Greyhound approved walks in and around Surrey
Elstead Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as are neighbouring Ockley and Royal commons (Walks with Rena post for the latter is here). All are managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust on behalf of the MOD. Elstead and Ockley commons are recognised as some of the finest remaining lowland heath in the south of England and are awash with heather, gorse and bracken. The woodlands on its perimeter are primarily made up of birch and Scots pine.
Wisley and Ockham Commons and Chatley Heath is a 297-acre nature reserve owned by Surrey County Council and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust. The site is mainly heathland but it also has areas of open water, bog, woodland and scrub. Here you'll also find the only working semaphore tower in Britain and an ornate mausoleum.
Cowdray Forest is part of the Paddockhurst Estate, a privately-owned woodland which allows some access to the public. Here, you'll find a grid plantation of different types of trees so there's quite a lot of variety to be had on any walk as you pass from section to section. Cowdray Forest adjoins Worth Forest, although there's nothing to tell you when you pass from one into the other.
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.
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.
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 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.
Hornecourt Wood is an ancient Wealden beech woodland on the National Trust's Harewoods Estate in Outwood.
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.
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.
Walks with Rena 