Leatherhead circular
Saturday 7 March 2026. Right up to a few days before this walk I wasn’t sure whether I could use my preferred morning route along the River Mole due to the amount of rain we have had for most of the Winter months. It floods very easily which makes accessibility in some areas nigh impossible. Having checked out the situation only a few days earlier I was pleased that on the day I could safely lead 15 of us alongside the river at the beginning of our walk and through the under-path of the A246. After crossing a large field, we joined a track leading past the Priory before going uphill where, from the top, we had a good view across to Mickleham Hall and the Mickleham Downs.
The next section took us through Druids Grove just below the Norbury Park Estate. The grove is part of a Special Area of Conservation and contains some of the most extensive Yew woodlands of the area besides Ash and Beech trees. It is also known for its ‘ghostly’ and ‘mysterious’ appearance and it covers sections of the ‘Mole Gap Trail’.
Signs of Spring
On exiting the grove, we were not too far from our lunch stop in West Humble where picnickers made use of the small sunken Chapel gardens (and where we were met by Sue C., who unfortunately had missed her connection due to signal problems en-route). The rest went to the Stepping Stones pub for lunch.
After lunch our number had dwindled, leaving ten of us to carry on up Crabtree Lane – a rather elongated uphill. We branched off at a small car park into Beechy Woods, leading us up to the top of Druids Grove next to the Norbury Estate, affording us great views to the Box Hill Country Park and beyond.
From there we walked past the estate enclosure towards Fetcham Woods from where we dropped down to make our way to Bocketts Farm, where some of us stopped briefly in the Barn Café for refreshments while a few carried straight on to catch an earlier train.
Bocketts Farm can be visited (entry fees) to get up close and personal with a variety of farm animals but we also spotted llamas and during the recce one of its turkeys was very keen to have its picture taken by striking a pose. From the farm we had a bit of a sprint to get back to Leatherhead station, past one of the Victorian viaducts in that area.
My thanks go to all who came out to join me and for coping so well with the relentless mud for most of the walk; to Christine M and Daphne for additional photos and not to forget Christine R and Daphne to help with my recces.
Keep walking! Sigrid
