Walk 13 : Guildford to Gomshall

Main walk: 13.7km (8.5 miles) 4 hours walking time. For the whole excursion including trains and meals, allow 7 hours 30 minutes.

Short walks: Via shortcut from Shere: 10.9km (6.8 miles), 3 hours 15 minutes walking time.

Guildford to Chilworth: 6.4km (4 miles), 2 hours walking time

Long walk: Guildford to Boxhill: 20.9km (13 miles): 6 hours 30 minutes walking time

OS Landranger Maps No 186 & 187. OS Explorer Map 145

5 out of 10

The section of the North Downs that runs eastwards from Guildford is one of its most unspoiled stretches. The North Downs Way runs along its crest, but this walk takes a more varied route, introducing not just the high grassy ridges with their fine views, but also hidden valleys, ancient woodlands, and the pretty farmland just below the Downs. It starts with a short steep climb out of Guildford which leads straight to the dramatic viewpoint of Pewley Down. Then it joins the North Downs Way to climb to the hilltop church of St Martha-on-the-Hill. From there the route passes through undulating farmland beneath the North Downs escarpment following the ancient Pilgrims Way to lunch in the cute village of Shere. The afternoon gives a contrasting view of the Downs, involving a stiff climb up into ancient woodlands - carpetted with bluebells at the end of April/early May - before descending to tea at a remote farmhouse (Saturdays and Sundays only: on other days a pub offers an alternative).

The first half of the walk makes a fine outing in itself. You can have either lunch or tea in Shere and then take the 1.8km (1.1 mile) Shortcut from Shere to Gomshall that cuts out the entire afternoon section (see directions at the end of the main text). This reduces the walk to 10.9km (6.8 miles) and takes 3 hours 15 minutes

For an even shorter walk from Guildford, you can walk as far as St Martha-on-the-Hill church, and then take the Short cut from St Martha’s to Chilworth (see directions at the end of the main text) for a train or bus back to your starting point: Chilworth is served a few minutes after Gomshall by the return trains and buses described in the Saturday Walkers Club section. This route is 6.4km (4 miles) and makes a leisurely two hour stroll

Lengthening the Walk On a long summer’s day, it is quite possible to walk from Shere all the way to either Boxhill & Westhumble or Dorking Stations, adding 7.2km (4.5 miles) to the walk. This largely wooded walk is particularly stunning in the bluebell season (late April or early May). Simply follow the directions in the text from the lunch stop to the North Downs Way, and then remain on this well marked route. After about 6km (4.1 miles), you come to Steers Field (marked as such by a National Trust sign), a major clearing, with Ranmore church visible ahead, and Dorking in the valley below ahead right. Here you can pick up the directions in at point [10] in the Longer walk via Ranmore Common directions in the Effingham Junction to Dorking or Westhumble chapter in this book. This chapter will also explain tea options on this routeVia shortcut from Shere: 10.9km (6.8 miles), 3 hours 15 minutes walking time.

Only a romantic ruined keep remains of Guildford Castle today, but under Henry III it was a key royal residence. After Henry’s death in 1272, the castle fell into disuse, and were eventually bought in 1611 by Francis Carter, a local worthy, who used it as a private house. The ruins were bought in 1885 by Guildford Borough Council. It is now a park, open during daylight hours. From the top of the keep there is a fine view of the Wey river valley.

What looks like a trigonometry point on Pewley Down just outside Guildford in fact commerates its gift to posterity. It was bought it in 1920 by the Friary Brewery Company in memory of those who died in the First World War. Many of those unfortunates doubtless dreamed of views such as this during their ordeal in the trenches.

Positioned atop a wooded hill, St Martha on the Hill is perhaps one of the most romantically situated churches in the country. Of Norman origin, though rebuilt in 1850, it was originally a stop on the Pilgrims Way. This route ran from London and Winchester to Canterbury, and carried visitors to the shrine of Thomas à Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury murdered by four knights of Henry II, and later canonised. Though in places the route followed what is now the North Downs Way, in others it ran just below the Downs, as it does in the section of this walk between St Martha on the Hill and Shere. The church apparently had a female hermit, who lived on alms from pilgrims. There is evidence of Bronze Age settlement on the hill, so as a place of worship it may well be pre-Christian. The ashes of the actress Yvonne Arnaud are scattered nearby, as a memorial to the right of the exit gate attests.

Shere is often cited as Surrey’s prettiest village, Its Church of St James, built in 1190 is a rare example of a church completely in the Early English Transitional Style. In 1329 the anchoress Christine Carpenter (an anchoress was a kind of halfway house between a lay woman and a nun) was enclosed in a cell in the north wall of the church, receiving food through a grating on the outside wall. After three years she returned to the world, but then petitioned to be re-enclosed. The bishop consented. You can still see where her cell was situated to the left of the altar.

Shere also has a Museum (tel 01483 203245) in Shere Lane, which is open Sunday to Friday, 1.00 to 5.00 pm. It is rather pleasant to wander the village, with its pretty old houses and quaint shops: if you are tempted, note that a short cut to Gomshall Station takes no more than half an hour: see Short cut from Shere to Gomshall at the end of the main text

Take the train nearest to 9.30 am, before or after, from Waterloo to Guildford. Buy a day return to Gomshall.

Note that trains back from Gomshall run only every two hours. Currently Monday to Saturday trains are just before 5pm and 7pm, with no other train until 11 pm. On Sunday trains are just after 4pm, 6pm and 8pm with later ones at 9.40 and 10.40pm. You are strongly advised to check these train times for yourself, however. If you miss the Guildford train, there is usually one in the opposite direction ten minutes later. This takes you to Dorking Deepdene station, from where it is a short walk to the main Dorking station, which has trains at least hourly to London Victoria. A return ticket from London to Gomshall should be valid on this route, but take local advice about this.

Another option if you miss the train at Gomshall is to take the bus from the main road just outside the Compasses Inn to Guildford. At time of writing, these buses are surprisingly regular Monday to Saturday - half hourly until at 8pm with a later bus at 9pm. There are only five buses on Sunday, however, with the last around 6pm. Get up to date information on times on 0870 6082 608. If you are taking the Short cut from St Martha’s to Chilworth, both train and bus serve it a few minutes after Gomshall.

The obvious place to park your car is in Guildford, as near as possible to the station or High Street. You can then take the train or bus back to Guildford from Gomshall.

is at the White Horse pub in Shere (tel 01483 202518), 9.2km (5.7 miles) into the walk. This rambling ancient inn has a small but charming garden out the back, and though busy at weekends is well run and efficient at serving meals from a wide menu. In theory food is served all afternoon, but if busy the pub sometimes closes to new orders at 3pm.

Forty metres further up the road is the Prince of Wales (tel 01483 203313), www.sherepub.com, which has a more traditional menu of roasts etc. It serves food 12.30 pm to 2.00 pm

An alternative to both pubs is the Lucky Duck tea room and restaurant in Shere (tel 01483 202445), which is open from 9.30am to 6.00pm (5.00pm on Sundays) for sandwiches and cakes, though hot lunch items are only available from 12.00pm to 3.00pm. In season, it has both inside and outside tables.

Shere Post Office also sells a full range of picnic items and is open till 10 pm daily.

If you using the Short Cut from Shere, you can also have lunch in Gomshall. The Compasses Inn (see Tea section below for details) does food, as does the Bluebeckers restaurant in Gomshall Mill (a place full of noisy families at weekends). Gomshall Post Office also sells picnic items till 5.30 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (it is closed Wednesday and Saturday afternoons and all day Sunday).

Lastly, if you are ending the walk in Chilworth, the Percy Arms (tel 01483 561765) on the main road not far from the station is a possible lunch option

on Saturdays and Sundays only the Rambler’s Rest tearoom at Colekitchen Farm (tel 01483 203845), is highly recommended. It is open from 10 am to 5 pm. The tearoom might open at other times or days for groups that book in advance. The friendly owners of this idyllic farm, set in a hidden fold of the Downs offer homemade cakes, tea and coffee, which you can eat either inside or outside. They also keep rare breeds of cattle and horses, which graze in the fields around you. Note in winter that it is about 25 minutes walk from the Ramblers Rest to Gomshall station, but it is all on tarmac roads, car free as far as the main road, so as long as you have a torch there is no trouble walking it in the dark.

When the Ramblers Rest is closed, or if you miss a train from Gomshall, the Compasses Inn in Gomshall (tel 01483 203060) serves hot drinks, snacks and meals every day until 9pm, and which has a riverside garden.

If you are doing the shorter walk as an afternoon excursion, you can also have tea in Shere at the Lucky Duck tea room in Shere (see Lunch section above for details)

Start: Guildford Station is near : GU1 4UT. [gmap]

Finish: Gomshall Station is near : GU5 9NB. [gmap]

London to Guildford | Gomshall to London

A completely new afternoon route.

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• Guildford to Gomshall (Updated: Apr-08)

Ramblers Rest tea room now closed. [details]

The text above was taken from the 2004 edition of the book, and may be a little out of date. Please check the updates for this walk.