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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Sunday 13 March 2016

Sunday Walk 1: The Surrey Hills and a stately pile

Westhumble Circular
Book 2 walk 14b (online version).
7.7 miles 12.4 km. Difficulty 5/10

Hidden valleys pretty woodlands, and gentle pastures evoking echoes of a golden yesteryear. The estate of Polesden Lacey is a prominent feature. A shortish walk but one allowing time to visit it and Denbies Vineyard if you so wish.
Transport: For the Westhumble start, get the 10:40 Dorking train from Victoria (10:48 Clapham Junction) to Box Hill & Westhumble arr 11:36
Trains return from "Box Hill & Westhumble" at xx:18 and xx:48. Trains leave Dorking 2 minutes earlier, should you wish to finish there.
A return ticket to Dorking (main) costs the same as one to "Box Hill &Westhumble" and gives you the option of returning from either station.
Lunch: National Trust tea-room Polesden Lacey. This is accessible without paying the entrance fee.
(There's no lunch pub on this walk. The longer walk starting at Effingham Jct. incorporates an option to visit the Sir Douglas Haig)
Polesden Lacey 
It is £13.50 to visit the whole property, £8.50 for the gardens only - unless, of course,  you're a NT member.
Tea:  First there's the Conservatory restaurant /cafe at Denbies Vineyard. Then there's a cafe in the Pilgrim Cycles shop at Box Hill & Westhumble station. (This closes at 4 but you may be able to persuade them to stay open if theres enough of you and you phone them 01306 886958). Nearby, you have the Stepping Stones pub.
Directions: This walk's directions are available on-line and those are the best directions to use. Access details for Polesden Lacey have changed significantly since the last book edition and there are one or two other alterations. There are longer options for anyone so inclined but the plan is to do option [b] starting and finishing at "Box Hill & Westhumble" station.

Starting at Effingham: Anyone wishing to do the longer 10 mile walk from Effingham Junction could catch the 9:22 from Victoria to Epsom and, from there, the 10:10 to Guildford arriving Effingham Jct at 10:26. (Note that Effingham Jct and Westhumble stations are on divergent lines. A return to Effingham Junction would probably be accepted for the trip back but you could be asked to pay extra for the short hop to Leatherhead where the lines re-join.)
T=2.14.b

1 comment:

porky said...

If anyone would care to tackle Westhumble on a Saturday then please say the word. A walk to Box Hill maybe via Juniper Hall then back down the staircase to the Stepping Stones, then over to Denbies for refreshment; perhaps even a beer at Surrey Hills brewery?