Dorking Circular Walk

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Walk Map

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Walk Options ( Circ. )

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13. Main Walk, via Wotton & Friday Street (18½ • 16¾ km)

1. Short Walk, omitting Friday Street (16 • 14¼ km)
2. Long Walk, via Abinger Common (22¾ • 21 km)
3. Alternative Walk, starting from Gomshall (15 km)

The shorter distances are when starting from Dorking West and finishing at Dorking Deepdene.

Walk Directions

Click on any section heading to switch between detailed directions and an outline, or the heading above to switch all sections.

If you are doing the Alternative Walk (from Gomshall), start at §G.

1. Dorking Stations to Denbies Hillside (2 • 1¾ • ½ km)
• From either of the town's two main stations head south briefly on the A24 and turn right into London Road. Cross Pipp Brook at Pippbrook Mill and take a path through Meadowbank and then along an alleyway. Go across the A2003, turn right onto Ranmore Road and follow it up past the exit from Dorking West station and a primary school. Continue on a footpath for 200m and then fork left into Denbies Hillside.

Directions are given from each of Dorking's three stations.

1. Starting from Dorking (Main) (2 km)

1. Leave the station through the booking hall. Go out along Station Approach and turn left onto the A24. In 125m you go under the Guildford–Redhill railway line by the exit from Dorking Deepdene.

2. Starting from Dorking Deepdene (1¾ km)

1. Go down steps at the Guildford end of the platform to the A24, joining the route from Dorking (Main).
3. Cross the main road at the pedestrian lights, turn left on the far side and then turn right at the junction into London Road. In 200m do not be tempted by a public footpath sign ahead (the return route), but shortly before reaching it turn right into the driveway to Pippbrook Mill?.
4. Pass to the left of the old building, crossing over Pipp Brook. At the end turn left onto a residential street (Fairfield Drive) and then immediately bear left onto a tarmac path. Follow the path alongside the stream and into Meadowbank Recreation Ground, now with the old millpond on your left.
5. At the end of the lake ignore a path to the left and continue on either of two tarmac paths ahead, which skirt around a narrow play area. After these paths rejoin keep ahead on an alleyway, signposted to Chalkpit Lane and Dorking West station.
6. In 250m go straight across the A2003 (Chalkpit Lane) and keep ahead past a small parade of shops. At the far end turn right onto Ranmore Road, crossing over to the left-hand side after passing Station Road. The road climbs gently, crosses over the Guildford–Redhill line and passes another exit from Dorking West station.

7. Starting from Dorking West (½ km)

1. If arriving by train from Redhill, go through the underpass to exit from Platform 1. Bear right onto either of the two lanes and turn left at the top onto Ranmore Road, joining the route from the other Dorking stations.
8. Follow the road past a primary school and round to the left. The pavement leads onto an unsurfaced path, with the school's chainlink fence on the left and trees on the right. In 200m, shortly after a driveway has appeared on the right, fork left onto a permissive path with a yellow NT waymarker, entering the National Trust's Denbies Hillside.
2. Denbies Hillside to White Down Lease (3¼ km)
• Continue on a woodland path all the way through the belt of trees, finally veering right to join a broad track, the Old Carriage Road. Follow this gently uphill along the side of the downs for 1 km, then back downhill on the other branch of this old driveway for a further 1 km. At a T-junction turn right onto a permissive bridleway, which later joins a public bridleway. Follow this until the two split by a NT sign for White Down Lease.
1. In 75m fork left at another yellow NT waymarker, staying on the attractive woodland path; there is a parallel chalky track off to the right (the Old Carriage Road?) which you will be joining later. In 400m the woodland path swings right and comes to a T-junction.
2. Do not take the track down to the left (which leads into a meadow), but veer right to join the Old Carriage Road: either by scrambling up a small bank or via a gentle slope up to the right followed by a sharp left turn.

   The rest of this section follows the NT's “Walk the Chalk” from Dorking to Gomshall, with its green waymarkers.

3. The chalky track climbs steadily across the side of the downs, soon with increasingly fine views of the wooded Greensand Hills away to the left (with Leith Hill Tower visible in a gap in the trees on the horizon, 7 km away). After going into a copse keep ahead at an oblique crossing with a public bridleway.
4. In a further 400m the track swings right and comes to a three-way junction where you fork left onto the Westcott branch of the Old Carriage Road. The track now descends steadily for over 1 km, partly through copses but mostly with open downland on your left. It eventually swings left and comes to a T-junction where you turn right.
5. Follow this permissive bridleway uphill, through a wooden gate and then along the hillside. In 200m keep ahead at a junction of tracks, now on a public bridleway through a wooded area. Ignore a fork up to the right and continue on a level path through the trees.
6. The bridleway emerges into the open hillside of the National Trust's White Down Lease. In a further 350m you come to a signpost indicating that the public bridleway turns left while the “Walk the Chalk” route continues on the permissive bridleway ahead.

If you are doing the Long Walk, go to §F.

3. White Down Lease to Wotton (2¼ km)
• Turn left to stay on the public bridleway. Follow this past Stockmans Coomb Farm and along its driveway. Turn right at a T-junction onto another driveway. Go past Vale Farm onto a footpath through an open valley (detouring up to and past St John's church if you wish). Continue along Church Road to the Wotton Hatch pub on the A25.
1. Turn left through a wooden gate and follow the public bridleway down the right-hand side of a field. After going under the railway line the track swings right, left and right again, passing a cluster of buildings at Stockmans Coomb Farm. Follow its long driveway round to the left and all the way out to a T-junction.
2. At the junction turn right onto another driveway, with a long fenced paddock on your left. At a fork in 150m keep left, staying alongside the paddock. In 250m bear left past a group of houses and go over a stile to the right of a wooden fieldgate onto a grassy track. Follow this as it curves round to the right into an attractive open valley.
3. At a path junction in 150m the simplest route is to continue along the valley floor, passing to the right of two tree-lined ponds ahead. In a further 200m you will pass below the old church of St John the Evangelist? on the right.
   • There are several paths sloping up the side of the valley if you want to take a closer look at the church, but it is usually only open on Sundays in summer. If you do this, continue along its access lane at the top of the valley.
4. The footpath along the valley floor climbs gently and eventually you go through a gate to join the lane from the church. This leads out to the A25, with the Wotton Hatch pub opposite. Use the traffic island just off to the left to cross this busy main road with great care.

   Note that this is now the only pub on both the Main and Short Walk routes.

If you are doing the Short Walk, go to §E.

4. Wotton to Friday Street (2 km)
• Take the footpath heading south from the back of the pub's car park, crossing the River Tillingbourne and going over the shoulder of Oldpark Hill. Continue on a footpath at the edge of a wood which goes up another river valley to the large pond at Friday Street (with the option of carrying on past it to the Stephan Langton pub).

This section follows the route of Walk 1–42 (in reverse).

1. For the Main Walk make your way to the pub's car park, either directly from its beer garden or along the driveway to the left of the pub, signposted to Wotton Village Hall. At the back of the car park go through a metal kissing gate to the left of the village hall and follow a faint grassy path to the far right-hand corner of a large field (ignoring a gate on the right-hand side leading out to a lane).
2. In the corner go through “Gordon's Gate” and follow a path down through the trees, across the River Tillingbourne? in a meadow and up the other side of the valley. Go over a stile and continue on the woodland path for 500m, over the shoulder of Oldpark Hill.
3. At the bottom of a long slope bear left onto a broad track running along the edge of the wood, with another river valley on the right. In 500m go through a wooden fieldgate and keep ahead at a footpath crossing (with a nice view of the valley from the bridge on the right).
4. In a further 150m go past Yew Tree Cottage and fork right onto an unsurfaced driveway, climbing gently past several more houses. At the top turn left at a road junction by the north-west corner of the large Hammer Pond? in the hamlet of Friday Street?.

Continue the directions at §J.

5. Wotton to Bury Hill Fisheries direct (4 km)
• Take the lane heading south-east from the pub for 250m, then a parallel footpath for 200m. Turn left onto a footpath parallel to a byway, then turn right to follow the byway (Wolvens Lane) south-east along a ridge for 1 km. Turn left onto a bridleway going downhill through Logmore Green and along a driveway to Logmore Lane. Go across this onto a footpath heading north and then north-east, merging with a bridleway on the far side of Bury Hill Fisheries.
1. For the Short Walk take the minor road (Damphurst Lane) to the left of the pub, which in 250m comes to the entrance to a business park. For the suggested route veer left onto a signposted footpath running parallel to the lane behind a belt of trees.
   • If the footpath is overgrown you can simply stay on the lane.
2. Where the path rejoins the lane turn left onto either a fenced footpath or the track running alongside it (Wolvens Lane, a public byway). In 200m both come to a major path junction where you turn right onto a broad track heading SE, the continuation of Wolvens Lane.
3. You now follow this tree-lined byway (or a parallel sandy path on its right) for 1 km, climbing gently along a ridge. There is coppiced woodland on the left and fields sloping down into a valley on the right.

   The sandy path was a useful alternative at points where the byway used to become waterlogged, but its condition has been improved with a stony surface.

4. Shortly after the end of the wood on the left (opening up a clear view of the North Downs) turn left off the byway onto a signposted bridleway. This fenced path goes downhill for 300m and leads into a small clearing with a sign for Logmore Farm. Join its long driveway and follow it past fields and cottages for 700m to a T-junction with Logmore Lane.
5. Go across the lane (slightly to the left) onto another driveway, with a sign for Surrey Hills Yurts. Where the drive forks after 200m, go through a wooden kissing gate to the right of a metal gate into the field ahead. Follow this fenced footpath downhill for 300m (with some potentially muddy stretches) and out into a meadow.
6. Continue across the meadow on a grassy path. In the far corner go through a metal kissing gate and across a footbridge onto a path between hedges, with the ponds of Bury Hill Fisheries on the right. At the end go over Milton Brook on another footbridge and turn left, joining the longer routes.

Continue the directions at §L.

6. White Down Lease to Abinger Roughs (4 km)
• Keep ahead on the permissive path and follow it for a further 1 km, through a copse and along the hillside again. Eventually turn left at a T-junction with a bridleway and follow it over the railway to Park Farm. Turn half-right onto a bridleway going along the north side of Deerleap Wood, then across White Down Lane into Abinger Roughs. The suggested route is along NT permissive paths, rather than the main bridleway. At a major path junction fork left onto a bridleway heading south-west out of the Roughs.
1. For the Long Walk continue on the permissive path. In 200m go through a gate and follow the track as it turns left and right through a copse, then back through another gate onto the open hillside again. In 600m the track bends right and comes to a junction where you finally leave the “Walk the Chalk” route: turn left onto a public bridleway, which swings all the way round to the left in a tight curve as it descends.
   • You could also take an unmarked path down through the trees on the left just before this junction; this simply cuts off a corner and joins the bridleway lower down.
2. Either way, follow the bridleway out through a wooden gate onto farmland. Continue on a farm track down the left-hand edge of the field and then over the railway line on a wide bridge, towards the buildings of Park Farm. Alongside the large farmhouse the track comes to a major path junction where you turn half-right onto a bridleway going past some old barns towards a wood, now on Cycle Route 22 (CR 22).

   The next 1 km follows the route of Walk 1–42.

3. At the edge of Deerleap Wood keep left to continue on a narrow fenced path between the trees and a large field for nearly 1 km, heading W. After turning right and then left the path comes out onto a road (White Down Lane) where you turn left. Almost immediately veer right at a CR 22 signpost onto a track into Abinger Roughs?.
4. At the start of a patch of grassland ignore a path forking up to the left, but in a further 75m turn left by a large granite cross, the Wilberforce Memorial?. At the top of the slope turn right at a path crossing onto another broad grassy track and follow this for 400m. Shortly before it comes to a T-junction with the track you were on earlier there is an information panel about the Witch's Broom Tree? on the left.
5. At the T-junction turn left briefly onto the track. In 20m ignore one path going back up to the left but 20m later turn left onto a second path (both with yellow NT waymarkers), heading S. In 50m turn right at a path crossing and go across a potentially boggy area by an old well. Continue up a short slope and round to the left, merging with a path from the right.

   There is another unusual tree in this boggy area: many years ago an American ash was grafted onto the trunk of an English ash, just above ground level.

6. After going through a more open area and curving right, keep ahead at a footpath crossing. Follow the path for a further 200m to an open glade and continue along its left-hand edge. In the next corner fork left at a major path junction onto a public bridleway sloping down to a wooden fieldgate, leaving the Roughs.

Continue the directions at §H.

7. Gomshall Station to Abinger Roughs (1¾ • 2¾ km)
• From Platform 2 take a footpath down to the A25 and turn left onto the main road. In 350m turn left into Beggars Lane, then in 200m take a footpath on the right heading east through Piney Copse and across Hackhurst Lane to Abinger Roughs. Go through this area to a path junction 350m ahead and turn right onto a public bridleway heading south-west.
  • There is the option of a longer route through this attractive area of mixed woodland and grassland.
1. Do not leave the station via its approach road but take a footpath from the Redhill end of Platform 2 (if arriving on a train from Guildford, cross over the new footbridge to come directly to this exit). At the bottom of this fenced path turn left and go alongside the busy A25 for 350m, crossing over carefully to the pavement on the other side at the end of the houses on your left.
2. Opposite the entrance to a Trout Farm cross back over the main road and turn left into Beggars Lane, signposted as a byway. In 200m, at the start of a wood on your right, turn right up a narrow path into Piney Copse?, passing a National Trust information panel at its entrance.
3. Follow the public footpath through this small open-access wood and continue along a fenced path at the top of a field, heading E. Cross over a lane (slightly to the right) and go through a wooden gate to maintain direction on a bridleway along the edge of another field.
4. On the far side go through a wooden side gate into Abinger Roughs? and continue along the main bridleway. In 150m you come to a path crossing at the start of an attractive area of mixed woodland and grassland, with a choice of routes.

If you want to explore this area more fully, take the longer route in [?].

5. Main route

1. Turn right at the path crossing, heading S. Follow the path as it curves gradually round to the left, and keep left where the NT's ‘Snowdrop Path’ joins from the right. Later you might be able to see the continuation of your route down to your right: a public bridleway almost doubling back from your current direction.
2. The two paths gradually come closer together and you could simply turn sharp right onto it when they meet at a major path junction, but if you spot a wooden fieldgate on the bridleway (50m before the junction) you can nip down the bank and turn right to go through it, leaving the Roughs.

6. Longer route (+1 km)

1. Turn left at the path crossing, heading N and now on the Abinger Roughs Nature Trail. Follow its green waymarkers as the trail winds its way along the edge of the wood, gradually curving round to the right and with a meadow down to the left.
2. The trail eventually crosses a public bridleway and heads E on a long straight path between rhododendrons and azaleas. At the end follow the path round to the right, now heading S.
3. Keep ahead at another bridleway crossing (leaving the Nature Trail, which turns left to loop around the eastern half of the Roughs). You soon merge with another path coming up from a wooded depression on the left, the Long Walk route from Dorking.
4. …
8. Abinger Roughs to Abinger Common (3 km)
• Go across a meadow and down a sunken path to the A25. Cross the road and take the bridleway going uphill past Paddington Farm. At a path junction you can either take a direct route via Raikes Farm to join the footpath heading east to Abinger Common, or stay on the bridleway to visit The Volunteer pub in Sutton Abinger, returning via a footpath to the east of Raikes Lane. At Abinger Common follow the path around Abinger Manor and through the churchyard to emerge on Abinger Lane opposite the Abinger Hatch pub.
1. Follow a grassy path near the right-hand edge of a large meadow, curving gently round to the left. At the far end go through a wooden gate and down a gloomy sunken path. In 250m this comes out onto a busy main road with limited visibility, the A25.
2. Cross the A25 with great care and continue on the tarmac lane opposite, a public bridleway. Follow this past a new house (Paddington Mill), a fishing pond and then some farm buildings. After going up a short slope veer left in front of Paddington Farmhouse, then immediately turn right onto a track, the continuation of the bridleway.
3. This potentially muddy track climbs gently between tall hedges, then levels out with views across farm fields. In 600m keep ahead where a footpath joins from the right. In a further 125m you come to another three-way path junction in front of a line of trees, with the bridleway turning right and a footpath going through a gap in the trees.

The alternative directions in [?] are to a (possibly closed) lunch pub in Sutton Abinger.

4. Main route

1. Take the footpath through the trees and bear right to cross a large field; if there is no clear path, aim for a double wooden fieldgate in the far corner, 400m away. Continue on a narrow path to the right of this fieldgate to come to a minor road (Raikes Lane).
2. Turn right briefly onto the lane, then before it drops downhill veer left onto a signposted footpath. Go through a wooden kissing gate towards a cluster of farm buildings and turn right as indicated. Continue on a short track to the left of Raikes Farmhouse and turn left at a T-junction.

5. Route via The Volunteer (+350m)

1. For the alternative route turn right in front of the trees onto the narrow bridleway, heading S. In 300m this swings left and joins a long driveway. At the end turn right onto a minor road (Raikes Lane), coming to the The Volunteer pub on the right in 50m.
2. Afterwards retrace your steps up Raikes Lane and carry on past the driveway. In a further 75m turn right up a flight of steps in the bank, signposted as a footpath. Continue on a narrow fenced path at the top of the bank, later bearing right away from the lane. Before reaching some farm buildings turn right at a Y-junction.
6. Head E along a narrow path between hedges for 200m, then in much the same direction on a farm track for a further 450m. Shortly after another footpath joins from the left go through a kissing gate and follow an enclosed path as it skirts around the buildings of Abinger Manor?.
7. Continue through an old gate into a churchyard and up to St James' church?, which is worth a quick visit. Leave through its lychgate and go along a tarmac path to a road (Abinger Lane), passing some old stocks off to the left. The route continues along the road to the right, but if you are stopping for lunch here the Abinger Hatch is directly opposite.
9. Abinger Common to Friday Street (1½ km)
• Take the minor road (Donkey Lane) heading east off Abinger Lane, to the south of the pub. Turn right onto Hollow lane, then in 100m veer left onto a bridleway leading to Friday Street Road. Follow a path alongside this lane past a large car park to the large pond at Friday Street (with the option of detouring off to the right to the Stephan Langton pub).
1. Turn left out of the pub to head S briefly on Abinger Lane. At the end of the pub's beer garden turn left into a narrow road (Donkey Lane). This dips downhill and goes round a couple of sharp bends, passing the entrance gates to some houses. After climbing back up it comes to a T-junction with a sunken road (the aptly-named Hollow Lane).
2. Turn right and go along this road with great care as there is no pavement and more traffic than you might expect. In 100m veer left off the road onto a signposted bridleway, a muddy sunken path which climbs up through the wood. Where it splits at the top of the slope the slightly raised left-hand path is preferable, as it joins the lane ahead 100m further on.
3. Continue briefly along the lane (the oddly-named Friday Street Road), ignoring a driveway and a signposted footpath on the left, then take a path running along its right-hand bank. This gradually climbs above the level of the road on the edge of the wooded Abinger Common.

   There are plenty of tempting little paths meandering through this open-access woodland but for simplicity the walk route follows a fairly straightforward course alongside lanes or on defined rights of way.

4. In 250m continue along the roadside path past a large car park (or detour through it and rejoin the path on the other side). The path goes alongside a wooden fence as it follows the road downhill. At the bottom go down a few steps to join the road. In 60m keep ahead …
10. Friday Street to Logmore Lane (3 km)
• Head east on Noons Corner Road. At the end of the pond veer right onto a footpath climbing through a wood. At the top go across two lanes and follow the path down to the right. Go out to a lane in the hamlet of Broadmoor and turn left past a few cottages. Turn right onto a bridleway, then in 100m turn left at a bridleway junction. Follow this across a stream and steeply uphill through Simon's Copse. At the top go straight across a byway (Wolvens Lane) to descend on the bridleway to Squire's Farm. Follow its long driveway out to Logmore Lane.
1. Head E alongside the pond, on Noons Corner Road. At the end of the pond fork right off the road onto a signposted footpath into a wooded area. The path veers away from the pond, climbs steadily and then levels off, passing a National Trust sign for Severell's Copse on the right. The path eventually comes to a lane, Noons Corner Road again.
2. Go across the lane (slightly to the right) to continue on the footpath, which soon crosses another lane. At a junction after 100m the suggested route is to fork left and follow the path down and round a curve to the right, merging with another footpath from the left; later the potentially awkward path from the (slightly shorter) other fork rejoins from the right.
3. Shortly after the two routes rejoin you come to a footpath junction in a small clearing where you turn left. Go down a broad gap between houses and turn left onto a lane in the hamlet of Broadmoor. Go past a few cottages and then turn right onto a private road to a number of houses, which is also a public bridleway.
4. In 100m turn left at a bridleway junction onto a track leading to two cottages. Go across a potentially muddy area at the bottom of a dip and past their entrances onto a broad path going uphill, initially between fences. After climbing steadily through a wood for 200m the path bends right and at the top of the hill you pass a large cleared area on the right.
5. Go straight across a broad sandy track (a public byway) flanked by a pair of metal vehicle barriers onto the bridleway opposite. In 175m fork right to continue on this rough track, gently downhill, to a major path junction. Ignore all the obvious forest tracks and take a narrow path ahead into the trees, now descending more steeply.
6. In 150m keep left at a three-way signpost. In 200m ignore a footpath branching off to the left through a new metal gate and stay on the bridleway as it skirts around a large property, turning left at the edge of the wood. At the entrance to Squire's Farm turn right onto its long driveway (still on a public bridleway) and follow it for 600m between fields and through copses to a T-junction with Logmore Lane.
11. Logmore Lane to Bury Hill Fisheries (1½ • 1¾ km)
• The suggested route is to take the left-hand of two footpaths on the other side of Logmore Lane, which goes through a copse and joins a bridleway heading north through Bury Hill Fisheries.
  • If the start of this route is waterlogged you can take the right-hand footpath to Chadhurst Farm and turn left there onto the bridleway leading to the Fisheries.

The main route for this section goes past one of the sources of Milton Brook. If this area proves too boggy you could return and switch to the alternative route in [?].

1. Main route (1½ km)

1. Go through the gate into the field opposite and take the left-hand of two footpaths, a grassy path which goes up to and along the left-hand side of some trees. At the bottom of the field make your way across a boggy area and through a metal kissing gate into a wood.
2. Follow the path down through the wood and out through another kissing gate into a long narrow field. Go all the way along its left-hand edge to a metal fieldgate at the far end.

2. Alternative route (1¾ km)

1. Go through the gate into the field opposite and take the right-hand of two footpaths, a grassy path which goes down to a metal fieldgate in a dip. Go through a side gate and continue along the left-hand edge of a farm field sloping up to the right.
2. At the end of the trees on your left go past a redundant gate and keep ahead down through another field, aiming for the centre of a barn if there is no clear path. At the bottom of the field veer left as indicated to pass to the left of the barn.
3. Go through a gap in the hedge and turn left onto a farm track, which in 300m leads into a long narrow field. Follow a faint grassy path all the way along it to a metal fieldgate at the end.
3. Go through a metal kissing gate to the right of the fieldgate and continue in the same direction on a tree-lined path, alongside Milton Brook on your left. In 150m go straight across a link road between the ponds of Bury Hill Fisheries, then in a further 400m cross another link road. On the far side of the second road a footpath joins from a footbridge on the left, the route of the Short Walk.
12. Bury Hill Fisheries to The Nower (Temple) (1 km)
• Head north on the access road to the Fisheries and fork right onto a bridleway curving round to the right, briefly joining a driveway. Veer left with the bridleway and then take a parallel path to the driveway, later crossing it into The Nower. Unless you want a shorter and easier route straight ahead through this wood, follow the waymarked Greensand Way up the steep slope on the right to an ornamental Temple at the top of the ridge.
1. Head N along the path, with Milton Brook on the left and the private road for the Fisheries behind trees on the right. At the end go through an old iron gate and continue on a tarmac lane curving gently left. 50m after passing a house “The Hedgerow” on the right, bear right onto a signposted bridleway into the trees.
2. The path climbs gently and curves round to the right. On the right you pass a high brick wall and then a curious brick and stone structure, looking like a modern ice house. After passing under a footbridge the path goes past a house and joins the tarmac driveway from Old Bury Hill House. Continue briefly along this drive to a signposted path crossing.
3. The suggested route (nicer than staying on the driveway) is to veer left down a slope on the signposted bridleway. In 75m turn right onto a narrow path through the ferns, soon bending slightly left to run parallel to the drive, off to the right.
4. In 300m go past a vehicle barrier and straight across the drive (which has curved left) to a small clearing with an information panel for “Milton Heath & The Nower”. The suggested route through The Nower? follows the waymarked Greensand Way? (GW).
   • For a shorter and easier route through this wood you can take any of the paths going straight ahead, heading roughly east. Sooner or later you will come out onto a large open space and can aim for the exit in its far left-hand corner. If you do this, resume the directions at [?] in §M.
5. For the suggested route take the path to the right of the panel and fork right at the next two path junctions, following the GW waymarkers. This takes you up a fairly steep slope, with a couple of short flights of steps along the way. The path eventually curves left, passes a vehicle barrier and goes up to an ornamental Temple at the top of the ridge.

   Through gaps in the trees there are views of the Greensand Hills to the south and the vineyard on Denbies Hillside to the north. The tall spire of Dorking's parish church is 1½ km to the north-east, with Box Hill 2 km beyond it.

13. The Nower to Dorking High Street (2 km)
• Continue along the top of the ridge for 600m, then veer left downhill out of the wood and across an open space to Hampstead Lane. Go across this onto Nower Road and turn right after 150m to go down to the A25. Unless you want to follow the main road into the town centre, go across Falkland Road and Horsham Road and take a footpath which zig-zags up to a green, Rose Hill. Go around this and back down to the A25, turning right for the town centre.
1. Continue on the broad grassy path along the top of the wooded ridge for 600m. The best way down is to turn left shortly before the far end where there is a partly-concealed GW waymarker in the ferns on the right, by a memorial bench to Noel & Ilse Wightman. Follow a narrow path down through the trees to a large open area and keep ahead on a grassy path heading N to the far corner.
2. In the corner follow a short path past a metal fieldgate to a residential street (Hampstead Lane). Cross over into Nower Road, following a brown GW sign. In 150m turn right onto another branch of Nower Road. At the end continue on a tarmac footpath which drops down to the A25, taking westbound traffic through Dorking's one-way system. Bear right, cross over Falkland Road and go along the right-hand side of the A25.
   • For a direct route to the town centre you could simply stay on the A25 as it curves round to the left, but the route via Rose Hill is more interesting and takes you away from the worst of the traffic noise.
3. For the suggested route, cross over Horsham Road and take the tarmac footpath to the right of the Queens Head, signposted to Rose Hill & St Paul's and going uphill. At the top turn left onto an alleyway (Peacock Walk), which leads to a street (Rose Hill). Turn right and follow this street gently uphill and round a long curve to the left, later with low flint walls on both sides.
4. In 200m the road forks in front of a large sloping green, with a chainlink fence protecting its grazing sheep. Go round either side of this green (surrounded by 19^thC villas) to the bottom and continue on a one-way street leading back to the main road, passing under the picturesque Rose Hill Arch? along the way. At the bottom you come out onto the A25 (South Street) by an old coaching inn, the Bulls Head.
5. There are several refreshment places nearby. Two Many Cooks is on the other side of the main road, just off to the left. Turning right instead would bring you to a Costa by the traffic lights, with Cosy Moose and Old Kings Head Court (containing Harts at the Courtyard) opposite. The historically interesting Mullins Coffee Shop? is 75m along West Street from this junction.
   • This is only a selection: there are more coffee shops, pubs and fast food places along the High Street.
14. Dorking High Street to the Stations (1¼ • 1½ km)
• For the suggested route to the station, take the passageway off the High Street leading to St Martin's church. Go past its eastern end and veer left across a street onto a footpath leading into Meadowbank. Cross Pipp Brook and turn right to go alongside the stream. At the far end continue along London Road to the A24 and cross over at the pedestrian lights, with Dorking Deepdene station ahead. For Dorking (Main) station turn left briefly onto the A24 and fork right into Station Approach.
  
1. For a relatively traffic-free route to the station, head E along the High Street from its junction with South Street and West Street. About 30m before the pedestrian lights turn left into a broad passageway, which leads to a small green in front of the imposing St Martin's church?.
2. Unless you want to visit the church (its entrance is on the left), fork right and go past its eastern end. Continue between Marks & Spencer and a large car park to Mill Lane. Take the tarmac path at the left-hand end of the block of flats opposite, signposted to Meadowbank.
3. After crossing Pipp Brook follow the path round to the right and continue alongside the stream for 600m, passing the town's football stadium, a recreation ground and then a lake. At the far end keep ahead on London Road to reach its junction with the A24. Cross over this dual carriageway at the pedestrian lights on the left, with Dorking Deepdene station ahead.

4. Finishing at Dorking Deepdene

1. The steps on this side of the railway bridge lead to Platform 2, for trains towards Guildford. For trains to Redhill (where you could change for London) go under the bridge and up another flight of steps to Platform 1. There is no footbridge between the two platforms.

5. Finishing at Dorking (Main) (+¼ km)

1. For direct trains to London go under the railway bridge and continue along the A24. In 125m fork right into Station Approach, passing the Lincoln Arms Hotel on the way to the station. Trains to London can depart from any of the three platforms, so you might have to cross the station footbridge to Platforms 2 or 3.
   

Walk Notes

1. Pippbrook Mill was one of six grain mills on this short river, which rises in the Greensand Hills to the south-west of Dorking and flows into the River Mole at Pixham.
2. The Old Carriage Road was built in the 1890s as the access road to Denbies House on the North Downs ridge, with one branch from Dorking and the other from Westcott.
3. St John the Evangelist, Wotton dates from the 11^thC, one of the oldest churches in south-east England. It contains many Elizabethan and Jacobean monuments to the Evelyn family, owners of the Wotton estate.
4. The River Tillingbourne (shown as Tilling Bourne on the OS map) only runs for 18 km from its source at Leith Hill to the River Wey, but its strong and steady flow enabled it to power a good number of gunpowder, paper and flour mills.
5. The large Hammer Pond at Friday Street was one of many in the south-east, providing water power for bellows to smelt iron ore and for hammers to beat the hot metal into shape. The industry declined in the 18^thC when coke from the northern coalfields became the preferred fuel, supplanting charcoal from the local trees.
6. There are several English settlements called Friday Street. The precise reason for this hamlet's name is unknown but the day of the week is named after the Anglo-Saxon god Frige and ‘Street’ in a place name implies that it pre-dates the Norman Conquest.
7. The Stephan Langton inn is named after the Archbishop of Canterbury in the reign of King John. He was a member of the baron's council which forced the king to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. A 19^thC biography claimed (without supporting evidence) that he was born in the hamlet of Friday Street.
8. Abinger Roughs takes its name from an area of poor sandy soil between medieval fields and rough pasture. It used to be part of the Abinger Hall estate and is now owned by the National Trust.
9. The Wilberforce Memorial marks the spot where this Victorian bishop (a son of William Wilberforce) was killed when he fell from his horse in 1873. Known as ‘Soapy Sam’, he vigorously opposed Darwin's theory of evolution, most notably in a famous debate at Oxford in 1860. Hearing of his death, his opponent Thomas Huxley is said to have waspishly remarked that “his brains had at last come into contact with reality, and the result had been fatal”.
10. The unusual shape of the Witch's Broom Tree is thought to be the result of ‘bundle planting’: a bunch of seeds are planted together and the resulting saplings eventually coalesce into one large tree.
11. Piney Copse was acquired by the National Trust from the estate of E.M. Forster after his death in 1970. In My Wood the distinguished novelist revealed his feelings about ramblers having access to his property: “it is intersected, blast it, by a public footpath”.
12. Abinger Manor was built in the 17^thC by the writer and diarist John Evelyn, although much of the house was rebuilt in 1872. The grounds contain the motte of the 12^thC Abinger Castle.
13. St James, Abinger was badly damaged by a flying bomb in 1944 and again by a lightning strike 20 years later, so there is little evidence of the original 12^thC church. The second misfortune is reflected in the design of its modern stained-glass window, “the Cross depicted as a living tree, riven by lightning”.
14. The Nower (an obsolete word meaning “at the slope or bank”) was once part of the 18^thC Bury Hill estate. It was presented to ‘the people of Dorking’ in 1931; the remainder of the estate was broken up and sold in 1952.
15. The Greensand Way follows the course of a sandstone ridge just to the south of the North Downs. It runs for 175 km from Haslemere in Surrey to Hamstreet in Kent.
16. The picturesque archway known as Rose Hill Arch originally led to the rear of a larger property. The large villas on Rose Hill were built around what was a paddock when the estate was broken up in the 19^thC.
17. Mullins Coffee Shop is in the 16^thC house of one of the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620. William Mullins died soon after arriving in America (as did his wife and son) but many Americans are his descendants as his surviving daughter Priscilla had ten children.
18. St Martin, Dorking was substantially rebuilt in the 19^thC, with the last of these renovations in 1877 adding a new tower and 64m spire. Since 1973 this Anglican parish church has been shared with the Methodists.

» Last updated: March 21, 2024

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