9 and a small dog assembled at Gomshall. There were one or two gasps of horror as the walk’s poster reminded us there was no pub stop. We proceeded uphill at a brisk pace. Eventually, the North Downs Way was reached and we set off along that, still at a brisk pace. The mud fairies had been out, spreading their magic but, although slithery in places, I’m assured it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Iu reached home with dry socks anyway (unlike yesterday).

The weather was sunny all day There were two stops , the first on Blatchford Down, the second at Seers Green. This gave those prescient enough a chance to eat their sandwiches and the others a chance to watch. These stops weren’t very long as some found it a bit chilly.

The group split at Seers Green, most, presumably, finishing as planned at Westhumble. Lured by the promise of an easy finish, your correspondent opted to follow the walk poster down a steep slope and along the old coach road to Dorking, where two parched throats were replenished.

All in all, a pleasant day out.

In the end there were 12 at the White Horse. At the start there were 8 joined later by a car driver walking from Shere. At the efficient pub 3 more rolled in but only for a general fragmentation afterwards. One had a picnic and was heading to Box Hill. Two of us carried on after lunch, ending up doing the shorter ending to get the 1520, getting the third heavy shower of the day.

mostly dry with short showers . A bit slippery with some mud, but not too bad.

18 assembled at the Guildford station, but we acquired at least three more as we went along, so 21 on this walk. Given the weather forecast I confess I had been tempted to stay under the duvet, but actually the only rain we had was a little shower late morning (the Met Office rainfall radar showed a lot more just to the east of us). The very cruel north wind was also only rarely evident. Whether I had by chance picked a walk well-sheltered from northerlies or whether the wind was intermittent, I do not know. But the weather was mostly just grey .

The ground was not too muddy. The scenery was nice. Still a good few leaves on the trees but lots of them dead (oak and beech can hang onto brown leaves well into the winter) so I was not sure whether one could declare leaf fall over or not. All in all, the consensus seemed to be that this made a good outing for the time of year.

One of our number rang several of the pubs and found them full. He finally booked tables at the Compasses in Gomshall. But another walker enquiring at the William Bray in Shere found it had a large table vacant, and seven of us ate there. It is a long time since I have been to this pub and I was impressed both by its handsome furnishings and the efficiency of its staff. No complaints about the food either.

In the afternoon we did the “new” afternoon route - ie with the former (slightly) longer ending with its lovely downland views - and we got to the Compasses Inn at 4.30pm or so. We expected to see some of the rest of the group there, but there was no sign of them. I had also looked in on the Abinger Hammer tea rooms on the way but they weren’t there either (it was heartbreakingly deserted, tables neatly laid for tea, but no customers). So they must have dashed to the 3.21 or 3.30pm trains. We got the 5.21, just one of us going to Dorking on the 5.30pm.

9 of us ate at the Compasses and were agreeably surprised at the high quality of the food and the friendliness and promptness of the service. Perhaps we should put this pub back on the list of possibles in that area. Some continued for part of the afternoon walk but planned to catch the 15.21. Two others abandoned the walk at that point and went to see their grandchildren.

The Compasses IS "on the list of possibles" in this area. It is listed as one of the possible lunch pubs for this walk!!

Absolutely do not neglect to do the short extension to Old Simm’s Copse in the afternoon to see one of the best bluebell woods in the south east. Bracken may be starting to grow up and spoil its vast blue sea effect a bit, but otherwise it should be absolutely at its best. It can be combined with any of the walk options.

Will start the walk at Chilworth. Same train from Waterloo, change at Guildford for 10.28 Redhill train, arrive Chilworth 10.37.

Yes, definitely intending to go to Old Simm's Copse. I did this walk last weekend and it was stunning.

20 alighted from the train in Guildford and set off for Gomshall on a warm cloudy day with bright spells . Three others took a train to Chilworth and were met later at Old Simm's Copse. A further two took a train to Gomshall to do the walk in reverse. Of the main group, some ate lunch in the churchyard in Shere. Others carried on to Gomshall in the hope of getting food at a pub there.

Nine of the picnicers carried on with the main walk and enjoyed the sight and scent of great expanses of bluebells. Five then headed to Gomshall and four continued on to Dorking along with the Chilworth three. Five got the 5.16 train from Dorking. Others may wish to report on their adventures.

hum..feel a bit guilty as i'm the one requesting this lovely walk but there appears to be another storm coming at the weekend ...crazy ..and so i may not go.. soz Sean and thankyou anyway

I am wondering if we should just roll over all this week’s walks to next week, but I suppose that would mess up the walk posting rota

The weather doesn’t look good this weekend.

An option on this walk could be to end the walk at lunchtime. It’s about 20 minutes walk along a quiet road from Shere to Gomshall.

A regular feature of Walker's post-match reports is that the weather was nothing like as bad as the BBC predicted, we all had a lovely time, why did you stay at home? etc. This time, however, I'm willing to believe that Storm Denis might turn out to be a bit more of a nuisance. I suppose if you do show up at Guildford and it's really bad, being in a large town does offer plenty of other distractions. And as someone else noted, the design of this walk offers plenty of scope for cutting it short.

If the weekend is a washout I think the various walk posters will be sympathetic to an early repeat of any walk which has been specifically requested, especially if the (usually anonymous) requester confirms which date they'd like it to re-appear.

Hi Sean, I'm the requester yes please roll this walk over to about a months time? Spring might have really sprung by then!���� cheers

I'm inclined to give this a go, or at least head to Guildford and do some kind of walk, armed with a proper map of the area to facilitate improvising a tactical retreat. I'd like to get a walk in this weekend and heavy rain isn't forecast till the afternoon. Also I can always get home by bus - which I appreciate won't be the case for those living further afield.

I am inclined to do so also. On this walk you are never far from transport. You can descend from St Martha's Hill to Chilworth, from where there are trains every two hours and buses hourly, and a pub to wait in. You can finish the walk early in Gomshall, just after lunch - again, two hourly trains and hourly buses and two pubs plus a tea room. There are other walks in the Guildford area. There are also three ways back from Gomshall by train - via Guildford, Dorking or Redhill, which might be useful if a line gets blocked by a falling tree.

St Martha's Hill and Pewley Down are likely to be VERY blowy, but a fair bit of the walk is in valleys, which MIGHT - repeat MIGHT - be more sheltered. A caveat is that the Met Office has a Yellow Weather Warning for Rain to the south of London but not to the north (or did have last time I looked): this MAY just mean that because rain is forecast to persist here from Saturday into all of Sunday, that they expect flooding to be an issue. But I don't know,. I am not an expert. As with all SWC walks, it is your responsibility to route find and also to assess using the broadcast or published weather forecast whether it is or is not a good idea to venture forth. Use your own judgement! I merely provide some facts and ideas to help you make up your mind.

Sing, Bard. Tell of the heroes, of the 6 (including one Newbie!) who defied the Storm of Dennis to trek from the Gilded Ford to the Hall of Gom, thinking naught of the warnings of the mighty Yellow Wizard of Met.

Emerged did they from the Portals of the Rail to find winds but light and no rain to speak of. Nay, earlier on their voyaging had there even been a flickering of sun. A merry band were they as they traversed the verdant summits of Pewley. True, on the Hill of Martha ‘twas a bit blowy - as had been foretold by the Oracles - but they ducked behind the ancient temple to avoid it. Not till Shere was nigh did it start to rain a bit, a refreshing shower of heaven-sent droplets.

Fain would four of the band have dined in the back rooms of the rustic inn they found there. But all the places therein being promised to the elves and hobbits of that region, they had to nab a table in the bar, at which they perched on high stools. Hearty was the fare, and swiftly served! Many a stirring tale was exchanged over a glass of ale.

Two had a poorer lunch of naught but scraps of bread and condiments, but all assembled as one to face whatever the afternoon would bring. Now did the storm rage! The wind howled and the rain was eager. But figuring that they would not now catch the 13.51, our heroes bravely set their faces towards the lofty heights, thinking thus to while away the six score minutes until the next departure.

More than a little courage was needed on this trek! At times the mighty oaks and ashes did bow and sway as if they would touch the ground in their writhings. At times the rain lashed (though at other times it didn’t). Eventually, fearing to miss the train, they were led by a secret short cut (cursed be any who reveals the location of this path!!) down to the valley.

Would the 15.51 be running? But lo! It was. At the Gilded Ford there was something of a hiatus, but the four remaining hied themselves to the Cave of Costa for tea and an enchanted toastie, which seemed to be made of ham and cheese, but yet by wizardry was actually vegan. And so to the 16.34 Waterloo, and back to the cosy comfort of Hobbitshire, with the satisfaction of a grand adventure, well accomplished.

👏👏🤴

Brilliant. Well done to the 6. I regret not going.

This is of more use to those north of the river, but it has been pointed out to me by our resident train fare expert that while a day return From Waterloo to Gomshall, any permitted, with a Network Card is £14.20, from boundary zone six it is only £4.60. If you were then able to get a six zone travelcard with a Network Card discount (which you can do at weekends), the cost would be £8.60 (£12.70 without the Network discount) + £4.60 = £13.20. This may not sound like a large reduction, but it would include your travel from your house to and from Waterloo. Depending on how much this is, you could save you several pounds.

One snag. Buying a 1-6 travelcard with a Network Card is only possible from "normal" rail station ticket machines and ticket offices. The Undergroud ticket machines do not offer this option - or did not last time I looked - though they do offer discounted travelcards for other types of railcard (Senior, Disabled...). But if you have a normal rail station nearby - or can get to a rail station ticket office in advance or one of the machines which lets you buy tickets in advance (which the Waterloo ones do, though the function is somewhat clunky), then you could take advantage of this.

Thank you to the Train Fare Expert for working out the Network Card discount, and to Walker for sharing the information.

As a keen walker with a limited budget, the train fare advice is very much appreciated.

Thinking of doing the short cut between Shere and Gomshall then continuing on to Dorking, which would make a walk of about 9.5 miles with easy trains back to London

if go to Dorking, what ticket should we buy?

I think the safest ticket if you are ending at Dorking is still a Gomshall day return, valid any permitted. This is definitely valid both via Guildford and via Redhill/Dorking. You could in theory do Gomshall to Dorking Deepdene and then Dorking (main station) to London on the way back from Gomshall, so a Gomshall return is valid via Dorking or Box Hill, says I, even though this is a slightly unconventional way to do the journey.

By contrast a Dorking return is almost certainly not valid via Guildford: I have looked in the past and found no evidence that it is, at least.

I have to correct my earlier comment: it IS now possible to buy a one day travelcard with a Network Card from an Underground ticket machine (at weekends only). I just bought one.

The pub and cafe at Sheere were both full to bursting by the time that most of the walkers arrived so some of us (at least 5) lunched in Gomshall - 3 at the Gomshall Inn which was according to reports excellent

12 of us left the walk at Gomshall on the shortcut, taking the 14.04

This means that I got home at 16.15 - rather early really but a good mornings walk with Martha’s church offering splendid views

24 on this walk on a cloudy mild day . The group soon got a bit spread out so I am not sure what everyone did. I am surprised to see from the previous comment that 12 ended at Gomshall after 6.8 miles. I know 4 did this but for half the group to do this is unusual. I know two (or three?) did the standard main walk and one the extended loop. Four of us went on to Box Hill station.

The White Horse and Dabbling Duck cafe in Shere were indeed both full, but a fair few did squeeze into the bar area of the pub to eat and seem to have been served very quickly. Be assured that the other pub, the William Bray, is only closed till March for refurbishment, so hopefully the lunch situation on this walk will improve then. Five of us went to the Compasses Inn in Gomshall, which was nearly empty. Do I understand from the previous comment that three went to the Gomshall Mill pub? And two elsewhere?

The four of us who carried on along the North Downs Way to Box Hill station had a good walk, arriving at 4.30 at the Denbies Wine Estate where some had tea and some sampled the fermented grape juice. We then had a walk in the dark to the Stepping Stones pub for a cosy drink and caught the 6.40 train.

Paths throughout the day were dry as a bone. Another week with no mud on the boots - unprecedented for this time of year.

I took a low level route from Shere to Dorking, following footpaths on the map. It was a nice route with views of the north downs way across to the left and saves climbing the hills after lunch.

You almost certainly will get away with a day return to Guildford from Boxhill (clever! I hadn’t thought of that one) but a drt to Gomshall, even if you intend to walk Guildford to Boxhil, would seal the argument absolutely. Via Dorking is absolutely permissible as a way to Gomshall and Boxhill is on the way back from Dorking.

But yes, Leatherhead is on the way to Guildford too and a drt to Guildford is cheaper. Tee hee hee. What a fascinating world we live in....

Mud warning: for those of you continuing the walk up onto the North Downs after Shere, en route to Boxhill, some paths are likely to be very muddy: best don gaiters after lunch (you should not need to wear them before).

Anyone attending this walk? Weather slight rain till 11am and possibly cloudy and even sunny in the afternoon. I intend to do Guildford to Gomshall (10.7mls). Care to join me?

Monica

Monica, some of my companions on yesterday's walk will be joining you today, plus - I expect - some other Wednesday regulars. I decided against joining you as during the coming ten days I will be doing most legs of today's walk (in either direction) on other walks.

Marcus many thanks for your reply. Since I did not get any response earlier and as there was a walk on Tuesday guess no one will attend plus also weather wise not great. I would have love to attend yesterday's walk as I did it last year with you and few others - it was a great walk with blue bells etc. I shall be attend the May day bank holiday walk Holmwood to Gomshall.

I am not a fan of stiles like you say knees issues. Hope there aren't too many stiles on the walk Holmwood to Gomshall.

Regards Monica

1 , wet

Sorry to read that Anonymous was alone on today's wet walk. I did the walk in reverse on the following day, in fine Spring sunshine, starting at Box Hill and ending in Guildford, having followed Book 1, Walk 14, Gomshall to Guildford. A good lunch at the Compasses Inn, Gomshall, and some good displays of bluebells en route - but nothing like as good as those on our recent Shiplake and Tring walks.

I think we were 12 and the weather was dry warm sunny . I thought it was a lovely walk and a nice day out in good company.

Our fair weather walking colleagues stayed in bed today, so just 3 regulars alighted from the train at Guildford, to be met by another at the station and another en route, so that's 5 . Yes - it did rain for most of the day , but our friends who stayed in bed missed a lovely morning's walk, helped by the rain refreshing the countryside. Bluebells were on their last legs, as expected, but there were plenty of other woodland flowers along the way, but no rhododendrons - now out in impressive displays on the Holmwood to Gomshall walk. All five of us enjoyed a good lunch at the White Horse in Shere - and then a bit of common sense befell us. As the rain, which had briefly relented, started up again, we decided to end the day's walk in Gomshall, instead of carrying on in the wet to Box Hill. Tea was taken at the Compasses in Gomshall as we waited for the 15-53 train to Guildford. A good connection there and we were back in Waterloo in no time. An enjoyable day in quality company - and no complaints over the rain - the South-East needs a lot more of it.

Three from our small party of five are off to Glencoe this weekend: we hope they have a most enjoyable time - and the rain holds off up there !!.

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.

(But don't pick any you see growing by the path, because that is illegal)

Maaaaaan this looks a cool walk. Who's bringing the SWC bong?

Like a true Nature’s child, we were born, born to be wild ... err ... I meant born, born to be walkers.

Take a walk on the wild side and watch out for those big yellow taxis

4 on this walk, two ageing hippies, a flower child and David. The weather was varied but just some brief drizzle . Stunning scenery shortly after leaving Guildford with great views from St. Martha's Church. The allotments on the approach into Shere town centre were a riot of colourful flora including some huge sunflowers.

The Lucky (now Dabbling) Duck provided great food and tea for the four. Conveniently, a major shower came and went during our visit there.

We decided on the shorter afternoon leg in case of more inclement weather (or were we just feeling lazy?)

One snatched a quick view of the "Gomstock" festival and went straight to the station while the others followed the correct route and caught the next train.

An easy and relaxing day out for all.

Gomstock was great. Didn't see anyone I knew there. I was there from about one til six thirty. The variety of the different bands I saw, about six were really good and the quality was very enjoyable. Good beer, food and a lot of people. Hope to make this in more years to come if I am not away for the ABH, Gavin

If the weather is unfavourable, there is an option to finish the walk at lunchtime by walking directly from Shere to Gomshall. It's about 20 minutes walk along the road.