This walk over the National Trust's picturesque Headley Heath ('open heathland, woodland, and chalk downland') feels very remote even though it starts within London Zone 6. The walk returns to Tadworth via Headley Heath.

The walk starts at Tadworth (Zone 6), just south of Epsom Downs, and crosses open downland (and under the M25) to Headley.

At the start of Headley Heath, the walk crosses the open heathland - with a mix of partly forested hills allowing nice views for most of the way. Then it's a gentle stretch along the North Downs Way (NDW) along the edge of the escarpment, followed by a short stretch along a road to the lunch.  Here you have a choice – the preferred option is a packed lunch followed by a drink in the CHALK HARE Pub (01737 420441 or www.chalkhare.co.uk ), however, as the pub is large, serves an Indian and British menu and the service is rapid, you may wish to opt for a Pub Lunch.

The walk returns across pretty Headley Heath along gentle forested paths, with a gentle Walton Heath ending.

There’s a choice of 2 pubs for tea about 20 mins walk before the station.

Train – Catch the 10.10 from London Bridge [platform 11] to Tadworth arriving 11.04.

 Return trains are at 10 and 40 mins past the hour to London Bridge.

Our route takes us through Wye and up on to the Wye Downs, passing the Wye Crown (https://www.discoveringbritain.org/activities/south-east-england/viewpoints/wye-crown.html).

We follow the NDW as far as the outskirts of Etchinghill where we pick up the Saxon Shore Way to take us to Sandling station. There is an option to walk into Etchinghill and get a bus to Folkestone or Canterbury.

Trains from Sandling are at 46 minutes past the hour and as per the journey out can be direct to Charing Cross or by changing for a HS train at Ashford.

This section is, station-to-station, a little under 13 miles with a total ascent of 1500 feet. If you decide to get the bus from Etchinghill, you’ll be doing 11 miles. I will not be leading this walk at my usual pace, rather aiming for a similar sort of pace that Ralph does.

Weather forecast is for sunny intervals; max. temp. 21 degrees. Bring a packed lunch and plenty of water.

From Oxted station, the walk goes to Old Oxted and then, after a short walk beside and above a road, we cross a golf course with wonderful views of the North Downs. We continue to Tandridge and from there we follow tracks past farmland, woodland and a large pond before continuing to Church Town. From there we pass Bay Pond to enter the attractive village of Godstone. We continue up beside the large green where we will stop for lunch. There are benches, two cafes and a pub, the Hare and Hounds, where we can have a drink, but there will not be time to order food, so please bring a packed lunch. After lunch, our route takes us on a different route to Church Town, where we pass through the churchyard and on past Glebe Water to re-trace our steps back to Tandridge. We will have a short refreshment stop at the Barley Mow pub, then follow part of the Greensand Way to Broadham Green and Oxted Mill. From there we continue along quiet paths and then roads to return to Oxted station from the east. There is a Wetherspoons pub, the Oxted Inn, next to the station where those who wish to can enjoy a drink before heading back on the train. 

The total length of the walk will be about 9.5 miles and will be at a moderate pace throughout. The terrain is generally level. There might be some small areas of mud.

Drop-Out option: There is a possible drop-out point at the lunch stop in Godstone, with buses to Oxted, although they are infrequent so timings would need to be checked.

There are toilets at Oxted station, at the pub in Godstone and the afternoon pub stop; otherwise, there is lots of woodland.

Travel: The suggested train is the 10.21 service from Victoria, calling at Clapham Junction at 10.28 and East Croydon at 10.38, and arriving at Oxted station at 11.00am. Meet outside the main exit from the station on the west side, where the ticket office is – to get there, go under the subway from where the train arrives from London. The walk will start, after intros, at about 11.10am. There are trains back to Victoria at about 30 and 59 minutes past the hour, with the journey taking about 40 minutes.

Looking forward to seeing some of you on this walk.

Paul 

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