The Surrey Hills

About the Book

This walking guidebook contains 19 circular and 1 linear walk in the Surrey hills in and around the Tillingbourne valley between Dorking and Guildford. The walks are described in detail and are accompanied by much local history to enliven those moments of rest. The walks pass through sleepy villages, go over hills with stunning views, cross heaths and parkland, go through woods and across valleys. All the walks are in a compact area and can be reached at some point by public transport. It is possible to link walks together for the more serious distance walker. From the chalk of the North Downs to the Greensand of the hills the walks encompass the delights of the picturesque Tillingbourne valley. The Downs offer glorious open views across the valley to the Greensand hills. Leith Hill, Somerset Hill, Holmbury Hill, Raynards Hill, Pitch Hill, Winterfold Hill, Barnett Hill and Chinthurst Hill all offer stunning views over the weald. Tracing the Tillingbourne offers an insight into the varied milling history along its route through many villages. Tucked away the villages of the Surrey hills are a delight to descend upon from the surrounding wood and hills. The local history notes cover much that will be of interest to the inquisitive walker from ancient history to the intrigue of activity before and during WWII. Locations of renowned authors who lived and worked in the Surrey hills are listed. From Box Hill in the east to Pewley Downs in the west the area offers year round walking in ever changing seasons. From snowdrops to bluebells and lavender to rhododendrons the Surrey hills have everything to offer the walker. Most walks are between 7½ and 10 miles but the Roof of Surrey walk encompassing all the major hill tops is 44 miles long but can be walked in eight sections.

About the Author

Leslie Ham is the author of The Orange Way, a 350 mile long distance path following the route of the march of Prince William of Orange from Brixham to London in 1688. He is also the author of The Nelson Way a 424 mile walk from Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk to HMS Victory in Portsmouth. Leslie's interest in walking began in the 1960's in the North Downs, later completing many of the Long Distance footpaths in Southern England. These included the South Downs Way, North Downs Way, Thames Path, Ridgeway, Vanguard Way, Greensand Way, Thames Valley Heritage Walk, London Countryside Way and several canal side routes. Abroad he has trekked on five Continents, including the Himalayas, New Zealand, China, South Africa, mainland France, Corsica, Spain, Romania, Patagonia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Mali.

In addition to walking his other main interests include travel, photography, history, genealogy, archaeology, music, poetry, modern art, target shooting, computers and things art deco.

A resident of Weybridge for 35 years, Leslie was born in Burnley, Lancashire. He spent his formative years in Blackpool but has also lived in Kirkham, Hucknall, Nottingham, Derby, Blackburn and several locations in West London. From 1957 he spent two years doing his National Service in Aldershot, Cyprus and Jordan. In 1960 he joined BOAC, which later merged with BEA to become British Airways and spent a total of 35 interesting years at London Airport.

Since he took early retirement in 1995 he has thoroughly enjoyed his freedom and concentrated on the above with difficulty. After completing The Orange Way and The Nelson Way he then looked around for an idea for a third book. He finally decided to take a sabbatical from long distance walks to concentrate on walks local to him in the Surrey hills where he first began his interest in walking.