This 10-mile walk takes you through woods and fields to a lunch stop in Charlwood. The walk was submitted by Guildford Rambling Club (see guildfordramblingclub.org.uk).
1. Continue along the Newdigate Road for about ¼ mile, passing Palmers Farm, to find a footpath, left, by the start of the track to Willow Tree Farm. Follow this alongside a stream. It then runs a short way through a private garden and turns right to cross the stream and a stile and reach the Willow Tree Farm access track. Turn left to walk along the track. Take a footpath out left into a field, immediately before the farm’s gate. Ignore the immediate left and, instead, go a few yards forward and turn right to traverse a gap into a field. Walk around the field anticlockwise to the far side and, just past a large oak, take a path right. Walk up the left-hand side of the next field, through a gap and along the left-hand side of another field to a road.
2. Do not go out on to the road, instead turn away right to walk a few yards towards a building and then turn left to walk along its access track. It runs alongside the green in Newdigate. Turn and head half-left across the green, aiming towards the Church. Exit the green, between a couple of benches in a shelter, on to a road opposite a shop. Turn right and walk along to the Six Bells, opposite the Church. Cross to walk up Church Lane. Walk as far as the vets and cross over to take a path right, into a field by the side of the vets. Head out parallel to the right-hand side of the field at first but continue forward when the field expands out to the right. Go through a gate into another field and cross it half-right. Go through a gate and along the left-hand edge of the next field.
3. Exit over a footbridge and continue straight ahead and through a gap into another field. (See a farm and caravans off to your left.) Cross the field and go over a stile onto a wide track at a 4-way signpost. Continue straight ahead (east) along the left-hand side of a field. (See a lake away to your right.) Pass a 3-way signpost and continue straight ahead towards trees. Go over a footbridge, through a gate into a field and along its left-hand side. Exit through a gate onto a track and turn right. At a bend, follow a path which breaks away on the left to run along a fence and continues in a strip of trees between fields. Go through a gate/stile on the left and immediately turn right to walk south, still in trees, with a fence to your right. You are in Cudworth Copse. There is a stream to your left. The path swings away to the right. Quickly turn left to walk roughly parallel to the stream. There is no obvious path but stay parallel to the stream until you see a footbridge over it, on your left. Cross the footbridge. You are now heading east again.
4. Pass a stile / duckable gap and continue on for a little way before dropping off to the right and passing a stile/gap to reach and cross another footbridge on your left. Go up a short slope and walk in trees parallel to the stream which soon runs through the bottom of a little valley that it has cut for itself. Stay parallel to it until you can cross it to the left. In the field on the other side, head half-right, running alongside a little ditch to reach the corner and exit on to a track. Turn left and walk to a road. Cross, jinking left, and turning right along a path at the side of a field. At the end of the path, take a stile on the right-hand side to continue forward for 5 yards to reach a wide track. Jink left and take another wide track right (NOT the little path heading off into bushes just before it). Ignore rights and lefts. Eventually, go down some steps to a bridge and cross it (or maybe just jump over the stream). Climb some steps on the other side and continue forward, ignoring lefts and rights. Eventually the trees on the left-hand side become a field and then there are fields on both sides. Emerge at the end of a dead-end road in Charlwood. Walk along it to a T junction at the point where Russ Hill becomes Rectory Road. Go straight across and along the footpath opposite to turn left at the far end along The Street. Look, on the left, for the Half Moon or a place to picnic.
5. After lunch, continue left on The Street and walk past the Norwood Hill Road junction. After about 200 yards there is a footpath right, just past Barbers Cottage. Follow this for about 1/3 mile to reach Stan Hill (a road). Turn left and follow the path at the side of the road until you can turn left along Beggars House Lane. Follow this for about a mile. Along the way it becomes a track, passes a farm and a footpath left. Reach a road. Turn right and walk 200 yards to turn left along Burnt Oak Lane. Walk again for about a mile, ignoring lefts and rights. Along the way the road becomes unmade and later becomes metalled again. Also, you pass Cudworth Moated Manor (a Grade I listed, 16th century medieval manor house with its own moat. Ownership carries with it a Lord/Lady title). Reach a T-junction with a road and turn right.
6. Walk to a junction, in Newdigate, where Church Lane becomes Hogs Pudding (also known as New Barn) Lane. Turn right to walk along Hogs Pudding Lane. Reach, on your right-hand side, Mulberry Place. Take a path just inside Mulberry Place to continue forward. Ignore a quick turn right, stay on the path. The path swings right and later left, crosses a footbridge and passes a stile to enter a field. Walk along the right-hand side. Go over a stile onto a wide farm track and continue forward. Immediately before some houses, take a stile out left and walk a few yards across a field to exit onto a road. Cross and turn left. Walk about 200 yards to find a footpath right that runs along the side of a garden. It then turns sharp left to run along behind the far end of the garden. Continue forward. The path turns sharp right. Continue until turning right again to follow a blue arrow into Reffolds Copse.
7. Turn sharp left at a 2-way signpost. Now, ignoring lefts and rights, continue for about ½ mile through the copse. Reach a road. Cross and go 10 yards right to pick up a footpath forking off to the left. Enter a field and cross it, half-right, to exit onto a paved access road by some houses. Cross the access road and go straight between the houses. Look for a path left that will take you across fields to emerge on the Newdigate Road close to where you parked. Don’t worry if you miss it, just continue straight ahead down the paved lane (Henfold Drive) for about ½ mile to reach the A24 at the side of a petrol station. Turn left and walk down to turn left into Newdigate Road.
DISTANCE: 10 miles
OS MAPS: Explorer 146 Dorking, Box Hill & Reigate
STARTING POINT: Drive south down the A24 and turn left into the Newdigate Road in Beare Green. Park a little way along here, on the road opposite the green. GR 5 178 1 429.
