Dorking to Box Hill, 26 July

Dorking to Box Hill and Westhumble via Box Hill and Mickleham Gallops. 10 miles

Train: Take 9.24 SW Railway train from Waterloo to Dorking, arrives 10.14. (Calls at Clapham Junction 09.33, Wimbledon 9,40)

Trains home from Box Hill and Westhumble  to London are hourly, 35mins past the hour to Waterloo and 46mins past to Victoria. Journey time 55mins / I hour.

Food: Bring a picnic lunch  And something for a morning snack. Pub option near the end. 

The Walk:  We’ll be doing a fair chunk of a National Trust walk called the Box Hill Hike which is described as challenging. It’s just under 10 miles but there are almost 400 metres of climbing involved. Some parts can become slippery when wet. There’s an exceptionally steep uphill section for which I would recommend walking pole(s). Total walking time about 5 hours.

No real way of shortening it significantly. One can catch a bus from Mickleham and save about a mile, but you will have already done the hard part to get there. The morning section takes about 3 hours, with a stop for a snack after 2 hours.

Picnic lunch at Mickleham Gallops, an expanse of chalk upland where I hope there will still be some wild flowers to enjoy. A steepish descent of half an hour will take us to Mickleham and a drink stop at the King William IV.

If we have time, we can have a look round the church, before an hour’s walk to Box Hill and Westhumble station. 

If you’ve had enough walking by the time we get to Mickleham you can catch a 465 bus for a 7minute ride to Dorking Station at 04 and 34 past the hour. Trains to Waterloo are hourly, 32mins past the hour, but every half hour to Victoria at 23 and 43 mins past.

Leader: Mike