on site. splendour and includes provides a tranquil place self-guided, woodland trail. a Ha-Ha, Lime Avenue for people to relax among Spectacular views seen from and extensive tree planting. the scented blooms. Leith Hill’s treeless summit made it a popular spot for Some of the country’s most Created by Caroline Victorian picnics. Large influential families have Wedgwood, the sister of numbers of day-trippers lived at Leith Hill Place. naturalist Charles Darwin, were ferried up the hill by Their lineage includes the the wood provides a horse and carriage to feast names Wedgwood and colourful vista when seen around the tower. Vaughan Williams. from Leith Hill Place.

Canary Wharf Reigate masts English Channel Black Down Heathrow Airport Central London Gatwick Airport Wembley Arch Leith Hill Place

N S Leith Hill Tower 360º panorama view from the battlements Henman Bunkhouse Located in Broadmoor, Henman Bunkhouse provides residential accommodation for National Trust volunteers, corporate groups, recreational P Henman FRIDAY STREET Bunkhouse groups and family holidays. It is fully equipped and Friday Street car park P Broadmoor car park can sleep 16 people. For more information contact the office or visit Stephan Langton – BROADMOOR Public House www.nationaltrust.org.uk/leith-hill

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Y H Leith Hill Tower Duke’s Warren I The Plough - Sweeping views across Public House 14 counties with London G landmarks to the COLDHARBOUR G R Play north and the English E E Area channel to the south, all N SHEEPHOUSE LANE S A visible through the free N D W B telescopes at the top. Find out about R O A O Y F M the Tower’s history in the upper room. E J H

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At the base is a servery selling hot L

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E A I T D H P Landslip car park – H I L Leith Hill Tower Footpath to tower ¾ L L A mile, steep gradients N E

Starveall Corner car park – P Footpath to tower ¾ mile, Frank’s Wood easy walking Arboretum L Y D WA ENSAN P GRE M

P P A D R O Windy Gap car park – Rhododendron Wood car park – G E R A B I N Footpath to tower On open days, ¼ mile walk ¼ mile, steep steps What to look out for to Leith Hill Place P A Lime Avenue communities of nightjars, E N Leith Hill Place Wood & Walled Garden woodlarks and other heathland A L An extensive formal garden specialists. TA N H U R S T was once a notable feature of H Boundary banks the estate. A decorative Lime Layered beech hedges line Leith Avenue and a walled garden many of the holloways in D Hill Place which provided a plentiful A the surrounding landscape. supply of fruit and vegetables Originally planted to protect E L for Leith Hill Place. E plantations from deer and I T Dingwall Wood H B Hazel coppice grazing livestock, they were

H abandoned for many decades I As well as providing pea and L L and have since grown to an bean sticks, the cut shoots of L A enormous size. N the hazel are split then woven E into fencing panels known as I Coldharbour Church Wood hurdles. The hazel regrowth is cricket pitch cut on a six to seven year cycle, Located above Coldharbour providing a diverse range of B village, the cricket pitch is

HOLMBURY LANE habitats for a variety of wildlife. thought to be the highest C Etherley Farm in south east England. The Managed by tenant farmers, turves that form the wicket C Etherley Farm is maintained as a were transplanted from the pastoral farmland of small fields original pitch in the heart of and hedgerows. There is a small Coldharbour during the 1940s. P farm shop selling their produce J Stone pits and an adjacent camp site. Etherley Copse car park Etherley Farm Sandstone was used in the D Parkland area to build boundary walls R O A D O C K L E Y Mature parkland trees provide and surface tracks. Quarrying a home for a rich variety of sandstone until the early part native wildlife, including little of the last century has left the Leith Hill Place owls, bats, rare lichens and woodland around Leith Hill many dead wood insects such pitted with hollows and gullies. FOREST GREEN Once the childhood home as stag beetles. K Dakota crash of one of England’s greatest E Darwin’s wormstone The Parrot - composers, Ralph Vaughan In winter 1944, four US Douglas Public House Williams. Here lies one of Charles Darwin’s Dakota aircraft crashed into the worm stones. The famous hillside above Mosses Wood, naturalist made numerous with no survivors. The first trips to Leith Hill conducting crash saw two aircraft hit the research around the estate with ridge whilst a third belly-flopped onto Duke’s Warren. A few Etherley Farm Loop (purple) his nieces. Darwin studied how worm casts will eventually bury weeks later, tragedy struck again Finding your way around The loop will add an additional 1.5 miles to the woodland trail, stones that lie on the surface of when another Dakota crashed in taking you across a landscape of farmland and parkland. This the ground. almost exactly the same place. the Leith Hill Estate hour long walk is graded as ‘easy’ but can become very muddy F Tillingbourne source L Piggot-Brown gate underfoot, if wet. Natural springs rise to form Mosses Wood was given to  the Tillingbourne stream that the National Trust by Lady Leith Hill is crossed by a number of footpaths and Heathland Trail (green) flows west towards Abinger, on Piggot-Brown in memory bridleways that allow you to explore the surrounding The heathland trail takes you on a journey through the high, through Gomshall to Albury and of her son who was killed in action on Christmas Day, 1942. landscape. Ordnance survey map ‘OS Explorer sandy, open heath of Duke’s Warren. Graded as ‘easy’ the 1.75 joins the river Wey at Guildford. mile long route does have a steep climb back up to the tower Its flow was harnessed in past A plaque attached to the gate commemorates his life. Map: 146 – Dorking, Box Hill & Reigate’ and ‘OS and will take approximately an hour to complete. The trail will centuries to power local industry Landranger Map: 187 – Dorking, Reigate & Crawley’ take you through a landscape of heather, bracken, bilberry, such as Shalford Mill. M Frank’s Wood will show all the available routes in the area. gorse, pine and birch. G Heathland Named after National Trust Duke’s Warren was once part woodsman, Frank Longhurst, If you prefer, here are four waymarked nature trails: Frank’s Walk (pink) of the extensive woodland the oak trees were planted in 1949. He planted three acorns This walk guides you to the historic arboretum, through the that surrounds the heath, but deforestation after the First for each hole; one for the mice, Woodland Trail (orange) conifer avenue and into Frank’s Wood with its spectacular spring World War changed the area to one to fail and one to grow The woodland trail offers a lovely walk at all times of year with display of bluebells. Graded as ‘medium’ the walk is our shortest an open landscape of heather, into a beautiful oak. In spring autumn being particularly stunning due to the turning colours of the at 1 mile long and should take around half an hour to complete. bracken, bilberry and gorse the woodland floor is covered trees. Graded as ‘medium’ the 2.5 miles long route does have some There are some steep slopes, steps and muddy patches. with stands of pine and birch. with bluebells. steep parts and will take up to 2 hours. It is our longest trail and will Duke’s Warren now supports take you through parts of the original estate and woodland.