Guildford circular

3 May. I was quite relieved that the temperature for this walk had come down a few notches from the 29-plus degrees we had a couple of days earlier – I’m talking centigrade here not Fahrenheit.

At Guildford station on a lovely bright morning fifteen walkers had gathered to set out towards the River Wey. Alas, the walk along the river was short-lived as the footpath along the Weir is still closed which required a brief diversion on the pavement along a busy road before we could pick up the original path to Pilgrims Way and Chantry Wood. Once inside the woods we could still discern patches of bluebells, but they had started to go over and had lost their luminosity, something Christine R and I could enjoy during our recce in late April.

View towards Shalford

Nonetheless, the open meadows offered plenty of wild flora and the shrubs and trees were bursting with lush foliage. After a brief stop on a plateau overlooking the expanse of the valley with Shalford nestling below, we returned to the woods before joining a steeper, sandy path up to the Church of St. Martha-on-the-Hill. As we walked past the small carpark half way up it became obvious that the Church was hosting a wedding (just like once before when doing this ramble). Plenty of smartly dressed guests were making their way there where the sounds of a bagpipe was welcoming them – and us? But with all the guests gathered outside the church we decided not to mingle with them but remain on the outer perimeter of the church yard. Alas, this deprived us of the great views one can usually enjoy when higher up by the church. I seem to have a knack of choosing dates for my rambles when weddings take place as I had the same situation on two of my rambles last year.

St Martha-on-the-Hill

Soon we negotiated our way downhill on a sandy path until reaching one of the Surrey Pillboxes and a stone plinth – a useful orientation point, before turning sharp right to join a more rugged path downhill on the way to our lunch stop in Chilworth. At one point this narrow, enclosed path had to be shared with a horse and its rider. At our destination picnickers had a suitable area not far from the pub. Four from our group wanted to drop out after lunch and take the bus back to Guildford. It transpired that due to roadworks the bus time table was up the creek which caused some consternation and frustration, but luckily all of them managed to get back to London for their respective social commitments.

After lunch eleven of us retraced our steps back to Vera’s path and across the footbridge before joining a narrow, overgrown path off to the right following along a brook. This led us around the ruins of the Chilworth Gunpowder Mills, an interesting historic site (link for information below). Once back on the main track we joined the ‘permissive path’ along the Chilworth vineyard before passing the gate of Chilworth Manor.

Chilworth Manor

Much of the afternoon followed a track through wide open fields with the ridge of Chantry Wood high up to our right. After joining the Pilgrims Way again, we picked up a path across the playing fields and meadows leading us to the foot bridge over the river Wey and onto the towpath. The beautiful weather not only brought out walkers but a few boaters were also enjoying the river – always a pleasant sight. At the final stage four of us stayed back to have more refreshments at the White House pub and the rest made their way to Guildford station. My enjoyment of this ramble was helped not only by the nice weather but also by all of you who had ventured out with me.

Sigrid  (with thanks for additional photos from Christine R (recce); Christine M and Darlene)

History of the Church of St. Martha-on-the-Hill: https://www.parishofchilworth.org.uk/history/st-marthas/full-history/

Chilworth Gunpowder Mill history: https://www.surreyinthegreatwar.org.uk/story/chilworth-gunpowder-mills-in-the-great-war/

Chilworth Manor history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilworth_Manor,_Surrey#History