SWC 178:
Oxshott to Ashtead (or Epsom) t=swc.178
Distance: 12.1 miles or 19.5 km for
those more metrically minded (with options to shorten suggested in the
instructions)
Difficulty: 3 out of 10
Transport: Take
the 10:03 AM Guildford train from London Waterloo (Clapham 10:12), arriving
in Oxshott at 10:37. Return trains from Ashtead are at 17; 27; 48 and 57 past
the hour and from Epsom are almost every 10 minutes. By a day return to Effingham Junction.
This walk has a very wild and remote feel,
despite being a short journey from London. It explores various heathlands and
woods and passes through the Princes Coverts….From the Oxshott station platform,
you are transported almost directly into open heathland with largely sand soil….More
information about the walk and the instructions can be found here.
Lunch: The
recommended lunch stop is the Star (8 miles/13.1 km into the walk).
Tea: In Ashtead, the Woodman is recommended and in
Epsom, the Cricketeers Inn is suggested.
Enjoy the walk!
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7 comments:
Hi. Newbie. Is there a watering hole before 8m?Thank you.
According to the walk notes and map, there are no refreshment stops before the Star.
For a shorter distance to lunch, if you look at the map of the walk route, you can see that there is very obvious potential to make a short cut on Esher Common.
Thank you for going the extra mile, Mr Walker.
n=27 walkers turned out on a w=mild_and_sometimes_sunny_day. The morning section started off dry under foot across areas of lovely sandy heathland, enjoyable despite the road noise. However, the flooded A3 underpass proved to be a sign of things to come. A few braver-than-me walkers removed their boots and socks and waded through the calf-high water but most detoured to cross the road via a bridge. Princes Coverts was atrociously muddy in parts (especially the bit via Jessop's Well) and Ashtead Common was similar. Nonetheless, this is a really nice walk across heathland and through some lovely open woodlands that deserves another outing during in drier times.
We counted at least N=30, I think, and it was the underpass under the railway just after the A3 one that was flooded. Kudos to the lunchtime pub which had a booking for 8 but cheerfully extended it to 13 or so as more turned up - and they let us order at the bar. Nice people! A few ate somewhere in Claygate.
The mud on Ashtead Common was indeed shocking - or rather the standing water on the paths was. It had the odd result that my boots ended up quite clean. I noticed with interest that some who had been happy to wade through the underpass flood were remarkably reluctant to walk through the mud. “Straight through the middle” is my motto. The tracks on Epsom Common were by contrast quite dry.
The pub on Epsom Common was a kiddie hell. Packed with ‘em at 5pm or so. Was it Kiddie Pub Tea Saturday or something?
How do you dry your feet after underpass wading? Portable Dyson driers?
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