My Adventures 3: Box Hill Stepping Stones

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Box Hill in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty has been on my list to do for far too long. So on Friday the 9th July 2021, I left home and arrived at Box Hill NT car park after an hour and a quarter drive. Parking is a pay and display here and free if you are a National Trust member.

A short walk from the car park is the Box Hill viewpoint, handy for most as it doesn't require a strenuous walk to get the views.

Box Hill gets its name from the ancient box woodland found on the steepest west-facing chalk slopes overlooking the River Mole. The western part of the hill is owned and managed by the National Trust, whilst the village of Box Hill lies on higher ground to the east. The highest point is Betchworth Clump at 224 m (735 ft) although the Salomons Memorial (at 172 metres) overlooking the town of Dorking is the most popular viewpoint.

Box Hill is in the valley carved by the River Mole through the North Downs. Its summit, 224 metres (735 ft) above Ordnance Datum, is the 12th highest in Surrey. The western boundary of the hill is defined by the River Mole, which has cut a steep cliff, exposing the chalk bedrock. The Vale of Holmesdale lies immediately to the south, below the scarp slope. The northern and eastern boundaries are defined by dry river valleys, which were created during the last Ice Age. The total area of the hill is approximately 11 square kilometres (4.2 sq mi), of which half is owned by the National Trust.

View across to Dorking

Leaving the viewpoint behind I turn left of the viewpoint and follow the North Downs way track next to the Zig Zag Road.

The Path brings me out onto the Zig Zag Road by the Smith and Western American restaurant, I cross the road and take the path opposite.

I follow the path through more woodland over an area called Upper Farm.

After almost taking the wrong path, I take a path here downhill.

Here I follow the path through the area called Juniper Bottom.

At the end of this path I leave Box Hill and cross Headley Lane to the path opposite.

Now is the first hard climb of the day up the edge of White Hill to Mickleham Downs.

A hard slog up and several stops to catch my breath.

A tired and sweaty me up the top of the climb.

I stop on a bench for a drink and a bite to eat taking in the views.

I continue on following the path through woodland.

I turn off the path to bag the summit of Mickleham Downs.

I follow the path around and then take a path downwards on a path of slippery stone, take care going downhill it is very steep and slippery.

Here on the path are too abandoned and I assume stolen cars, no idea how they got them up here on the narrow path!

At the bottom of the hill I turn left and follow the path along the flat until I reach a gate that leads me out into Dell Close in Mickleham.

Just before you reach the house above I take the narrow path on my left, I almost missed it!

The path leads me into the grounds of St Micheal and All Angels church.

The church building dates back to the Norman period from 950 to 1180, but some changes to the building were made in 1823, 1842, 1872 and 1891.

There are 867 recorded burials, but more are accounted for since 1891, not including those from 950 to 1891. The graveyard is the final resting place of;

Richard Bedford Bennett, Prime Minister of Canada and a member of the House of Lords. Bennett's grave is located steps from the front of the church doors and has a marker from the Government of Canada signifying the important figure buried there.

Sir John Norton-Griffiths, 1st Baronet, "Empire Jack", the driving force behind the Tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers in WW1, was buried here on 18 October 1930.

Cyril Hare, detective story writer, who was born in Mickleham Hall in 1900 and died at Westhumble in the parish in 1958.

Sir Trevor Lawrence, who had famous orchid houses at Burford Lodge in the parish. He was the grandfather of Cyril Hare's wife.

Maria Drummond (née Kinnaird), widow of Thomas Drummond.

Sir John Junor (1919–1997), controversial editor of the Sunday Express and The Mail on Sunday.

Graham Gilmour, pioneer aviator. Killed in a plane crash in Richmond Park in 1912.

I leave the church and follow Old London Road to the Running Horses Pub, where I turn left after onto Swanworth Lane.

At the end of Swanworth Lane I now have to cross the busy 4 lanes of the A24.

After taking care crossing the A24 more care is now needed crossing the Railway Line over to Swanworth Farm.

I turn left at the bottom of the Swanworth farm to follow Cowslip Lane and back under the Railway Line.

Then I again walk back under the railway once more, just pass here I had to squeeze myself into the hedge to let a tracker an trailer pass along the narrow track.

I now take a path across Cowslip Farm and off the farm track.

I am now following The Mole Gap Trail. A 6.2 mile (10km) walk from Leatherhead station to Dorking Station.

I cross the River Mole beside the Railway bridge and across into Cleveland Farm.

After walking beside the railway line and pass two groups of girls doing their DofE expedition, I come out onto Westhumble Street in Westhumble. Here is another group of boys on their DofE expedition at the checkpoint.

Here is the gateway to the Westhumble Chapel.Ruins of 12th century Westhumble Chapel. Now cared for by the National Trust and on the route of London Green Belt Way.

The earliest mention of the 'village' (it is more accurately a chapelry or 'hamlet') is in the Assizes Rolls of 1248, in which it appears as Wystumble. The name is thought to derive from the Old English wice meaning wych elm and the Middle English stumbel meaning tree stump. The village is not explicitly mentioned in Domesday Book, however there are two separate entries for the Parish of Mickleham, in which much of the village is located, and it is probable that the second of these refers to Westhumble. The medieval village was centred on the present-day midpoint of Adlers Lane with gently sloping fields to the north and south. The identity of the manor house is unclear, however there are repeated references to Hadlers Hall and later Audlers Hole in the Court Roll records. It has been suggested that the hall was the original manor house. There is no trace of the house today.

The chapel is thought to have been built during the late twelfth or early thirteenth century for the use of villagers, particularly when floods prevented them from reaching the Parish Church in Mickleham. Six skeletons were found during an archaeological survey in 1937 and the manner in which they were interred suggests that they were ordinary local burials. Clay cooking pots and jugs dating from around 1300 and a silver penny dating from 1544–1547 during the reign of Henry VIII were also found on the site. The chapel was probably abandoned as a place of worship during the mid-sixteenth century, although part of it was probably used as a farm outbuilding for some time. Repairs to the remaining walls were carried out during 1938 and the site is now owned by the National Trust.

I walk up Chapel Lane before taking a footpath on my left after a while.

I cross over The North Downs Way and into the Denbies Wine Estate.

Denbies Wine Estate, near Dorking, Surrey, has the largest vineyard in England, with 265 acres (1.07 km2) under vines, representing more than 10 per cent of the plantings in the whole of the United Kingdom. It has a visitors' centre that attracts around 300,000 visits a year.

The estate takes its name from John Denby, who owned the farmhouse in the 16th century. In the mid-18th century Denby's farm buildings were converted into a gentleman's residence by Jonathan Tyers, proprietor of Vauxhall Gardens near London. Tyers' garden at Denbies was in startling contrast to the frivolities of Vauxhall, being adorned with memento mori ("reminders of death"). The property passed through other hands, and in the 1850s it was rebuilt, much greater, by pre-eminent early Victorian master builder Thomas Cubitt. He was visited at Denbies by Prince Albert, who planted a commemorative tree which survived until the Great Storm of 1990. The house remained in that family except in World War II when it was requisitioned by the military. In the 1950s Cubitt's great-grandson decided to demolish the house as he lacked the funds to restore and maintain it. He converted the laundry and gardener's house into a smaller Regency-style house. The heartland of the estate, earlier parcels having been sold, was purchased by Biwater in the 1980s with development later by local businessman Adrian White.

People on The Denbies Wine Estate tour.

The average yield is 300,000 litres of wine per year.

Around 65 per cent of Denbies' wine is sold at the visitors' centre, and the remainder through supermarkets, wholesalers and via mail order.

In 2010 Denbies Chalk Ridge Rosé won the IWC international Gold award, beating more than 360 competitors from 21 countries. The IWC wine challenge is the world's biggest and most influential wine competition.

I walk around the Estate looking for the Surrey Hills Brewery, here there is a Farm shop, plant nursery, wine shop and at the rear I find the Brewery!

I can smell the Brewery before I saw it, as they had a mash going on at the time. The air was full of the smell of malt. Glorious!

I walk in to buy some beer from the Surrey Hills Brewery. I wanted one of all the range but they only sell in 2 or 4 pint containers. So it was 2 pints of Shere Drop and 2 pints of Greensands IPA!

I walk out of The Denbies Wine Estate and under the Railway Line.

I cross the busy A24 once more before walking up the A24 a short way to the Stepping Stones Car Park.

Once out of the car park there is two paths one to the bridge and one to the Stepping stones. I take the path to the right to the stepping stones. The stepping stones are far more interesting than a bridge!

I reach the stepping stones where there was a large group, I waited for them to disappear before I could cross.

The Stepping Stones are an iconic landmark in this part of Surrey and they're a perfect spot to stop and watch the river Mole flow by.

Stepping stones at this site are first recorded in 1841 and they may have been installed by an owner of Burford Lodge to facilitate access to the Weypole orchard. The current stones were dedicated on 11 September 1946 by Prime Minister Clement Attlee, at the request of James Chuter Ede, local politician and Attlee's Home Secretary, replacing those destroyed during World War II as an anti-invasion measure. The spot is popular with both anglers and families, although swimming is strongly discouraged. The stones give their name to the pub in the nearby village of Westhumble.