Length: 16.7 km (10.4 miles) 6/10
A good time of year to do this hilly and hopefully bluebell-bedecked walk around Leith Hill. The walk owner recommends a short detour to visit the Leith Hill Rhododendron Wood. For those in training for the Scotland trip, there are various map-led ways to extend the walk and get some more miles/ascent in, for instance following the Greensand Way west for 6 km to Holmbury Hill (5 km south of Gomshall station) or heading towards Box Hill (see last year's Surrey Peaks challenge walk): the viewpoint on Box Hill is 10 km from the lunch pub.
Travel: 0941 from Victoria (Clapham Junction 0948, Epsom 1024) arriving Holmwood 1047. Return trains from Gomshall via Guildford at 1524, 1604, 1626, 1724 and 1824; via Redhill at 1530, 1628 and 1728; and via Reigate at 1829.
Get a return to Gomshall. This will be valid as far as Dorking on the outward route and might be accepted to Holmwood, although you could be asked to pay a small supplement. Holmwood and Gomshall are on different lines with trains operated by different railway companies, so if you want the option of travelling back via Guildford, you will need a day return to Gomshall any route permitted.
Lunch: the walker-friendly Wotton Hatch pub (tel.01306 887694) in Wotton, some 11.5 km into the walk. This pub serves food all day in comfortable internal and outdoor seating areas (both quite extensive) and has a good value set menu in addition to an a la carte menu.
Tea: Several options: the Abinger Hammer Tea Rooms are just over a mile from the end of the walk. Just before Gomshall station, the Lavender Goose tearoom (tel. 01443-202214) closes at 5 pm. A little further along the road is the suggested pub, the Compasses Inn (tel. 01483-202506) at Gomshall Mill has a pleasant beer garden with a stream outside.
Long and short walk options: There a number of ways to extend the walk. As well as those mentioned above, the walk web page suggests two ways to continue to Guildford (27-30 km).
The route intersects the Dorking circular walk SWC 274 so if you want to finish at Dorking you could follow that from Friday Street or Wotton, a slightly shorter (15 km) route.
The easiest way to shorten the walk is to catch the hourly 32 bus to Guildford or Redhill opposite the Wotton Hatch pub. If you have tea in Abinger Hammer you can catch the same bus from there or, as detailed in the walk directions, simply turn right, westwards, from the tearoom and stay on the A25 to Gomshall Station.
For walk directions, map and GPX click here
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