Newlands Corner

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About
Gallery
Parking
Poo bins?
Self-guided walk

About

Newlands Corner on Albury Downs is a 250-acre nature reserve of open chalk grassland and ancient woodlands about four miles east of Guildford town centre. It is a popular beauty spot with stunning views across the Surrey Hills and South Downs and boasts a large, free car park. In the springtime, there are bluebells in the woods, and during autumn, the trees blaze red and gold.

We have access to this area thanks to Surrey County Council negotiating an agreement with landowners the Albury Estate back in the 1970s. The council manages the site in partnership with Surrey Wildlife Trust and they have delivered many improvements over the years, including the ‘Discovery’ visitor centre, which provides information about Surrey’s countryside and the local wildlife; a natural timber play area for kids; a wildlife garden with a pond, bug hotel and hibernaculum; and the Yew Tree Project, which has been designed to protect the rare ancient yews at the site without preventing visitors having access to them.

The crime writer Agatha Christie disappeared from Newlands Corner in 1926. For reasons that remain unknown to this day, she left her home in Sunningdale, Berkshire, around 10pm on Friday 3 December and her Morris Cowley Coupe car was found in a hedge just downslope of Newlands Corner the following day, along with her driving license and some clothes. Thousands of people turned out to look for her, including 600 police officers and her fox terrier dog, and Albury Mill Pond and Postford Ponds were both dredged. Apparently Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle took one of Mrs Christie’s gloves to a medium in a bid to solve the mystery of her disappearance. She was found 11 days later at the Swan Hotel in Harrogate, where she had checked in under the name of her husband’s mistress, Ms Neele. Mrs Christie denied any memory of the events that led to her disappearance – and if she did really know what it was all about, she took it to her grave when she died in 1976.

Newlands Corner is also the setting of the climax of the final scene of the Doctor Who episode “The Unicorn and the Wasp“, which tells the story of a giant shapeshifting wasp, which brutally kills guests staying at an English manor house for a murder mystery party. In the episode, Christie, played by actress Fenella Woolgar, is also a guest at the house. The Doctor is played by David Tennant and his companion, Donna, by Catherine Tate.

The Gallery: What’s it like here?

GOOGLEMAPS LINK: https://maps.app.goo.gl/G9gyGQVWp5ts7Mna9

NEAREST POSTCODE: GU4 8SE

Poo bins?

Poo bins at the car park

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Self-guided walk

Here is a Footpath app route for a loop at Newlands Corner, which starts at the car park. Also on AllTrails. It sweeps down and along the grassy hillside, through the woods and the Yew Tree Project boardwalks, and then bringing you back to the visitor centre via the cafe.

Length: approximately 1.73 miles/2.78 km
Terrain: grassy and woodland footpaths, some of which can be muddy in wet weather.
Stiles/kissing gates? No stiles, no kissing gates

Take the path opposite the visitor centre from the zebra crossing where the small wooden posts are and walk down the hillside between posts (the left one tucked under a tree, the right one with a circle for the door mouse trail). The path is gravely and stony underfoot. It curves round to the right and goes into a shrubby area, then emerges out onto the open grassy hillside, which slopes away down to the left.

Pass a post on the left and keep going straight along the contour of the hill. It’ll rise slightly and go back into shrubs for a very short way, emerging again at another post. You can take any of the paths across the grass here, I tend to just go straight ahead on the middle, lower path as I’m lazy and not a massive fan of slopes. So, go right across to the other side of the open grassland, where the paths all come together again.

Continue past a post (on the right) followed by a finger post (also on the right) and a junction of paths, where you continue straight ahead, ignoring the path down to the left.

You’ll come to the small White Lane car park. Skirt along the right-hand edge of it and pass the information board, then go past the bench and turn right under the overhanging branches of a tree at a wooden post with an orange sign welcoming you to Newlands Corner. Head upslope under the tree, taking care over the roots, and through a narrow gap in the foliage.

It’s surprisingly open under the trees but bear round to the right of a small stump.

Just follow the path through the trees to its end (there is a tree in the middle of the path next to a post on the right) at a cross paths. Go straight across towards the signpost.

Go straight across the main track towards the signpost and continue ahead in the direction of the permissive horse ride. This is a really lovely sheltered path. Part way along, you’ll pass an ornate bench.

Just keep going until you come to a junction of paths by an orange post. Turn left here and head down the slope – it’s quite rocky and uneven underfoot so watch your step.

When you reach the end of this path, turn right at the sign post.

After hardly any distance at all, you’ll come to the Yew Tree Project on your left – turn off the path here onto the boardwalk.

Some of the Yews at Newlands Corner are over 1,000 years old. The boardwalks have been put in to allow people to visit them up close without trampling their roots. There are information signs along the length of the boardwalk with interesting facts that I won’t repeat here.

Oh, be sure to hug a tree while you’re here.

At the end of the boardwalk, turn left back onto the main path. Continue ahead between the branch fences that line the path.

At the fork just after the fences come to an end (and by marker post ‘3J’), bear right and head up the slope. It joins the easy access trail at a T-junction with a post to the right.

Turn left here and then pass a bench on the right. This is now a man made surface underfoot and edged with wood.

Stay on this path and it’ll bring you back to the car park by the loos, a natural play area, a cafe and the visitor centre.