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.
Devil’s Punch Bowl
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.
Chilworth Gunpowder Mills (with or without a visit to St Martha’s Church)
Nestled away behind the picturesque village of Chilworth you’ll find the ruins of the Chilworth Gunpowder Mills, one of the earliest examples of a gunpowder mill in the country.
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.
Sheets Heath via Basingstoke Canal
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.
Walliswood – Kiln Copse, Chapel Copse and the secret church
Walliswood is a small village near Dorking and home to a little-known church, hidden away in the woods. The Church of St John the Baptist, Oakwood Hill (formerly Okewood Hill) was built around 1220, apparently on the site of a Roman villa, which, in turn, had been constructed where a Druidic temple had once stood.
St Martha’s Hill and church
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.
Loxwood – Wey-Arun Canal (eastbound)
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.
Silvermere
Silvermere is a lesser-known part of Wisley and Ockham commons, owned by Surrey County Council and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT).
Frensham Little Pond
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.
Walks with Rena 