Graham Pearcey

Walk number 12 (7 miles / 3.00 hours):

• Park at The William IV pub, Little London, Albury, GU5 9DG. Food is served until 2:00 PM and again from 7:00 PM Mon-Sat. Food is served until 2:30 PM Sun.
• With your back to the pub, turn left onto Little London and left again into an unnamed track with houses to the left and woods to the right. At the T junction where you meet Park Road, cross carefully to South Lodge. Here take the middle path (i.e. go through the kissing gate to the right of the driveway) and proceed along the remnants of an avenue of chestnut trees, keeping ahead to pass to the left of a lodge. Turn left along the track and cross the footbridge over the Tillingbourne.
• Keep ahead up the lane and then in 180m at a crossing of paths, turn left through the trees up to a kissing gate, where the ground could be muddy. Continue along the left hand edge of the field to another kissing gate, then follow the woodland path to a third kissing gate. Initially keep to the left hand edge of this field, then maintain direction to find a stile 50m to the right of the Catholic Apostolic church.
• Reach Albury Street alongside a post-box, and cross the road with care. Cross a stile and keep ahead with the fence to your right. Cross another stile and go along the edge of the wood and across the track that leads to Weston Woods Sand Quarry. Keep ahead through woods to merge with a track after 260m. Bear left alongside Timbercroft and proceed for another five minutes till you reach a driveway. Take the right hand (lower) part of the driveway to reach a lane. Turn left and in 10m turn right up another track. Keep ahead along the left hand edge of a field, then follow the path ahead across the field. Go over a cross-track and keep ahead for 600m to reach Guildford Lane.
• Turn right a short distance to reach the Guildford Lane Car Park. Go to the top left hand corner of the car park (alongside notice boards) and here turn left to cross a wooden footbridge. Immediately bear left, reach a sandy cross-path, continue ahead on the grass, and soon cross a sandy bridleway, keeping to the right of the finger post. This track descends into the valley, bearing right as it does so. When there’s a fence ahead of you, turn left and proceed a long distance (540m) with first the Tillingbourne and later the garden of Millstream Cottage on your right hand side. You have reached the half way point of the walk.
• Emerging alongside the cottage, turn right and right again to follow the lane until it reaches Postford Mill Pond on your left and Bottings Corn Mill on your right. On crossing the bridge by the millpond sluice, immediately look for the path diagonally right in front of you signed Public Footpath.
• The path proceeds between two fences - right and left - until you cross a stile and continue through a field, keeping as close to the left hand edge as possible. Cross the footbridge and stile, then walk over the foundations of the Admiralty Cordite Works and maintain direction to reach a stile. Continue on the short well-worn path over the next field to another stile. From this stile turn left along the lane to reach the A248 alongside Lockner Farm. Cross towards the bus stop and ahead over the railway bridge before bearing left through a gate by a cottage. This path dips then climbs to reach a wicket gate/stile. Here maintain direction to cross the field towards its far right hand corner. Pass through a kissing gate and turn right to follow the fence and then the line of the bank across the field. Continue up a track with a line of trees to your left to pass Postford Farm Cottages. Proceed steeply downhill following the lane, cross the stream and eventually reach a three-way junction, where you can see a railway arch to your left but you turn right then immediately left over a stile next to a metal gate. Keep ahead with the bank on your left and Bourne Stream to your right to reach Little Ford Farmhouse.
• Go through the gate, turn left and then follow the farm lane as it goes immediately right and later swings left to lead you under a railway arch. Continue on this lane through woods until you see Albury Sports Ground on your right hand side and you emerge onto New Road. Across the road to your right, find Park Road clearly signed. Proceed along Park Road for 550m (although there is no obvious verge to walk along) until you reach South Lodge, where you turn right and retrace your steps to The William IV pub.

This route was last walked on 25 June 2010, 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 Chilworth station (add 0.5 miles/ 0.25 hours).

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