Islington U3A Longer Walking Group Walk Guildford to Gomshall or Westhumble Walk No. 151 Area North Downs (Surrey) Type Linear Date Thursday 3rd August 2017 Distance 7 miles, 11 or 14 miles (you can choose on the day). The 11 mile option will require you to complete the last 2 miles without the leader (unless no-one wants to do the full walk), but it’s straightforward and I’ll provide a note giving directions. Timing Between 3½ and up to 7 hours walking time, depending which option you choose. So you can plan to get back to London any time from about 5.30 pm onwards. Those doing the full 14 miles should not expect to arrive home before about 7.30 pm. Meeting up Meet at Waterloo mainline station outside the main ticket office by and travel 09.30am with train ticket, to catch the 09.45 South West trains service to Guildford. Journey time is about 35 minutes. You can catch the train at Clapham Junction (09.52) if you wish. Please let me know if you plan to do so. It does not stop at Vauxhall. Best ticket option is an Off-Peak Day Return from the Zone 6 boundary station (Surbiton) to Gomshall, but make sure you get it via Guildford. The cost quoted on the website with a Senior Railcard is £6.45. There are two trains an hour back from Gomshall to London (the quicker one via Guildford, the other via Dorking). There is also a half- hourly service from Box Hill & Westhumble, which goes to Victoria (calling at Clapham Junction). Journey time is just over an hour in each case. You’ll need to pay a single supplement (just under £3) to the Freedom Pass boundary if you come back from Westhumble, as it’s a different line. Route From Guildford station there’s a short section through the town, passing close to the castle, before we climb up to the North Downs ridge at Pewley Down, passing the church of St Martha-on-the-Hill. After a stretch on the North Downs Way (NDW), we descend to the Pilgrims Way and follow the valley to the village of Shere (lunch stop). After lunch, the route climbs back up and follows the NDW again, either descending back to the valley to finish at Gomshall or continuing along the ridge past Ranmore Common, St Barnabas Church and Denbies Vineyard to Box Hill & Westhumble station. Note: There is a separate option of staying on the NDW, which means missing the pub lunch (alternative is either a picnic or a car park snack bar). This would mean the 7- mile option isn’t available, but shortens the others to 10/ 13 miles. We can do this if everyone prefers it. Lunch and Plenty of choice for lunch in Shere - two pubs and a café. Tea options refreshments at Abinger Hammer (if finishing at Gomshall) or Denbies Vineyard Visitor Centre (if going on to Boxhill). Islington U3A Longer Walking Group Shortening or The three options provide walks of differing distances between 7 and dropping-out 14 miles. There aren’t really any other drop-out options, although options there is a regular bus service between Guildford and Dorking which will at times be more accessible than the nearest train station. Suitability This walk involves some uphill and downhill sections whichever option you choose. The main distinction between the options is their respective lengths. The walking itself is mainly along well-trodden trails, which should be mainly dry at this time of year. There is some pavement walking at the start and end and a few busy road crossings. Facilities There are toilets at Waterloo station, on the trains and at the refreshment; places, but not at either Gomshall or Box Hill & Westhumble stations. Walk source Saturday Walkers Club (see below) and/or North Downs Way Maps and OS Explorer Map 145 (Guildford and Farnham ) [and Map 146 other (Dorking, Box Hill and Reigate) if doing the full walk]. references Saturday Walkers Club - Walk 2.13: https://www.walkingclub.org.uk/walk/guildford-to-gomshall/ North Downs Way: http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/north-downs-way White Horse (Shere): http://www.chefandbrewer.com/pub/white-horse-shere/c0347/ William Bray (Shere): http://thewilliambray.co.uk/ The Dabbling Duck café (Shere): http://www.thedabblingduck.uk.com/ Leader and Walk leader: Martyn Waring contact Phone: 07588 713 230 details Email: [email protected] Disclaimer I have not checked the walk on this occasion. I’ve done it (or parts of it) before on several occasions, including Dorking to Box Hill last summer. Most of it is on well-signposted national trails, which are relatively easy to navigate. Islington U3A Longer Walking Group Points of The North Downs Way extends for a total of 153 miles, between interest Farnham and Dover (with two alternative routes between Canterbury and Dover). The section between Guildford and Dorking is within the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Much of the Pilgrims Way, which runs 133 miles from Winchester to Canterbury, follows a very similar route to the North Downs Way. Pewley Down is chalk grassland, renowned for its unusual flowers, and the butterflies which depend on these. In 2010, 26 species of butterfly were recorded there and 119 species of bees, wasps and ants. There are also rare flowers, including six species of orchid. Shere is a pretty, quintessential English village located in the Vale of Holmesdale, between the Greensand and North Downs ridges. It has quaint buildings, a stream, a small museum and a 12th century church. St Barnabas on Ranmore Common is often referred to as “the church on the North Downs Way”. It was commissioned by the Cubitt family (owners of the Denbies Estate until 1984), designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and completed in 1859. The Denbies Estate comprises 627 acres in total, of which 265 (over 40%) have been planted with vines, making it three times the size of any other UK vineyard. .