Length: 13.2 km (8.2 miles). Toughness: 3~4/10
Take the Thameslink train towards Three Bridges (from West Hampstead at 09:29, St Pancras 09:40, London Bridge 09:55, Norwood Jct 10:08, East Croydon 10:13, etc), changing at Redhill (arr 10:31, dep 10:43) for the GWR Reading train, arriving Gomshall at 11:04.
Trains to Gomshall are every two hours, so if this connection fails you might want to have a Plan B up your sleeve: a circular walk around Dorking, perhaps.
Trains back from Box Hill & Westhumble are at xx:10 to Waterloo via Wimbledon, xx:16 & xx:46 to London Bridge via Sutton and Mitcham. These all depart Dorking 3-4 minutes earlier, if you choose to divert there. A return to Gomshall is valid for the return journey from either of these stations.
The section of the North Downs Way (NDW) between Gomshall and Westhumble is normally done as a summer extension to the Guildford to Gomshall walk, but Book 2 includes the linking directions from Gomshall which enable this shorter variation. It essentially consists of a steady climb up onto the downs, then a long stretch along the ridge before descending to Box Hill & Westhumble station via Denbies Vineyard.
There are no pubs on this stretch of the NDW but the directions point out some places where you could stop for a few nibbles. If you don't have a long break you'll finish before 2.30pm and could reward yourself with a large tea at Denbies or even a late Sunday lunch at the Stepping Stones Inn, a five-minute walk beyond the station.
Although much of this walk is on the well-waymarked NDW you should bring the instructions from the L=2.13.g - you'll only need the directions from the last four pages of the PDF download.
1 comment:
N=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 w=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.
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