Greyhound approved walks in and around Surrey
Known as “London’s lost route to the sea”, the Wey and Arun Canal is a partially open, 18.5 mile (30km) canal running southwards from the River Wey at Shalford in Surrey to the River Arun at Pallingham in West Sussex. This walk takes you west from the canal centre by the Onslow Arms in Loxwood, through the countryside and back along the canal.
Newark Priory is a ruined priory next to the River Wey at Newark Lock between Ripley, Send and Pyrford and to the east of Woking Palace. It is a Grade I listed building and protected Scheduled Monument, meaning it should forever remain in ruins just like it is today.
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.
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.
There’s not much to be said about Sheets Heath and online research threw up very little as well. Its Wikipedia page hints at a sniff of scandal, claiming that the Woking Borough Council website says the common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) but that this is not corroborated by the official SSSI list held by Natural England.
St Martha’s Hill is on the Greensand Ridge between the town of Guildford and village of Chilworth. Atop the hill, you'll find the lovely Church of St Martha-on-the-Hill (also known as St Martha's Church). This protected, grade II listed building is accessible only by foot and the only church in Surrey on the Pilgrims' Way, the historical route supposedly taken by pilgrims from Winchester to Becket's shrine at Canterbury.
Known as “London’s lost route to the sea”, the Wey and Arun Canal is a partially open, 18.5 mile (30km) canal running southwards from the River Wey at Shalford in Surrey to the River Arun at Pallingham in West Sussex.
The village of Frensham and its Little and Great ponds can be found near the town of Farnham. The name Frensham comes from “Frena’s ham”. Frensham Little Pond, once called Crowsfoot, was built in 1246 by order of the Bishop of Winchester, William de Raleigh.
Sidney Wood is right on the edge of Surrey, near Alfold and Cranleigh, and the old Wey and Arun Junction Canal runs through it. Known as “London’s lost route to the sea”, the Wey and Arun Canal is a partially open, 18.5 mile (30km) canal running southwards from the River Wey at Shalford in Surrey to the River Arun at Pallingham in West Sussex.
Walks with Rena 