Sunday Walk – Horsley to West Byfleet

Extra Walk 214 – Horsley to West Byfleet

Length: 15.4 km (9.6 miles). Toughness: 3/10

10:07 Alton & Basingstoke train from Waterloo (Clapham Jct 10:15), changing at Surbiton (arr 10:29, dep 10.32) for the Guildford via Cobham train waiting on the adjacent platform, arriving Horsley at 10:53. This connection is a bit tight and journey planners tell you to get the 09:57 Hampton Court train instead, arriving Surbiton at 10:26. Your choice!

Trains back from West Byfleet to Waterloo are half-hourly at xx:10 & xx:40. If you're not in a hurry you could also take the xx:56 on a meandering and very leisurely route via Staines and Hounslow, but it gets in later than the next xx:10. NB. Horsley and West Byfleet are on different lines and South Western Railway onboard staff can be strict about tickets, so buy a return to Guildford to cover both journeys.

This walk has had a succession of winter outings and doubtless deserves a posting in a more favourable season, but as reports have claimed that it makes a good winter walk I've decided to prolong the sequence. I've only done snippets of the route myself but it looks nicely varied: starting through woods and fields, continuing across heathland and past the RHS Garden at Wisley, then finishing with a stretch along the towpath of the Wey Navigation. Along the way I recommend taking the suggested detour to the 19thC Semaphore Tower on Chatley Heath, although something that was designed to be visible from 10 miles away can be surprisingly hard to find now that the surrounding trees have grown up. There'll be a bonus for anyone who stumbles across another oddity hidden in the nearby woods, the Samuelson Mausoleum.

The walk's only real drawback is that if you want a pub lunch you have to stop quite early or very late. Near the start you'd need to take a small detour for the Black Swan at Martyr's Green, but The Anchor is more favourably placed at Pyrford Lock on the Navigation. At both places you might be able to eat outside without booking, but you'd certainly need to call ahead if you want a table inside.

In the middle section of the walk there's a café at the car park near the A3, and if you can put up with the road noise this would make a convenient spot for a picnic lunch. At the end of the walk some of the cafés near West Byfleet station should be open on a Sunday, but you could also stop for tea a little earlier at The Anchor.

The Basingstoke Canal runs through West Byfleet and in the past a few people have extended the walk to Weybridge (the start of the West Byfleet to Hampton Court walk), but be aware that Weybridge station is a fair distance from the town centre.

You'll need to bring the directions from the L=swc.214

Sunday Walk - Adventures in Bedfordshire - Flitwick Moor, Wrest Park, the Greensand Ridge: Flitwick Circular (Long or Short Walk)

Length: 24.1 km (15.1 mi)

Ascent/Descent: 207m

Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ¼ hours

Toughness: 4 out of 10

OR 

 

Length: 17.3 km (10.7 mi) 

Ascent/Descent: 87m 

Net Walking Time: ca. 3 ¾ hours 

Toughness: 1 out of 10

 

Take the Thameslink train from Three Bridges to Bedford, calling London Bridge 09.19, (Blackfriars and Farringdon), St. Pancras 09.35, West Hampstead Thameslink 09.43, arriving Flitwick 10.28. 

Return trains: xx.15, xx.29, xx.45 and xx.59 

 

This Central Bedfordshire walk just north of the easterly end of the Chilterns initially follows the tranquil Flit River along the shady wooded fringes of Flitwick Moor, one of the most important wetland sites in the south east of England, and then veers away from the river through a couple of quiet villages, en route passing the Grade I-listed De Grey Mausoleum in Flitton and the also Grade I-listed Wrest House and Gardens in Silsoe. This is followed by a longer stretch through rolling fields with views to the Greensand Ridge. After crossing the Flit near Clophill the walk leads up the Greensand Ridge, descending for lunch back into Clophill.

After lunch it’s back on to the ridge for a long stretch through and along Maulden Wood, at times with far views south to the Chiltern Hills. The highlight of the return route from Maulden to Flitwick is the passage through Flitton and Flitwick Moors, including a stretch along a narrow path through the very heart of Flitwick Moor. 

Walk Options: 

Shortcut, as above. 

 

Lunch: The Stone Jug (14.6 km/9.0 mi, food served to 14.30) or The Flying Horse (15.2 km/9.5 mi, food all day) in Clophill [or 7.8 km/7.2 km respectively into the walk on the short walk]. 

Tea: Various options in Maulden (6 km from the end of the walk) and in Flitwick. For details see page 2 of the Walk Directions pdf. 

 

For walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.231

Saturday Walk - Great Missenden to Amersham

Length: 16.3km (10.1 miles) 4 out of 10

T=1.5

This lovely Chilterns walk, only 40 minutes from London by train, makes an easy outing at any time of year. The route is more open than most Chilterns walks, but there is one large beech wood, Penn Wood, which produces fine autumn colours. Other attractions include four interesting churches, the ancient village of Little Missenden, and Amersham’s surprisingly unspoilt old town, which is approached over a ridge with fine views. After tea, it is a 20 minute walk up through a wood to reach the station.

Trains: Get the 09.57 Aylesbury Vale Parkway train from Marylebone to Great Missenden (Harrow-on-the-Hill 1009), arriving 10.38.

Buy a day return to Great Missenden. (For 60+ etc pass holders, a single Amersham to Great Missenden will do, though others be aware that Amersham is in zone 9)

Return trains from Amersham are at 11 and 41 to Marylebone. Underground services to Baker Street go at 22 and 52 past. 

Lunch: The recommended pub is The Squirrel in Penn Street 01494 711291

The nearby Hit or Miss is also suitable 01494 713109

Tea: You really need one of the places in Old Amersham, as there is not much by the station

Saturday Walk - South Downs and Heathlands: Amberley to Pulborough (Long or Short Walk)

Length: 25.7 km (15.9 mi)

Ascent/Descent: 558/556m

Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours

Toughness: 7 out of 10 

 

OR

 

Length: 19.9 km (12.3 mi)

Ascent/Descent: 414/412m

 Net Walking Time: ca. 5 hours 

Toughness: 5 out of 10

 

Take the 09.35 Bognor Regis & Southampton Central train from Victoria (CJ 09.41, EC 09.53), arriving Amberley 10.58. The train splits at Horsham, you have to be in the Bognor Regis part! 

From London Bridge, take the 09.35 Brighton train (Thameslink from Bedford) and change at Three Bridges (10.10/10.14). 

Return trains: xx.24 and xx.55 (80 mins journey time). Buy an Amberley return. 

 

The route follows the South Downs Way out of the scenic Arun Valley along some steep chalky tracks high up onto Bignor Hill for some magnificent views along the ridge, out to sea and across the West Weald. You leave the South Downs Way and pass Glatting Beacon with its transmission masts to then gradually descend from the ridge – not without a few short re-ascents up Farm Hill and Barlavington Down – past a few hanging woods into the Rother Valley. 

Pass the quaint setting of Duncton Mill and head for The Cricketers pub for lunch. Onwards you go through the magnificent Burton Park with its ponds, before you walk through several idyllic commons, part wooded, part sandy heathland, and eventually cross the Rother River and progress to Pulborough along a westerly route familiar from other walks, past the picturesque Stopham church and medieval bridge.

 

Further Walk Options:

A Shortcut from Bignor Hill, through hanging woods to the quiet villages of Bignor and Sutton, cuts 5.8 km/3.6 mi and 144m ascent, resulting in a 5/10 walk. 

Bus line 1 (Midhurst – Worthing via Pulborough Station) calls Fittleworth at 15.57, 17.02, 18.12, 19.22 and 19.52; and Stopham Bridge 3 mins later. 

 

Lunch: The Cricketers Inn (13.0 km/8.0 mi, food served all day) in Duncton or – on the shorter walk – The White Horse (9.6 km/5.9 mi, food to 14.00) in Sutton. 

Tea: The Swan Inn (5.3 km/3.3 mi from the end) in Fittleworth (this supposedly re-opened last July under new management (same as The Hollist Arms in Lodsworth) but I can’t find a website or definitive confirmation) and The White Hart (2.3 km/1.4 mi, open all day and now a ‘gastro pub’ apparently) in Stopham. 

 

For walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.39