North Downs Way - Merstham to Guildford

 Day 3 of a longer walk from Rochester to Farnham began in Merstham. For the previous day please click the following link: Day 2 - Otford to Merstham

Having stayed overnight in Redhill, and made use of the frequent train links up from Redhill (no need to buy a ticket, just tap in and out), it was a quick trip up from Redhill back onto the North Downs Way.

The latest version of the route map at Merstham

This would be my favorite day of the trip and the first half from here to Dorking was the better half of the day in terms of scenery.

Initially the route takes you on a bit of a roundabout meander through the old bits of Merstham (which is worth doing despite the temptation to head through more directly as it takes you through the older part of town), before heading out of Merstham. On the way out, it is a case of heading through the golf course and then past Gatton Hall School (or Royal Alexandra & Albert School - both names seem to be used), which for £7,000 a term gives rich parents the chance to get rid of their kids to a school offering full boarding (huzzah!).

The view from the golf course - one of the more pleasant golf courses to cross

From the school, the route climbs up to Gatton Hill and then across Reigate Hill footbridge (the earliest reinforced concrete footbridge in the country - it does look pretty despite being concrete unlike our more modern equivalents, but it is also just a bridge), which takes you over a fairly congested road to Reigate Hill. 

Here the main point of interest is the old fort (built in 1898) which is a bit industrial (hence no pictures), but also something unusual to walk around and then the site of an airplane crash (two small seats as markers), before heading out of the trees onto Colley Hill - which is a very pretty grassy ridge with plentiful attractive views. 

The pavilion at Colley Hill - it is not leaning I think, I was somehow leaning

 

Colley Hill

The views here are a little too panoramic to come out well in a photo, but the two pictures hopefully give a bit of a feel, and it was a very pleasant walk along the grass enjoying the view out across Reigate - this time with no motorway, as it was now to the north and about to head upwards, whilst the route continues to head westwards (no more motorways till Farnham!).

Upon reaching the end of Colley Hill it is time to drop down a long descent (some joggers were huffing and puffing their way up oblivious to the idea that walking is hard enough as it is) and then at the bottom there is a wooded section which takes you round to the base of Box Hill.

Here you have to climb back up, and as you climb you start to leave the trees and get views again - initially looking out over Betchworth, and then as you come round the ridge you get views from Box Hill out over Dorking.

Looking at Dorking from Box Hill - the path will go round the vineyard on the right

It is worth enjoying the views a bit from here, but after Box Hill the next task is to descent about a million steps down (I roughly counted about a million, but I may have miscounted) to the River Mole and it was a long enough descent going down - so if you are going the other direction and heading up, be prepared for it to take a while and maybe take a break in the middle as the steps can be a killer on the legs. At the bottom you have a choice to either be boring and go over the footbridge or to live a little and take the more exciting route over the stepping stones.

While crossing the stones, I found that they are built for people with bigger legs than mine, but it is not very deep and there was already a child splashing about in the water, so it is hardly dangerous (it would merely be hugely embarrassing to fall in - my advice is to imagine falling in and imagine everyone laughing at you, and then with every step you will keep this image in your mind).

The stepping stones

From here it is a short walk to the road, which may or may not have a crossing - but I just opted to wait for a gap and then scuttle across to the grass in the middle before repeating the process on the other side where the next route board can be found. There are gaps in the traffic and this felt perfectly safe to do.

The next route map - getting closer to Farnham now

Having reached this point my next job was to get to the path crossroads near Westhumble train station where I would pick up my Dad, who had headed out to join me for the rest of the day and again here you have an easy entry/exit point for any walks with a short train ride to Dorking or Leatherhead.

Having met up okay and without much more than 10 minutes of waiting (mostly because I opted to enjoy the views at Box Hill rather than head on and arrive at a similar time), the path heads up through the woods above Denbies, with views opening up to look over Dorking from above the vineyards.

Indeed the views were so good that the guided tour train (a land rover struggling up the hill pulling two seated wagons full of wine tasting visitors) headed up past us, and as walkers we were enough of a curiosity to get filmed as they headed back past us, on their way down (presumably to drink more wine).

At the top of the hill above Denbies you come out on the road through to Ranmore Common, which includes Ranmore Church and quite a few cars parked up ready to head out or having already headed into the woods around Polesden Lacey for either a walk or cycle ride.

Ranmore Church

Here was a good spot for a sit down on a bench in the shade to eat some of the food I had recently been provided with.

This is an area which I have been to fairly often as it is a regular spot to visit when I pop home - and so it was a case of heading off on very familiar turf over the road and onto the ridge - then back into the trees before popping out further down the path, at one of the prettier sections on the route.

White Downs on a previous visit slightly later in the year

White Downs from upon the picture I took on this visit

(The first photo is from a previous visit and it is from slightly further down the hill, but is in my opinion a better photo than the one I took on the day - so do forget the sudden season change there. I have otherwise only used pictures from the day of walking.)

This particular stretch is a lovely stretch and my favorite walk when I pop home, but since it is one I have commonly traversed, it isn't quite as exciting as all the new sights.

After following the ridge for a bit longer it is time to head into the woods at Hackhurst Downs and Netley Heath with the next phase of the walk being through the woods to Newlands Corner. 

Note that if you are not set on religiously sticking to the North Downs Way there is the nicer route opportunity to head from Hackhurst Downs into Abinger Hammer, then briefly along the road towards Gomshall before taking an early turn off well before Gomshall along the cycle route into Shere. 

Then head through Shere and along the river, before following the Fox Way west and when that disappears off up via Silent Pool, stay on the lower route and either rejoin the North Downs Way at Newlands Corner via Water Lane or (the suggested option) continue on the lower route (the old Pilgrim's Way) to St Martha's. Personally I would stay on the lower route to St Martha's and this is where we also go walking when I go home (with Shere being a lovely village to go through). If you stay on the lower route instead of heading back up you do miss the views on Newlands Corner but similar views exist at St Martha's.

This lower route swaps out a lot of fairly mundane forest walking for a more authentic route along the Pilgrim's Way that includes old pretty villages as well as Albury Park. The walking around Shere is particularly delightful and it is Shere madness that the official route doesn't come this way 😆.

But being a stickler for the rules I knowingly continued on the lesser route to Newlands Corner which does at least offer some nice views - and the official route also nicely bypasses the car park to limit the impact of that upon your walk by cutting down the hill early into some nettles and thorns 😆. 

The view from Newlands Corner - you miss this if you go my alternate way but I still think the lower route is better

After Newlands Corner, there is a drop down to join up with the lower route (the old Pilgrim's Way path) heading to St Martha's Church on St Martha's Hill. This is a heavy going climb during a heatwave, but it is pretty at the top and it was pretty quiet on this particular day, so it was a good opportunity to have a little rest (it can be busier on other days). 

View from the bench at St Martha's

St Martha's Church Itself

As my tour guide told me (my Dad) the church isn't actually original and was rebuilt in 1850 but based upon the original 12th century design. (There were more facts, but if I'm honest I wasn't particularly listening.)

After getting over the hill it is time to head off the North Downs Way - and the milepath up to Pewley Downs is a very pleasant way to do this and rejoin with Guildford, so this was the route taken to end off the day. You can instead use the river which will take you to the base of the high street in Guildford - Pewley Downs will take you more to the north of the high street. But the photo below hopefully has you sold on this route as a way on and off the North Downs Way.

The North Downs Way is in the trees (a bit pops out into the open top left)

Click here to see the route writeup for day four - Guildford to Farnham

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 186 and 187 OS Landranger maps - while there is also a North Downs Way guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.