Graham Pearcey

The route:

• Park at The King William IV, Byttom Hill, Mickleham, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6EL. Food is served until 2:00 PM Mon-Sat and again from 7:00 PM Tue-Sat. Food is served until 5:00 PM Sun.
• Take the footpath alongside the pub, that climbs to a cross-paths. Turn right and follow the track - ignoring a turning to the right - until you reach an apparent dead end, where a narrower track to your right leads to the end of Dell Close. Walk along Dell Close, past the parish hall, until - as Box Hill School comes into sight ahead - you reach a crossing of footpaths. Turn left through the churchyard, keeping the church to your left, and emerge in Old London Road opposite The Running Horses pub. Turn left. Cross to the right hand pavement. Follow this pavement, all the way (two thirds of a mile) to the public car park at the foot of Box Hill (for part of the route, it turns into a footpath that runs parallel to Old London Road).
• Ignore all paths onto Box Hill until, just before the Burford Bridge hotel, you go left and up the steep slope (not the steps). Cresting the hill, keep to the right and keep ascending on the well-worn path until amongst the trees you reach the gravestone of Major Peter Labellière, on your left.
• 60m after the gravestone, turn left at a fork and pass the entrance to Swiss Cottage on your right. Straight ahead is a National Trust car park. Here bear right onto the path which leads in a short distance to the summit viewpoint and memorial to Leopold Salomons, where you can admire the wonderful views of the Surrey hills.
• Here turn sharply back right onto a path clearly marked North Downs Way (NDW). This begins to descend, then briefly rises again before forking left down steps. Keep right at each marker post until, arriving at the valley floor, you follow the sign to cross the River Mole via the footbridge. Then bear left to climb to the Stepping Stones Car Park. Turn left onto the A24 and carefully cross both carriageways to continue along the NDW through a gate and under a railway bridge. After some time, reach a cross-paths (signed for Dorking and for Westhumble) where you go left through a gate into Denbies Wine Estate. Pass the estate buildings on your left, and keep straight ahead for Dorking.
• When the main track bends right, the route continues straight ahead to a three-way finger post where you bear right (signposted “Dorking”), and maintain direction on Yew Tree Road until you reach the main road (Ashcombe Road) . You have reached the half way point of the walk.
• Turn left along the pavement. Look out for a narrow path between houses 62 and 64 on your right. Cross Ashcombe Road to follow this path over a railway bridge to Meadowbank Recreation Ground. Maintain direction along the edge of Meadowbank, cross Pippbrook to Mill Lane, and keep ahead to reach High Street opposite The White Horse hotel.
• From here turn left along High Street, right into Dene Street and left up Heath Hill where the road opens onto Cotmandene. Keep left along the perimeter wall of the Almshouses and descend left into Moores Road to emerge further along High Street alongside a petrol station. Turn right and when you get to Dorking Halls you’ll see a bronze relief in the entrance, commemorating the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams who lived in Dorking. Here cross Reigate Road, enter the Pippbrook Council Offices complex, and follow the footpath sign to pass either side of Pippbrook House (which houses the Public Library) and descend into Old London Road opposite Fairfield Court.
• Turn left. Cross the road after passing Pippbrook Mill. Remain on Old London Road until the bend beyond the mill. Take the narrow path (with a No Cycling sign) and turn left at the first bridge. Follow Wathen Road to number 26, where there’s a blue plaque marking the birthplace of (Sir) Laurence Olivier. Arriving back in the High Street, turn right. Pass the Post Office and take the second road on your right, Mill Lane. Retrace your steps to Denbies Wine Estate. Alongside the estate buildings, fork left to reach the gate. Follow the signs to Westhumble which take you across the track, across a field, and along a footpath behind the back gardens of houses.
• Cross a tarmac lane, and proceed along a narrower footpath until it ends. Go right and, at the entrance to Pilgrims Way, continue on the right-hand pavement as it proceeds behind trees. The archway to Leladene appears on your left with a blue plaque commemorating the 18th-century novelist Fanny Burney. Between the timber framed Chapel of Ease and the railway bridge, locate a footpath.
• This path opens out into a large field. Keep to the right hand side until you cross the River Mole via a footbridge. Ignore the railway arch, continuing straight ahead following Public Footpath signs until you pass through a kissing gate by a cream-coloured house (“Cowslips”). Follow the driveway until, just before a barn, you turn left (signposted “Permissive Footpath Leatherhead”) to cross the Mole for the second time. At Lodge Farm go left through a gate, then right. Ignore the right turn signed “Mickleham”, enter and leave Swanworth Picnic Site via two kissing gates, and bear right onto a slowly climbing track. At the very top go right onto a tarmac drive (“Public Bridleway Mickleham”) which zigzags down towards Norbury Park Farm. But at the first left bend in the zigzag, proceed straight ahead onto a descending path (look for the partially hidden “Bridleway” sign) to cross the Mole for the third and last time. Turn left at the A24 and, at the bus stop, carefully cross both carriageways to return to Byttom Hill and The King William IV pub.

This route was last walked on 26 November 2008, and the directions were accurate then. Please e-mail me if you find any errors, if you would like a copy in Word format, or if you would prefer a version that starts and ends at Box Hill and Westhumble station.

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