Length: 13¼ km (8.2 miles). Toughness: 6/10
10:02 Dorking train from Waterloo (Vauxhall 10:06, Clapham Jct 10:12, etc), arriving Box Hill & Westhumble at 10:51.
Trains return from Box Hill at xx:08 to Waterloo, xx:16 and xx:46 to London Bridge (not Victoria).
This is a short but strenuous walk taking in a succession of hills, each a little bit bigger than the last: Norbury Park, Mickleham Downs and finally Box Hill itself. There should still be some good autumn colour in the woods. I'm proposing Short Walk 2 via Broadwood's Tower and Burford Meadow, but no-one will prevent you from doing Short Walk 1 or even tackling the full Main Walk.
There are two nice but fairly expensive pubs in Mickleham, halfway round the Short Walk. However, unless it's mild enough to sit outside you might struggle to squeeze into either the King William Ⅳ or the Running Horses for lunch. The alternative would be to carry on to the café inside the National Trust Visitor Centre at the top of Box Hill, or even settle for a late lunch at the Stepping Stones pub, five minutes before the station.
You'll need to bring the directions from the L=swc.64.b page.
3 comments:
Lots of fallen over large trees in the woods, in case someone has mobility problems.. Otherwise a lovely walk.
(blocking the path, I mean.)
N=18 at the station, with a n=19 th joining later. As predicted, a strenuous walk with mud, slippery bits and steep slopes. Not that any of this deterred Mr Tiger, who was up and down those hills like a lithesome gazelle. Even the bits where you had to scramble over or under fallen trees.
The weather w=started-sunny-got-cloudier but stayed dry except for the occasional teensy suggestion of rain. Autumn colour in evidence.
Lunch was taken at the William IV which was OK. Warm enough to sit in the garden. Table only service there, btw.
More exertion in the afternoon, with steep up and down steps. This led, eventually, to tea and cake at Box Hill cafe.
Some, but not all, finished up in the Stepping Stones, using the old ‘just missed the train’ excuse. Others successfully caught the various trains.
A grand day out.
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