Length: 16 km (9.9 miles)
Toughness: 2 out of 10 (3 plus when muddy)
London Victoria: 10-25 hrs Southern service to Horsham CJ 10-32 hrs; Sutton 10-54 hrs; Epsom 11-05 hrs
Arrive Holmwood: 11-29 hrs
Return: Reigate to Victoria: 00 and 30 mins past the hour
Rail ticket: a day return to Holmwood should suffice
Covid-19 Compliance: please note the current guidance on this website and observe social distancing. You should all come prepared to exchange contact details for track and trace purpose. You can either pre-register for this walk (not essential ) by e-mailing me at swc-marcus@walkingclub.org.uk or, if you prefer, please write your name, e-mail address and contact 'phone number on a small piece of paper for handing to me on the train or when we assemble at walk start. Thank you.
This walk in the Low Weald of Surrey in the Mole Valley provides broad paths through gently undulating country, with views of the North Downs. The field crossings at the start of the walk are likely to be a bit muddy today after such a wet May - but you should soon be on firmer ground. You might even enjoy the last of this year's bluebells in the morning woods as you head towards the village of Leigh - Surrey version. Lunch can be taken here at the usually excellent pub, the Plough. Picnickers can stop at the pretty village green to enjoy their luncheons.
After lunch the route continues through the churchyard to Lime Kiln then briefly beside the River Mole before crossing a large field to Park Lane, where you have the only steep(ish) incline on today's walk - up onto the top of Reigate Park. Following a pleasant ridge walk you drop down to cross over a park then on into the centre of Reigate. For tea or walk-end refreshments try one of the pubs in the town - what used to be Monty Bojangles at 57 High Street is no more. To get to the railway station you walk uphill past the statue of Dame Margot Fonteyn - the station is over to your right.
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Walk Directions are here L=swc.32
1 comment:
N=20 turned out today, including the walk’s author. The weather was w=sunny-hot Some might say too hot but there were occasional patches of shade and we covered fairly even ground. Except for the mini-Kilimanjaro near the end. But that didn’t seem so bad. Maybe the sunstroke had dulled my senses! A verdant countryside with a steady sprinkling of the usual suspects, cow parsley, buttercup, speedwell, but no dramatic displays. We passed some picturesque old cottages. I hesitate to say archetypal. At one point we could hear a big old frog croaking away. Must have been one of those European marsh jobbies escaped Brexit.
The lunch stop at the Plough was very pleasant - an idyllic English village pub with helpful staff on a summer day. The nearby churchyard with its pretty church suited the sandwich eaters.
And so on to Reigate where another stop awaited us at Café Rouge. Some got the 17:30 after having said hi to Margot on the way to the station.
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