Banstead Fields (Perrotts Farm)

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About
Gallery
Parking
Poo bins?
Self-guided walk

About

The Roe family at Perrotts Farm own and work the land to the south of Banstead village. The farm has grown wheat for bread making, barley for real ale, and beans exported to Egypt. In the winter, its grass fields are cut to provide hay for local livery establishments. In the 2010s, it was awarded ‘Farm Assured’ status, qualifying its products for the ‘Red Tractor’ label used by many supermarkets.

Gallery: What’s it like here?

Parking

There is no car park for this area, although down the road is Holly Lane car park, which generally serves Banstead Woods. You obviously can walk from there, but as greyhounds tend to not do as much distance as most dog breeds, I’ve basically ruled it out on account of it being too far really.

So, it’s on-street parking in Holly Lane West, a little residential street that comes off Holly Lane. If there are no spaces (this has never happened to me, ever!), there is also Holly Lane East on the other side of the road. This is a residential area so please don’t park across driveways. For your satnavs, use the postcode SM7 2BB.

GOOGLEMAPS LINK: https://maps.app.goo.gl/e3VVa5qVAyVga4yv7

WHAT3WORDS: https://w3w.co/loads.keeps.towers

NEAREST POSTCODE: SM7 2BB

Poo bins?

None, please take poop home for disposal.

Self-guided walk

Here is a Footpath app route for Banstead fields. Also on AllTrails. This route takes you around the fields and farmland to the south of Banstead, adjacent to Banstead Wood. It’s very much a “locals” walk so you won’t be tripping over visitors like you can be at many Surrey locations. The footpaths run through a working farm, which is otherwise private land, so don’t stray off them. This walk has quite a rural, “countryside” feel about it, particularly surprising as it’s just a short distance from the busy A217 from the M25 into London.

Length: approximately 2.6 miles/4.2km
Terrain: Mainly flat around grass and crop fields of farm land with a couple of inclines. Can be muddy in winter. One stretch of lane, which is very quiet.
Stiles/kissing gates? No stiles, one gate

Take the footpath next to the finger post, which leads away from the road at the very bottom end of Holly Lane West, where it curves to meet Holly Lane. When this path bends round to the right, take the path to the left, which goes into the field. Once in the field, turn right and walk along the right-hand field boundary. At the end, follow it round to the left, before turning right through the gap in the hedges/trees and going into the next field. The path cuts straight through the middle of this field. When you get to the gap at the next field boundary, pass through it and turn immediately left up a slope to the far left corner of the field.

Pass through the gap and you’ll come to a junction with a small animal enclosure to the left. Go straight over this path and through the trees/hedge into the next field. Follow the path straight through the middle of the field and through the hedge on the other side, where it bears to the left. Continue to the corner of the field, then turn sharp right and take the wide footpath that crosses the field diagonally. There are usually crops in this field and it feels like you are in the middle of nowhere.

Dogs walking on a footpath that crosses an open field, crops either side have been harvested — *Passing through this open field gives this walk a real countryside feel*

At the far side of the field, ignore the footpath that continues straight between two hedges, and turn left to walk along the edge of the field. At the end, it’ll bear to the right and narrow, passing a farm building/barn structure on the left. You’ll want your dog on the lead by this point as this narrow bit of path brings you down to Reads Rest Lane and, even though it’s barely used, better to be safe than sorry.

At the lane, turn left and follow the road as it winds along – presently it will rise round to the left, then straighten out again before gently curving right and then bending left again at the white Perrotts farmhouse (on the left) and a brick barn structure (on the right). Here, you’ll see farm buildings ahead of you behind a vehicle gate too.

Walkers and dogs at the lane — *Reads Rest Lane is very quiet and there’s hardly any traffic but this is working farmland so watch out for vehicles*

Just after the house, there are a couple of (usually locked) vehicle gates into the field on the left with the slats of an old stile between them and a finger post just beyond them. There’s a metal gate for walkers to use a few steps further on (incidentally, the kissing gate on the right takes you into Banstead Wood).

Walkers and dogs walking past a barn — *Pass the white house and barn and go through the metal gate*

Turn left and go through the metal gate and into the field. Follow this path straight – it’s quite a long straight section. It’ll go down slope and, when the treeline on the left ends, you’ll go into the first field that you crossed at the start. Continue straight ahead to the gap at the end of the field that you went through to enter this field earlier. Turn right and follow the path back to the lane.