Leith Hill, Surrey Hills and The Greensand Way

Its been a busy week to meet the deadline from the publishers for editing my next book, the fourth due out in the autumn called 'Yellow School Bus. Adventures on a Yellow School Bus from Anchorage in Alaska to Panama'. But not so busy that I couldn't take a day out walking. 

I parked the car in the Landslip Car Park...so named as a few years ago it had been raining for weeks and the ground became saturated. It could no longer support itself and it caused a landslide. The trees were carries down the slope and were left standing at crazy angles. There was a great slash of exposed earth  and below it a jumble of slumped earth and trees at crazy angles. Now a days there is little to suggest that there was a slip here except the name.

I needed some practice at climbing hills and walking at altitude ready for my next adventure going up Mt Elbrus, which at 5,642m is the highest mountain in both Russia and Europe. In comparison Leith Hill is the second highest hill in the south east of England at 294m so it doesn't have altitude but it does have hills. (Highest hill in the south east is Walbury hill in Berkshire at 297m).

At the top of several hills are man made dips in the ground. These were holes dug to get at teh stone for building or dig out the iron stone for the local metal works. Horsham used to be a centre for metal working having plenty of iron stone and charcoal from the surrounding forests. Henry VIII flag ship, The Mary Rose on display in Portsmouth had cannons aboard that were made in Horsham.

The dips are also good fun for mountain bking.

And there are several dedicated mountain bike routes through the forest.

Although some of the dips are blocked by fallen trees. But not all the dips are from mining. During the Second World War, fires were lit at teh top of hills as decoys to lure German bombers to drop their boms on unpopulated hillsides rather than on cities. It was a good idea but not very effective as  only a few planes were deceived as their navigation skills and directional radio beacons were quite sophidticated.

There are a few carvings around the top of the hill such as this one with a view in the back ground...not very good as the day I chose to go walking was cloudy with showers. It allowed me to test both my boots and my water proofs and I discovered that the zip was broken on my jacket so I need a new one.

On the summit is The Tower. There has been a tower hill since 1765 but the current version is a replacement dating from 1796 which is seven metres higher than the original. It can be seen from the coast on a good day. It is part of the Leith Hill Estate with connections to the Wedgwood family, Charles Darwin was a frequent visitor and Vaughan Williams lived here until his death and he bequeathed it to the national Trust.

It is a popular meeting place especially as it has a small cafe for tea and cakes.

It is popular for both mountain bikers and walkers as it is also on the long distance Greensand Way

The views from the top weren't their best but it gives an indication of the views looking south.

An overview of the path from the Starevall car park looking west.

The views looking north towards London and again on a good day you can see St Pauls and The Eye.

In addition to the carvings, there are also natural forms such as these tree roots...

or this dead tree which I suspect will be made into another carving in due course.

There are some ancient tracks through the trees such as this one which is lined with beech trees planted at regular intervals along both sides, a typical indicator that this is an ancient track.

In a clearing above Coldharbour village with its pub and riding stables is Coldharbour Common, a flat piece of grass with a pavillion where cricket is played at the weekends during the summer.

There are several different habitats such as this heathland although bracken and bramble encroachment are a constant problem.

And look closely in the undergrowth and you can find wild bilberries.

A view northwards past Snakes Hill and at the bottom of the valley in the trees is Braodmoor.

It is just as well that I didn't chose to go on Sunday as there was a cyclng event with fencing put up everywhere and notices advising of road closures which meant that when I went out with the cycling club we had to change our route in view of the closed roads.