Netley Heath on the North Downs scarp slope above Gomshall is an area of woods and heathland and part of Shere Woodlands. This area once formed part of the Bray Estate of Shere.
Netley Heath (Francis Corner)
Chantry Wood
Chantry Wood, just to the east of Guildford town centre, sits on the same greensand ridge that forms part of the North Downs as neighbouring St Martha’s Hill (Walks with Rena post here) and comprises 80 hectares of woodland and grassland.
Newark Priory
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.
Ashtead Common
Ashtead Common, owned by the City of London Corporation, is regarded as a prime example of relic wood pasture, valued for its historic landscape and important habitat. Its 495 acres are a mosaic of woodland, grassland, scrub and various wetland habitats including ponds, streams, ditches and springs.
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.
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.
Walks with Rena 