Walk 14 : Effingham Junction to Westhumble

Main walk: 14.8km (9.2 miles) to Westhumble, 15.7km (9.7 miles) to Dorking, 4 hours 30 minutes walking time. For the whole excursion including trains and meals, allow 7 hours 30 minutes.

Using alternative ending via Ranmore Common: 16km (10 miles) to Westhumble, 16.6km (10.3 miles) to Dorking, 5 hours walking time

Short walk: 12km (7.5 miles), 3 hours 45 minutes walking time.

OS Landranger Map No 187. OS Explorer Map No 146

5 out of 10

The idyllic estate of Polesden Lacey, a fine country house nestling just behind the North Downs escarpment, is the highlight of this walk - a landscape of hidden valleys, pretty woodland, and gentle pasture that seems lost in a golden yesterday. The walk has something to offer at almost any time of the year. In spring, it passes through a number of fine bluebell woods, in autumn there is plenty of fine golden colour in the woodlands, while in winter the bare branches open up new views and vistas. In summer, the walk offers several fine spots for a picnic, and despite being relatively close to London, a deep rural tranquility. The long evenings also make this the best time to come if you want to also make a detailed visit in the afternoon to the house and grounds at Polesden Lacey.

Special note All three walk options described here allow you to finish either at Dorking or Boxhill & Westhumble stations: the former has more trains, the latter is prettier. Directions are given in the text both to get to both stations from the recommended tea place in Denbies Wine Estate, which is more or less equidistant between the two stations, and also to get to both stations without passing the tea place. Note that the Dorking station refered to here is the main station, not Dorking West or Dorking Deepdene, which are on the Redhill to Guildford line. Dorking Deepdene is 100 metres beyond Dorking station if you are following these walk directions, just under the bridge over the A24.

Alternative ending via Ranmore Common The standard route carries on down the valley to Westhumble after visiting Polesden Lacey, a pretty little lost world of its own. An alternative is to climb up through the woods of Ranmore Common and follow the North Downs Way to Denbies Wine Estate. This route offers spectacular views to the south, and lengthens the walk by only around a kilometre (0.6 miles).

If your aim is to spend some time at Polesden Lacey, the Round Walk from Westhumble described at the end of the chapter gets you to the house in just 5.2km (3.2 miles) from Boxhill & Westhumble station (called just Boxhill on most of its platform signs). The walk then uses the Alternative Ending via Ranmore Common to get back to Westhumble, making a total round walk of 12km (7.5 miles)

On Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, there are also five buses a day from Dorking station to Polesden Lacey. The first bus from Dorking is currently around 10am and the last bus from Polesden Lacey just after 5pm. To get up to date times for this National Trust sponsored service, call Polesden Lacey house on 01372 452 048

It is often assumed that England is a lot less wooded than it used to be. In fact, the last 150 years or so has seen many former farmed areas and commons revert to woodland as traditional methods of countryside management died out. A fine example is Great Ridings Wood early in the main walk. Though it looks like ancient English woodland (particularly in late April when the bluebells are out), it was all cultivated arable land as recently as the 1770s. The bridleway followed through the wood on this walk - Old London Road - was as its name suggests once the main road to London. The wood is now managed by The Woodland Trust.

Polesden Lacey (tel 01372 452048) was originally a Regency House, built in 1821, but it was in the Edwardian period that it really came into its own. Between 1906 and 1909 it was taken over and extensively rebuilt by Mrs Ronald Greville, a society hostess, and was the scene of many glamorous house parties. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, mother of the present queen, also spent part of their honeymoon there in 1923. Now lovingly preserved by the National Trust, the real appeal of the house today is its stunning location on the crest of a hidden valley of the North Downs (there are fine views from the gardens), and the pastoral tranquility of the estate. The house is open from 11am to 5pm from late March to early November, and the gardens all year from 11am to 6pm.

Denbies Wine Estate (tel 01306 876616) is a remarkable sight, a huge vineyard that looks like a slice of France that has been airlifted the heart of England. Billing itself as the "largest wine estate England has ever seen", it produces 400,000 bottles of wine a year, or around 10 percent of total UK production. The estate has a large visitors centre, open from 10am Monday to Saturday and 11.30am on Sunday, and closing at 5.30pm from April to December and 4.30pm January to March, and there are also vineyard tours. For more information see www.denbiesvineyard.co.uk

Take the train nearest to 10am from London Waterloo direct to Effingham Junction. The return is from Dorking or Boxhill & Westhumble stations, the latter being on the Dorking line. Trains from both go to Victoria, but you can usually change at Epsom for a Waterloo service. The lines to Effingham Junction and Dorking diverge two stops up the line at Leatherhead. Note that the Dorking station refered to here is the main station, not Dorking West or Dorking Deepdene, which are on the Redhill to Guildford line. Dorking Deepdene is 100 metres beyond Dorking station if you are following these walk directions, just under the bridge over the A24.

On the short walk, the train nearest to 10.30 from London Victoria to Boxhill and Westhumble will get you to Polesden Lacey in time for lunch.

The short walk, which starts and can finish at Boxhill and Westhumble station is obviously one option here. There is a small (about 13 spaces) free car park at the station, though strictly speaking this is for rail users only. An alternative is the main car park for visitors to Boxhill, which reached by turning up the road towards Mickleham and the Burford Bridge Hotel at a roundabout on the A24 (this car park is also marked on the OS Explorer map). To reach Boxhill & Westhumble station from this car park, return to the roundabout, turn left (south) onto the A24, and immediately cross the A24 by an underpass. On the far side of the underpass, turn right up a road signposted to Westhumble and the railway station. The station is 280 metres up on the left.

Otherwise, Effingham Junction has a large station car park (£2.60 a day at time of writing from Mondays to Fridays, but free weekends and bank holidays). To get from Dorking or Boxhill and Westhumble back to Effingham Junction is relatively easy on Mondays to Saturdays, when you can change at Leatherhead, two stops from Dorking, for a train direct to Effingham Junction, the whole journey taking just half an hour. On Sunday, when Leatherhead to Effingham Junction trains do not run, the journey requires a lengthy detour, however, and is not really practical.

The best place to have lunch is undoubtedly in the tea room at Polesden Lacey (tel 01372 456190) itself, romantically set in the old stable yard, and ideally situated about half way through all the walks described here. This does three hot lunch options between 12pm and 2pm, Wednesday to Sunday. On Mondays and Tuesdays from late March to late November it offers a lighter lunch menu of soup and sandwiches. On Mondays and Tuesdays the rest of the year the tea room is closed.

However, to access the tea room you either have to be a National Trust member, or pay the entrance fee to Polesden Lacey's grounds (currently £4). Staff at the gate do not always insist on payment from walkers, especially if you say you are only visiting the tea room, but you should not rely on this: ie, you should ask at the gatehouse first. An alternative lunchstop is the Sir Douglas Haig (tel 01372 456886) in the village of Effingham, three miles into the walk. This thoroughly modernised pub has a more suburban than village feel, but has a small garden front and back and serves basic meals from 12pm to 2.30pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm to 3pm on Sundays. It also serves tea and coffee all afternoon.

There also are several good places for a picnic in the environs of Polesden Lacey, which are marked as such in the walk directions

If you are planning to visit its house and grounds, Polesden Lacey also makes an excellent place for tea (but you will need to pay to enter the grounds: see Lunch): the tea room is open till 5pm from late March to early November, and till 3pm the rest of the year, and advertises "Edwardian Cream Teas"

Otherwise, the recommended tea stop is the spectacular glass-roofed self service restaurant in the Denbies Wine Estate Visitor Centre (tel 01306 876616), which is open from 10am to 5pm Mondays to Saturdays and 11.30am to 5pm on Sundays from April to December, and till 4pm Monday to Friday and 5pm weekends from January to March. In winter, note that it is about 20 minutes walk from the Visitor's Centre to the street lights of either Dorking or Westhumble.

If you are ending the walk in Dorking, a late tea can also be had at the Lincoln Arms (tel 01306 882820), the pub at the start of the station approach, which serves tea and coffee all evening until normal pub closing times

The escarpment on Ranmore Common is also a wonderful place to stop and have a picnic tea if you have brought a thermos flask with you