6

Dry_mild

Six regulars (a band of brothers, in fact)on this undemanding, but pleasant walk. As our racing correspondent put it, the 'going was heavy'. Lots of sticky mud, but nothing our sturdy boots couldn't cope with. Recent rain had turned many of fields between Leigh and Reigate into a Lake District. One diversion back onto tarmac was needed, and to

their credit, two of our number in the front five took care to phone the backmarker about this. Three dined in the 1970s era (not themed) Plough pub and seemed fairly content with the fare. Pub otherwise empty.Lots of options in Reigate, which is a good place to end a walk.

CORRECTION: The phone number for The Plough in Leigh is 01732 832149

are you suggesting doing the walk in reverse? its a bit ambiguous

There were 17 at the station later joined by another walker so 18 in all on a day of cloud one shower-sunshine. It was a lovely walk through woodlands and fields with great views and we were reliably informed by a group member that this would be a nice wood anemone walk in the spring. Same member also identified a missal thrush singing faintly in the woods. The walk was further enlivened by a discussion of minor errors in the walk post. Altogether 12 of us had lunch in The Plough in Leigh, and were later joined by people who had picnicked by the church, for drinks. The group fragmented after that and about 9 of us walked together into Reigate where we had tea in Pistachios in the Park. We then wandered around Reigate doing a spot of sightseeing or having further refreshments, and then caught either the 16.58 or 17.09 from Reigate and then all managed to catch the 17.21 from Redhill back to London.

22 off the train on a warm cloudy day with sunny spells . A few people had pub lunches at two different pubs and may wish to report on the quality of the food. The majority had sandwiches sitting on the numerous benches in the churchyard and in a green opposite the pub. A few had tea in Reigate and caught the 4.32 train to London. The majority may have caught the 4.02 or earlier. A pleasant walk with very little mud despite recent heavy rain.

This walks page says to "buy a return ticket to Holmwood, which is valid for the return journey from Reigate via Redhill". Is that still right or should it be a return to Reigate as above?

@Daisy Roots: The advice is correct. Tickets to Dorking Stations are valid both on the direct line via Epsom and to Dorking Deepdene via Redhill & Reigate. So a ticket to Holmwood (via Dorking) is valid on the route back from Reigate via Redhill.

...sorry, didn't notice that the walk post was different. The advice on the walks page is correct. A Holmwood ticket *should* go through the ticket barrier at Reigate - make a fuss if it doesn't!

16 It was sunny The ground was dry. Too dry, some said. Like rucked up concrete in places. .Off we went across fields, throughwoods stuffed with flowers. One field contained overly frisky horses - prancing round us like hyenas circling their prey.

But they were harmless.Then there was the bit near Herons Head where the directions tell you to go over a decrepit stile and into a field. At the other end, a fence topped with barbed wire and electric fencing and only a hole where the stile step used to be. Readers, poor Mr Tiger crawled and wriggled his way through that hole, only to find there was a perfectly good path alongside the field. How he laughed.

Shortly after, there was a wood with an outstanding display of bluebells. Even grumpy old Mr Tiger had to admit they were “alright”.

Lunch at the Plough was a drawn out affair with slow service. But pleasant nonetheless in the sunshine.

At last, we neared Reigate. It has to be said,readers,that some of our number chose to circumvent the climb up the big hill. I shall not name names. But know this.They shall be writ large and held forever in he vaults of ignominy.

At the station, the final challenge of the day, the much feared ticket barrier, was no problem. The gates were open,

A grand day out

20 turned out today, including the walk’s author. The weather was sunny hot Some might say too hot but there were occasional patches of shade and we covered fairly even ground. Except for the mini-Kilimanjaro near the end. But that didn’t seem so bad. Maybe the sunstroke had dulled my senses! A verdant countryside with a steady sprinkling of the usual suspects, cow parsley, buttercup, speedwell, but no dramatic displays. We passed some picturesque old cottages. I hesitate to say archetypal. At one point we could hear a big old frog croaking away. Must have been one of those European marsh jobbies escaped Brexit.

The lunch stop at the Plough was very pleasant - an idyllic English village pub with helpful staff on a summer day. The nearby churchyard with its pretty church suited the sandwich eaters.

And so on to Reigate where another stop awaited us at Café Rouge. Some got the 17:30 after having said hi to Margot on the way to the station.

An excellent tea shop in Reigate is Monty Bojangles at 57 High Street. Offers coffees, teas and a range of hot chocolate drinks as well as handmade cakes. It closes 5:30pm Saturdays. It's best reached by heading north-west in Priory Park, passing to the left of the children's play area, skate park and car park, and exiting on a road that bends right to join Park Lane before turning right into the High Street for 50 metres.

14 Cloudy but mild . Seven of us had lunch at the Plough in Leigh. This pub has an excellent range of beers and good pub food. The welcome and service we received was exceptional, although we were only in the bar area, extra drinks were brought to the table and the coffee was served with cream, meringues and little cakes plus several free top ups. I am not sure how many went to Monty Bojangles for tea, but it has excellent home made cakes and I will update the the walk notes to make this the recommended tea place in Reigate

Plus one on an earlier train so alas pub had not started serving food. Excellent walk with lovely views and weather till 2pm when I finished. Quite muddy from previous rainfall.

Hi John,

Just add to add a second tea shop while you are updating the notes. I can recommend The Tea House on Church Street http://teahousereigate.com/. It has lots of space and good cakes.

If the Plough at Leigh is fully booked there is the Seven Stars Inn at Dawes Green, Leigh, RH2 8NP 01306 611254 which is only a minor diversion and add adds about 1 km to the walk.

14 on this walk. Weather: Mainly cloudy but with some pale sun : some gloopy mud still but a definite drying trend. Later several people told me that they had decided not to do this walk "because it is boring - just flat fields". Flat it is, certainly: fields, one would have to agree, featured strongly. But not without interest. In particular, doing it at this time of year revealed a succession of bluebell woods. Not out yet of course (we saw one or two very tentative flower shoots) but they would look spectacular in two or three weeks time. In the meantime there were quite a lot of wood anemones and primroses and celandines an daffodils to cheer us up on the way. One sharp-eyed walker saw a stoat.

The pub accommodated the eight of us that wanted to eat there without a problem. An efficient place with quite a varied menu - even a vegan option (though more by default than design). After more fields and the final wooded ridge, we arrived in Reigate ludicrously early at about 3.15pm. Here everyone flew off in opposite directions, some to the train, some to the tea room. But four of us went to the big glass-walled cafe in Priory Park - recommended, with a good choice of things to eat - and sat outside to enjoy the warm hazy sun. Can't remember the last time we did that on a Saturday.

intending to go on this lovely walk and bringing dog.thanks

Alas, no dog. 13 walkers off the train in dry weather, plus one other met at lunch who had taken an earlier train to practise navigation skills pending an Ramblers Holidays Guide assessment. Good Luck! 14

Nice if not dramatic walk in some mildly rolling countryside with several interesting woods. Lunch at the Plough in Leigh consisted of pub classics of average quality. There we bumped into the walk author, accompanied by one of his grandchildren.

The terrain was not particualrly muddy for the time of year and the recent weather, and the route also has a fair smattering of tarmac and concrete stretches, so we weren't far off the expected pace and the pub lunchers arrived in Reigate just after 4.

Those 8 entered the Monty Bojangles Truffles Bar, and 4 of those then also frequented the next door The Bull's Head, but then made a hash of (not) getting the 17.14 train (the doors were locked by the time we got to the platform).

Did anyone lose a black woolen hat on the walk? If so, I've got it.

Frances

Thanks for putting this on, Arthur.Will the Network Card discount work on the 9.31?

The Network Railcard is no help on short midweek journeys because of the £13 minimum fare. An off-peak London-Holmwood day return is £13.20 so you'd only save 20p by taking the 10.31 train.

however, some of us can't get the other discounts..too early for me

The Pub's website says it is closed until 14 January http://www.theploughatleigh.com/

Sorry That is a different Plough in a Different Leigh

Intend coming but will have to travel illegally as the senior railcard and freedom pass doesn't kick in til 9.30am for those who have to use trains and not the tube!! The pub phone no is wrong in the walk notes but correct in the walk post and the pub is open for lunch. Have spoken to the landlord who will expect us around 1pm but no need to book tables.

5 bailed out at lunch time - wimps. Actually very sensible wimps as it turns out - I am sure someone else will report more fully on the quagmire.

I truly know what it is to be muddy

11 on this walk, if we include two who parked at the lunch pub and only did the second half of the morning. (Do we count such people?). Weather = grey and a bit chilly .

Can I confess, dear reader? I always expected a walk over lowland fields at this time of year to be a squelch-fest, and so it proved. Large portions of the route were more of a paddle than a walk. Never have the words "cross the next field" induced such trepidation. The waterproofness of boots was tested to the limit and in several cases (including mine) found wanting.

Lunch in the friendly Plough was a delicious, dry interlude. After it, three of the "proper" walkers accepted a lift from the car drivers. Presumably three more had already gone on ahead, because three of us were left to plod onwards in the gloom. The quitters probably had a point, as the afternoon was if anything soggier than the morning. At one point the directions said "you may be able to see the River Mole to the right": we could: it was a vast Amazonian expanse of brown. The road bridge we crossed it on had half collapsed (not sure if this is recent damage, however).

We also walked into a pheasant shoot. A man was waving an orange flag but made no attempt to stop us, so we carried on, entering a field where a line of guns were facing us,weapons at the ready. The words "STOP DRIVE!!" were heard and we walked guiltily across the line of fire. A sentinel lady at the other side was very nice about it.

Two of our lot had tea in the park cafe in Reigate. My companion said "I have never managed to get into this cafe because it is normally full of mothers and toddlers." But not today. The staff were cleaning the floor but still served us tea and cake. We left, guiltily reflecting that we had not removed our boots....

Sounds as if some of us had a lucky escape. jfk