3 men on a walk 2016: Into the Surrey Hills

Limpsfield Chart and beyond

After storm Katie over Easter and some of the strongest winds you are likely to see in the UK it was nice to see some sunshine although there was a sharp edge to the blustery conditions. This walk had the attraction of forming a triangle by using three separate national trails - The Vanguard Way; The North Downs Way and The Greensand Way. The area west from the Kent / Surrey border is known as the "Surrey Hills and looking at our stats it was easy to see why!

We parked up at the National Trust car park on Limpsfield Common and walked across the cricket ground to pick up the Vanguard Way walking North. This trail took us through mixed woodland and scenic countryside until we reached the vale of the M25 motorway. Crossing the Motorway on a footbridge lead to a noisy section as the traffic thundered by but soon we continued to walk North and climbed up into the lower reaches of the North Downs. Meeting the North Downs Way we turned West and followed the escarpment at the tree line for a couple of miles before we met the Greensand Way. We now turned South and walked down the slope, across the M25 again and into the old town of Oxted where "The Crown Inn" seemed to beckon us in for lunch. And very good it was too with local micro-brewery ale!

Getting the legs moving again after lunch is always an effort and as normal it was up hill from the start. We had to walk up onto Limpsfield Common and work our way Eastward to complete the loop and get back to the car.