Wednesday Walk - Boxhill & Westhumble Circular or to Dorking

Length: 15.1 km (9.4 mi) or 16.5 km [for shorter versions: see pdf]

Ascent/Descent: approx. 600m; Net Walking Time: 4 ½ hours

Toughness:  7/10       

Take the 10.31 Horsham train from Victoria (CJ 10.38), arrives Box Hill & Westhumble at 11.21.

Return trains are (broadly) half-hourly on the hour.

This short but strenuous walk climbs up a series of hills in a clockwise loop north and east of Box Hill & Westhumble station: Norbury Park, Mickleham Downs, Headley Heath and finally Box Hill itself.

There are many fine viewpoints on this walk and in several places you can see your earlier route from a new perspective. This part of the North Downs is deservedly popular, but there are some quieter places in between.

Norbury Park Nature Reserve is described by Surrey Wildlife Trust as a ‘working landscape’ which includes one saw mill and three farms. The prominent house at its centre was built in 1774 and has had several famous owners and tenants, including Leopold Salomons, who donated Box Hill to the National Trust in 1914, and Dr Marie Stopes, the family planning pioneer.

Box Hill and Headley Heath are both owned by the National Trust, which has introduced special breeds of sheep and cattle to restore more of the downland to its original ‘unimproved’ condition; unfertilized land is richer in wild flowers. This diversity also supports many butterflies: 40 of the 58 British species have been found on Box Hill.

Lunch: King William IV (food all day) or the Running Horses (food to 15.00), both in Mickleham (4.7 km/2.9 mi).

Tea: the Stepping Stones pub or Pilgrim Cycles near/at Boxhill & Westhumble station, or the Lincoln Arms on Dorking's Station Approach.

For summary, map, height profile, some photos, walk directions and gpx/kml files click here.T=swc.64 
Next Week: Glynde to Seaford