Silent Pool to Guildford Surrey Circular Walk 3rd June 2022

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On Friday the 3rd June 2022 (Bank Holiday) I drove to Silent Pool Guildford and parked in the free car park there at GU5 9BW.

I leave the car and take a path that leads me pass Sherbourne Pond and then continue along.

Silent Pool was probably an old chalk quarry fed by underground springs and would have been a precious source of pure water in days gone by. The pool and nearby Sherbourne Pond became home to many different species of aquatic life and one can often glimpse the blue flash of a kingfisher as it darts across the water.

Legend has it that this is due to the fate of a woodcutter's daughter who was surprised by a nobleman on a horse as she bathed in the pool. Having failed to lure her to the bank, he rode his horse into the water and caused the girl to move out to deeper water where she drowned. When the woodcutter returned and found her body, he also found the nobleman's hat floating on the water. It bore the crest of none other than Prince John!

The path leads me alongside Albury Vineyard.

Albury Vineyard is the result of Nick Wenman's passion for quality wine. Nick planted the vineyard in 2009 having retired from the IT industry to fulfil his dream of owning a vineyard. Nick believes that key to the sucess of the wines is the vineyard's committment to organic and biodynamic principles, together with excellent winemakers and his talented vineyard manager Alex, one of the few female vineyard managers in England. Her expertise is vital to the running of the vineyard, and her dog Attila is well loved by visitors. Albury is a family-run vineyard, with Nick's daughter Lucy now part of the team and granddaughter Poppy a regular visitor (if only to visit the bee-hives and sneak a taste of the honey!)

Albury Vineyard is situated on the southern slopes of the North Downs in the beautiful Surrey Hills, just outside Guildford on the A25 towards Dorking. The vines are the traditional Champagne varietals of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, as well as some Seyval and Pinot Gris. We are committed to producing organic fruit without the use of chemicals such as herbicides and fungicides, and produce English wine of the highest quality; a still rosé and quality sparkling wines.

The path immediately starts to climb up steeply, nothing like throwing yourself straight in without even a warmup first! (A 100 metre climb!)

I pass probably my favourite of all flowers, the Foxglove. These are just lovely!

I walk on a couple of hundred yards too far before realising and backtracking onto the North Downs Way footpath. 

I am now on the North Downs Way Footpath. The North Downs Way National Trail offers walkers 153 miles (246 km) of spectacular scenery, picturesque villages and glorious countryside, easily accessible from London.

Running from Farnham to Canterbury and the White Cliffs of Dover, the Trail passes through two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs, and along the famous Pilgrims Way (or Pilgrim’s Way) from Winchester to Canterbury – one of England’s most famous cities.

The sun is out and its a glorious day to be walking on the Drove Track in the woodland. 

A huge snail slowly makes its way across the path.

The Optohedron

By Will Nash

I stop to take pictures of the sculpture and the amazing view beyond.

Will Nash is an artist with a fascination for geometry and patterns in nature. Examining the faceted structure of an insect’s eye, Will has developed a piece called the Optohedron. This arrangement of five identical cells creates a rising curved sequence, which if you were to continue adding cells, would create a sphere. This links to the mysterious Golden Ratio geometry which continues to fascinate artists and scientists today. The name Optohedron is derived from the ancient Greek: optikos, “of seeing” and herd “raised seat.”

“The Optohedron sculpture is inspired by the act of viewing, thinking about seeing as the fundamental interface between the person and the world. Whilst exploring this idea, I investigated optics, the science of light, which took me to an ancient instrument, the Kaleidoscope.”

WILL NASH

I walk on and the path eventually give out onto the Shere Road A25. I dash across quickly here at Newlands Corner.

I am now walking on Newlands Corner above the Albury Downs.

Newlands Corner is a 103-hectare (250-acre) nature reserve east of Guildford in Surrey. It is owned by the Albury Estate and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust under an access agreement between the estate and Surrey County Council.

The site reaches 567 feet (173 m) with hill-grazed grass slopes below interspersed with trees. There are areas of chalk grassland and woodlands. Visible are some of the greatest prominences of the Western Greensand Ridge and the site lies on the North Downs Way. There are 129 ancient yews with a girth over 3.5m (over approx 500 years old) with some over 6m girth (probably at least 1000 years old) on the northern wooded slope.

Newlands Corner was a key location in the crime writer Agatha Christie's disappearance in December 1926. Her car was found in a bush overhanging a chalk pit at Newlands Corner, at the bottom of the south side of the hill. She was found some days later having checked in under an alias at a hotel in Harrogate. As a result, Newlands Corner is the setting of the climax of the final scene of the Doctor Who episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp".

I head downhill and pass White Lane Farm.

I follow a footpath along pass beautiful views. I see crows mobbing a Red Kite, amazing bird!

The path brings me pass Tyting Farm and I cross Ha'penny Lane and onto the footpath opposite.

This is still the North Downs Way (Eastern) and I'm walking by Farthing Copse.

I walk along Mile path, so called because its mile long I assume.

Here I see my first ever sighting on the Whitethroat bird! Lovely!

I am now walking across Pewley Down.

Pewley Down is a 9.5-hectare (23-acre) Local Nature Reserve on the southern outskirts of Guildford in Surrey. It is owned and managed by Guildford Borough Council.

This chalk grassland site has several species of rare flowering plants, including six orchids. Invertebrates include 26 species of butterflies and 119 of bees, wasps and ants.

Memorial Stone, Pewley Down

Donated by the former Friary Brewery, the memorial also commemorates the fallen of WW1. In the distance is South Warren Farm and the Chantries.

Pewley Hill was part of lands granted by William the Conqueror to the Testard family. It takes its name from the de-la-Puille family who acquired it from Richard Testard in 1255. The Puille family name was also reflected in the manor of Poyle and the Poyle Charity.

I leave Pewley Down and head off along the pavement of Pewley Hill with views of Guildford below.

Up on Stag Hill above Guildford sits Guildford Cathedral.

Richard Onslow donated the first 6 acres of land on which the cathedral stands, with Viscount Bennett, a former Prime Minister of Canada, purchasing the remaining land and donating it to the cathedral in 1947.

I walk down into Guildford for a look about, first time visiting for me.

Guildford has Saxon roots and historians attribute its location to the existence of a gap in the North Downs where the River Wey was forded by the Harrow Way. By AD 978 it was home to an early English Royal Mint. The building of the Wey Navigation and the Basingstoke Canal in the 17th and 18th centuries, respectively, connected Guildford to a network of waterways that aided its prosperity. In the 20th century, the University of Surrey and the Anglican Guildford Cathedral were added.

Guildford Guildhall Historic Clock - High Street.

The clock, which projects over the High Street from the Guildhall, and which has regularly appeared on television, proudly displays its original date of 1683.

The case is made of English oak, has a cast iron internal frame and copper dials. Conservation work included stripping off all the accumulated layers of paint, re-finishing and re-gilding with 231⁄2 carat English gold leaf. Additional repairs were made to parts of the mechanical clock movement which is a traditional two train type with recoil anchor escapement and had been cared for by Smith of Derby for many years.

The Guildhall is used for civic functions and is also available to hire. Modern facilities and historical character provide a perfect setting for events. The Guildhall can host conferences, receptions, seminars and social gatherings. The Guildhall is a 16th century building of great historic interest. It was formerly a courtroom and council chamber. It is still a thriving part of the local community. The ground floor is of Tudor origin. It has beautifully preserved panelling. The guildhall houses the civic plate and many rare items. The front of the building is dominated by a magnificent and iconic bracket clock made in 1683.

The Angel Hotel is the sole survivor of Guildford’s five large coaching inns. Established in the Middle Ages, there is Tudor or Jacobean timber-framing behind the Regency façade, and a much restored medieval undercroft.

All roads converge on the Guildford gap to pass through the Downs and so much of the traffic from London to the central south coast passed through the town. Travellers needed rest and by the 17th century Guildford had earned a good reputation for its inns – the Angel, the White Lion, the Red Lion, the White Hart and the Crown.

The inns flourished as road-travel increased, particularly when Portsmouth developed as a major naval base from Restoration times. Portsmouth was a two day journey from London, and Guildford was a convenient place to stay the night. The early 1800s saw a boom in the coaching trade. 28 services passed through Guildford, with an average of 10 coaches a day travelling in each direction, with perhaps 200 passengers.

However this all came to an end in the 1840s as the railways proved a quicker, cheaper and more comfortable way to travel. The last coach ran through Guildford in 1849, the year the railway reached Portsmouth from London.

Famous guests of the Angel include Lord Nelson, Charles Dickens, Lord Byron and Jane Austen. In 1876 the young Prince Imperial of France stayed here (later killed in the Zulu wars).

I reach the bottom of the High Street .

The Surrey Scholar Sculpture

A view of 'The Surrey Scholar' sculpture in Guildford High Street, Surrey. The bronze figure, by Allan Sly, was unveiled in May 2002 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, and this also coincided with celebrations for the 35th anniversary of Surrey University.

I turn left up Quarry Street passing St Mary's Church Guildford with Guildford Methodist Church.

I now walk up Castle Street.

Guildford Castle is thought to have been built by William the Conqueror, or one of his barons, shortly after the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Used as a Royal Palace, a prison and a private residence, Guildford Castle and grounds was sold to the Guildford Corporation in 1885. The grounds at Guildford Castle opened as public gardens in 1888 to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887.

The castle gardens are famous for their vibrant floral displays, centred on the 11th Century Castle Keep. Other attractions include a life-size statue of Alice Through the Looking Glass, a bowling green and music concerts in the bandstand. The town's war memorial stands in the grounds. Open-air theatre takes place in the summer months.

After the Battle of Hastings in 1066 William led his army to Canterbury and then sacked towns along the Pilgrims' Way, including Guildford. Later William, or one of his barons, built Guildford Castle. There is no record of it in the Domesday Book so construction probably started after 1086.

First to be built at the Castle would have been the motte (a mound) around which was a ditch and a bailey protected by a wooden palisade. The bailey's boundary would have run along Castle Street, South Hill, what is now Racks Close and parallel with Quarry Street (although slightly to the east). If it followed a typical Norman design the bailey would have been divided with a palisade, into two parts the outer and inner bail. The inner bailey would have encompassed the motte on which a wooden keep would have been built as a look-out post for the soldiers stationed there.

Late 11th or early 12th century, a wall made of Bargate stone was built around the top of the motte creating what is known as a shell keep, and then around the 1130s a keep (tower) was added, again made of Bargate stone from nearby Godalming bonded with hard and durable mortar. The keep may have been built over part of the shell keep and its foundations went down to the chalk bedrock. The general form was quadrangular, its exterior dimensions being 47 feet (14 m) by 45.5 feet (13.9 m). The walls are about 10 feet (3.0 m) thick at the base and taper towards the top.

The keep had a ground and first floor with the entrance located in the first floor to aid in defence. The keep was most likely used as a private apartment for the King. The ground floor was windowless. On the first floor there was a main chamber, a chapel, and wardrobe with latrine. A second floor was added shortly afterwards containing a two-seater latrine. The addition of the second floor made the keep over 70 feet (21 m) high. The roof of the building was made of lead and the inner walls were covered in plaster and then whitewashed.

In the 12th century the King moved to better apartments located in the bailey. The main bailey buildings would have included a great hall, apartments for the King and Queen and their chapels. The great hall is thought to have been located at the site of the two houses at the bottom of Castle Hill and was made of stone. Henry III made a number of improvements in the 13th century which resulted in the castle being known as a palace. The Queen's apartment was improved with large new windows and two marble columns were added. The great hall was decorated with coloured glass windows and paintings. King Henry had his room painted green with gold and silver stars and he also built a garden surrounded by marble columns. A fire damaged the hall in 1254 but the changes to the buildings continued.

Henry purchased some extra land in 1245 to extend the bailey so allow him to build a set of room for Edward, his son and heir to the throne, which were completed in 1246. The gate at Quarry Street was completed in 1256 which suggests that Henry made changes to the castle but no evidence of the previous gate (thought to have been opposite Tunsgate) remains.

I leave the Castle head back onto the High Street and down to cross the River Wey.

I pop into the George Abbot, "Can I help you?" asks the barmaid. A quick look at the offerings of beer (Lagers, Greene King IPA and Abbot Ale) it was a quick "No its okay thanks" and I left. Was hoping for more than just mainstream mass produced beers!

Now I walk up the River Wey, all be it the WRONG WAY!

Across the river I could see Town Wharf.

Before the railway era the Wey Navigation was at times very profitable, carrying gunpowder from the Chilworth Gunpowder works, and chalk, grain, timber, iron and coal to or from London.

Wharves, warehouses and breweries lined both sides of the canal (to the north of the town bridge). A restored treadmill crane dating from at least 1726, which was used to unload grain from barges, now stands near the site of the meal wharf.

Still walking the wrong way I pass the 1913 Electricity works on The River Wey.

The 1913 Electricity Works was built on the site of the Militia Barracks. It was superseded in 1927 by the electricity generating station in Woodbridge Road.

Several years’ campaigning by local arts groups looking for a permanent home culminated in the conversion of the building into a state-of-the-art studio theatre: The Electric Theatre opened in January 1997 and is owned, funded and managed by Guildford Borough Council.

After I while I realise I'm going the wrong way so I turn around and walk back, pass the pub and the bridge and back along the Wey the RIGHT way!

Down the Rabbit Hole

Millmead, Guildford - detail of the 'Alice in Wonderland' sculpture. Lewis Carroll, the writer, is buried in the borough.

I pass the Britannia Pub and cross the white bridge over the River Wey.

I walk along the Wey and the path is abruptly blocked by a gate, So I walk back the short distance to Millmead lock.

I cross the bridge and walk out onto Millbrook the A281and follow this busy noisy road along.

After passing the River Wey I follow on up and turn onto a footpath that leads me onto Pilgrims Way.

A short way up on my right I take the North Downs way again into Chantries Wood.

200 acres of a mixture of woodland and meadows.

I follow the path for some distance passing a Horse riding centre.

I exit from the path onto Ha'Penny Lane and again turning left and walk up a short way before taking a path that will lead me to St Marthas Hill.

The path that ascends St Martha’s Hill is quite steep and strenuous.

After much climbing I reach the top[ and St Martha's Church!

Martha's Hill stands at 573ft high and has a superb viewpoint looking out over the North Downs, Guildford, along the greensand ridge and across the Weald to the distant South Downs. This isolated hilltop church (the parish church of Chilworth) was rebuilt in 1850, partly from the stones of the original Norman church that stood on the site. It is one of the major landmarks on the North Downs Way.

It is the only church in Surrey to be on the Pilgrims’ Way and featured briefly in the 1944 film A Canterbury Tale. A 12th-century church existed here before falling into ruin by the 18th century. The church was rebuilt in 1848–50 to the designs of Henry Woodyer who incorporated many of the original 12th-century architectural features including Norman arches to the main entrance as well as zig zag moulded lancet windows on the tower. The church believes it may have been built as a landmark or beacon to assist travellers or encourage pilgrimage to Canterbury or Winchester Cathedrals.

The graveyard of the church includes a memorial to actress and singer Yvonne Arnaud, whose ashes were scattered there.

I follow along the sandy path in the hot sun, passing a Pill Box.

I cross Guildford Lane and take a footpath that is now the Pilgrims Way.

I cross Water Lane and take another path onwards.

The path eventually takes me out pass some industrial units and onto Shere Road the A25 and I walk alongside the road back to my car, A cracker of a walk!