Banstead Heath – Tadworth

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Parking
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Self-guided walk

About

Banstead Heath comprises open grass land, scrub and woodland. It is the largest and most southerly of the four commons making up Banstead Commons, with a total area of 310 hectares (760 acres), stretching from the M25 in the south to Tadworth roundabout on the A217 to the north with a southern border with Walton Heath Golf Course.

It is home to a range of birds such as Skylark, Woodlark, Linnet, Yellowhammers, Redpoll and Reed Bunting. Green Woodpeckers are often seen hunting for insects on the ground and during May and June, and Woodcock are frequently seen at dusk. Various mammal species are well represented on the Heath including foxes, roe deer, badgers and dormice. Banstead Heath is also notable for large numbers of butterflies in high summer. The Browns and Skippers are the dominant species. One notable insect that was found on Banstead Heath is the Bog Bush Cricket.

Like most of Surrey, Adders do live here so watch out in the summer. They are shy and more likely to slither off before you even notice them than they are to attack, but they can sometimes be seen basking in sunny clearings in the scrub or bracken.

This website has another walk for Banstead Heath, starting from the other side of this area at Mogador.

None, please take waste away with you.

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Self-guided walk

Here is a Footpath app route from Mill Road, which takes you through the top fields of Banstead Heath, through the woods that are surrounded by ‘the gallops’ bridle path and then back up through the fields. The route is also on AllTrails.

The W3W and googlemaps links above should take you right to the start point for this walk, but for avoidance of doubt, you want to start from the little clearing approximately halfway along Mill Road. It has a finger post in it, is edged by some wooden posts and opposite a lamp post with the number 8 on it. It is also almost opposite Tadworth cricket club.

Length: approximately 2.4 miles/3.9 km
Terrain: Mix of grassy and woodland paths. Some can get muddy in the colder/wetter months. Some inclines but not too steep. Some of the woodland paths can be rocky and uneven underfoot.
Stiles/kissing gates? No stiles or kissing gates

After parking on Mill Road, head to the small clearing described earlier on this page. With the road behind you, take the path on the left into the woods.

When you get to the big wide junction, turn right and head out of the trees and through a small area of grass. Keep to the path on the left. Pass the bench on the left and keep going.

Where the path forks in two at a tree, take the one on the right and follow it ahead through a bush and out onto open grassland.

Follow the mowed path straight ahead towards a post. When you reach that post, keep straight on and the path will head towards, and then skirt along, the tree line (which is to the left.) Stay with the tree line, ignoring a large mowed path diagonally right and then continue straight ahead down the slope. Presently the main mown path will head away from the trees (while a smaller, sometimes barely noticeable, path goes right along the trees.)

The main path you’re on descends into an area of shrubby trees.

Follow it all the way to where it intersects with a number of other paths by a couple of finger posts and continue straight ahead on the smallest path into the woods.

The grassy hillside will reach away up to your right as you wind through the woods on this little path. At the first fork, keep to the right, then at the second fork, go left. You’ll know you’re on the right path if you pass a tree growing diagonally.

When you get to the cross paths, turn left and head upslope. This path brings you up to the main semi-circular horse ride known as ‘the gallops’ which encircles an area of woodland. Cross straight over this wide bridleway into the woods ahead, passing a post on the left, then a large tree stump on the right.

This lovely path takes you through pine trees and small areas of grass. If you’ve done the Mogador walk on this site, you may recognise it (although on that particular route, we walk this path in the opposite direction.) Wind along all the way down, ignoring any small paths until (after passing through a larger rough grassy area), you reach a wide grass path cutting left to right with shrubs ahead of you.

Turn right and walk along this wide path to the big junction of paths, which has a wooden post to the right, then continue ahead some more. Eyes peeled now for the next few steps. You’ll pass a tree on the left which has a bench under it. Keep going straight a little bit… but not much farther! It’s hard to explain where to stop, but there’ll be a shrubby bit on the left of the path that you’re on that sort of ‘stands alone’ and, opposite that, a little path on the right heads into the bushes.

Take this path, passing shrubby trees and holly.

When you reach the fork at a clearing of grass which has one tree in the middle, I take the right hand path but it doesn’t really matter. For the sake of this walk, go right like I do and pass a pond (which will be on your left.)

Follow this sheltered path all the way to its end, exiting the shade of the trees between some wooden posts and emerging out onto another main path. Turn left.

Almost immediately, you come to a large cross paths. This is the bridle path known as ‘the gallops’ that I mentioned earlier. Turn right here.

As you walk along this main ride, keep your eyes peeled for a tiny cross paths. The best landmark to watch out for that I can come up with is two trees growing together in a V shape next to a little path on the right.

Directly opposite those two trees, there’s a little path. Turn left off the main bridle way onto this little path.

It’s quite rough and rocky in places as it descends through woods and brambles. Just stay on it all the way down to the bottom of the slope and then it’ll ascend short and sharply up and out of the trees. You’ll be at the bottom of a big grassy slope.

Turn right and walk along with the woods on your right and the grassy slope heading upwards to your left. Pass between some shrubs where there’s a post on right by a path that goes into the woods.

You’re now at the corner of another expanse of grass. Take the path diagonally left that goes up the slope through the middle of the grass.

At every grassy cross paths you come to as you walk up the slope, just continue straight on. At the brow of the hill, it’s straight on again, keeping the silver birch trees immediately to your right.

When the silver birch trees end, yes, straight on again.

Just keep going straight ahead to the edge of the grassy area. The path goes through a wide gap between shrubs a little to the right of a wooden bench.

As you continue to walk away from the main grassland, the path skirts a patch of woods (on your left.)

Follow the path all the way to the wide junction. Stop here. Looking ahead, there’s a tree growing diagonally to the right and a dead tree which has had the top chopped off.

Take the path immediately to the left of the chopped tree, which it heads diagonally to the left and takes you back to the start point on Mill Road (this is the path you took at the very start.)