Self-guided walks

Shalford Water Meadows

Shalford's water meadows were once farmland used for growing hay and grazing cattle. They are a reminder of the area's once "intensive" farming history (although clearly not intensive by today's farming standards). In the Middle Ages, ditches and channels were created in natural riverside meadows and then deliberately flooded to turn them into water meadows, a practice imported from Europe. How very international.

Waggoner’s Wells

Waggoner's Wells in Hampshire consists of three man-made ponds/lakes, which were created in the 17th century by the Hooke family of Bramshott. With evidence of ironmaking in the area, it's believed they were originally intended as hammer ponds, which would have provided water to power machinery used to produce iron, but they appear never to have been used. It's been suggested that they instead served as fish ponds.

Royal Common, Forked Pond and Thursley Nature Reserve fringes

Royal Common, just outside Elstead, is part of the Longmoor Training Area owned by the Defence Estates, which also covers large parts of Hankley, Elstead and Ockley commons. Public access is allowed across the Defence Training Estate provided you adhere to the Surrey Commons Military Lands Byelaws 1978. Army training here (when it takes place) revolves around logistics and minor infantry manoeuvre exercises and you're unlikely to come to any harm, but make sure you follow the instructions of troops if you do encounter any.

Papercourt Lock and the Wey Navigation

Papercourt Lock is a lock on the River Wey Navigation, now owned and maintained by the National Trust. The Wey was one of the first British rivers to be made navigable, and opened to barge traffic in 1653. It is a 15-mile waterway linking Guildford to the Thames at Weybridge.

Ashdown Forest – Friends’ Clump, Nutley Windmill and the Garden of Eden waterfall

down Forest is in East Sussex and it has some absolutely stunning locations to enjoy. More than 300 years old, Nutley Windmill is a grade II listed open trestle post mill, which has been restored to working order. The Garden of Eden waterfall is tucked away, just off one of the main rides and formed by a stream cascading down over some rocks. Manage your expectations, you’re not in the Yorkshire Dales or the Peak District, but it’s a pretty little spot all the same.

Devil’s Punch Bowl

The Devil’s Punch Bowl, part of the Hindhead Commons, is a large natural amphitheatre near Thursley and Hindhead, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and managed by the National Trust.

Horton Country Park

Between Epsom, Ewell and Chessington, Horton Country Park is a local nature reserve covering 150 hectares, parts of which are used as a golf course, a children’s adventure farm (Hobbledown) and an equestrian centre. It’s a patchwork of fields, hedgerows, woods and ponds and considered to be of great wildlife and historical interest.

Reigate Heath

Reigate Heath covers an area of about 60 hectares and is a local nature reserve, common and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Regarded as an important site because of its mosaic of lowland acid grassland and dry heath, Reigate Heath is a nationally rare habitat that supports a wide range of uncommon plants and invertebrates associated with free-draining, sandy soils.

Website Powered by WordPress.com.

Up ↑