Greyhound approved walks in and around Surrey
Hankley Common is a 560-hectare nature reserve near the village of Elstead in Surrey comprising lowland heath and woodland. The site is part of the Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Outwood Common comprises open common, woodland and fields, traversed by streams and dotted with more than 100 ponds here and there. A large proportion of the countryside in and around Outwood is part of the Harewoods Estate, which is managed by the National Trust. Some of the ancient oak trees in the wood are over 200 years old.
An ancient woodland thought to have been owned by Anne Boleyn, Banstead Woods was alluded to in the Domesday Book of 1086 and, in the medieval period, sheltered the royal deer. These days, it is local nature reserve and site of Special Scientific Interest, infamous for the swathes of vibrant bluebells that carpet the floor in the springtime.
Esher Common dates back at least 6,000 years to the early Bronze Age Neolithic period, with evidence of a settlement on Round Hill. ains several ponds and lakes, the largest of which is Black Pond, which was once a water supply for the nearby National Trust Claremont Landscape Garden.
The Ashdown Forest is in East Sussex and it has some absolutely stunning locations to enjoy. Chelwood Vachery is an estate dating back to at least 1229. Its Forest Garden was created between 1910 and the 1930s.
Wisley Common is managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT). Along with Ockham common/Chatley Heath on the other side of the A3, it is a nationally important site for dragonflies and damselflies, with twenty species recorded. It also attracts many rare birds, including the hobby, which is one of the few creatures that can actually catch dragonflies. In the summer, the heath is awash with purple heather.
Happy Valley near Coulsdon makes up part of the Farthing Downs. It was purchased under the Green Belt Scheme in 1937 by Surrey County Council, the Urban District Council of Coulsdon and the London County Council. It is an area of managed open countryside of just over 250 acres of downland grass and ancient woodland slopes (Devil’s Den Wood), dominated by a steep‐sided dry valley at the centre and considered an important reserve for all kinds of animal and plant life.
West End Common is a 70.3-hectare (174-acre) Local Nature Reserve and part of Esher Commons, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The River Mole runs along one edge of the common, which also boasts six ponds and wet areas.
Banstead Heath at Mogador 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.
Chobham Common is the largest National Nature Reserve in the south east of England at around 600 hectares – and a prime example of lowland heath, one of the most ancient and characteristic British landscapes, originally created by prehistoric farmers. For over 200 generations, rural communities have carefully managed this open countryside, creating a wildlife rich patchwork of mini-habitats.
Walks with Rena 