Many years ago when I first moved to Horley I picked up a leaflet in the local library entitled ‘Explore and Enjoy the Millennium Trail’. It promised ‘special wildlife, inspiring views, rich in history’. It was accompanied by a range of other leaflets which detailed circular walks one of which covered East Horley, around 6 miles or so, and I've enjoyed this particular walk many times over. In fact it probably marked the beginning of my slight obsession with walking outside as being the only way to learn about and enjoy the area in which you live.
A few weeks ago I rediscovered the ‘Explore and Enjoy the Millennium Trail’ leaflet in amongst a bunch of paperwork that I've been studiously ignoring for a very, very long time. Despite having undertaken the next two days of the Saxon Shoreway it's pretty clear that I'm not going to finish it this year and so, whilst the Vanguard way remains viable to complete in 2023, I realised that at the very least I could guarantee the completion of one long distance path all be it just from Banstead Downs to Horley.
And so it was on a sunny Sunday the good-web-developer-him-indoors dropped me off at Banstead station (for there were no trains running!) to kick off the 18 or so miles from Banstead Downs to Horley via Reigate. Well actually, I was only going to do the first half for a number of reasons; first of all I've walked the route from this from Horley to Reigate loads of times, so its practically a commute and who wants to that at the weekend. Secondly, I didn't quite have the time to muster the full day out that 18 miles in tails. Finally, and arguably most importantly, the halfway point was marked by meeting the family at a hostelry that stocks decent beer. Who can argue with that.
It’s hard to believe as you cross the A217 at Banstead Downs, that you might have any green space to look at on this walk but very quickly as you cross the Banstead Downs golf course and pick up the Millennium trail heading south through De Burgh park, you find yourself crossing Chipstead Rd and entering what appears to be a deep rural idyll. You can find traces of the area's history everywhere; old wells the heart of what was once just a village and is now a suburb, a lane named after an officer of the crown who died in 1691, and a pub containing the well known as Mag’s Well (Saint Margaret's well), which was mentioned in the doomsday book (and now used by the local water company to monitor levels in an underground aquifer).
Like the beginning of the Vanguard way it's easy to forget that you're still within the boundaries of Transport for London for the majority of this walk; in fact I was 2/3 through the day's walking before I crossed underneath the M25 at Crossways Lane before turning my steps eastward and up into Gatton Park and more familiar territory. Gatton and Upper Gatton parks are two former country estates that used to lie within the borough of Gatton one of the oldest parishes in Surrey.
Beyond Gatton, as you tramp up towards the peak of Reigate Hill you pass Reigate Fort one of the defensive centres built between 1890 and 1903 that stretched along the North Downs for more than 70 miles. Not far from Reigate Fort is a poignant memorial to the crew of a B17 that crashed into the hill during the Second World War; it takes the form of two pieces of oak, fashioned to represent the wing tips of the massive flying fortress set apart from each other to show the total wingspan of the plane. It’s in a clearing at the top of the hill with a memorial to the its American crew just across the path, looking out over the spectacular view from the North Downs onto the plain below, and on a clear day, all the way over to the South Downs.
Continuing along to Colley Hill you reach the Inglis memorial a tiny domed building that was once a horse trough but now a scenic place for walkers to rest. Incidentally this bit of the path is on the North Downs way stretching eastwards all the way to Dover and westwards all the way to Farnham on the Surrey/Hampshire border, and taking in the infamous Box Hill. The Inglis memorial is worth a look; it may not look particularly prepossessing from the outside, although the view is very spectacular at this point, but on the inside there's a glorious ceiling decoration representing the sun and the signs of the Zodiac in a richly coloured mosaic.
From here, I took the chalk bridleway following the path downhill passing the memorial stone dedicated to Captain George Simpson of the 5th battalion Queens Royal W Surrey regiment who died in 1909 and whose mother donated this section of her estate to the people of Reigate for their pleasure in his memory. Reaching the bottom of this steep slope I turned right and walked along the track which forms part of the Pilgrims Way. At this point I left the Millennium trail and headed towards The Clears and the refreshment available at Reigate Rugby Club where the kids were training.
From the point I left the trail it's another two hours, about 8 miles, back into Horley; the official trail runs through Priory Park, picks up a bit of the Greensand Way across Earlswood Common, heads south past the hospital and down Gail and Lake Lane (a drove road used by Anglo-Saxon swineherds) before following the bridle path that runs along the back of Oakwood School, Silverlea Gardens and Haroldslea Drive Dr, picking up the footpath that tracks alongside the Gatwick spur bit of the M23 before heading towards Riverside Garden Park, where the trail ends.
I really enjoyed walking this, unfamiliar section of the borough in which I live. It's well way marked, very accessible, and eminently doable in a pair of decent trainers. It's worth noting that there are a couple of steep ascents and descents which would not do for people with dodgy knees! Whilst the history elements are what really catches my interest, the route takes in a number of sites of special scientific interest including nationally important chalk grassland areas that support rare plants and insects. There really is something for everybody and it's right on the proverbial doorstep! If I have one complaint it's not the start is not very accessible by public transport given that trains do not run frequently to either Belmont station or banstead station at the weekend. It's much easier to access from the north of the borough than the south. But that's really nitpicking, the fact that you can walk a trail the entire length of the borough is something to be celebrated and explored.
I didn't track this walk to convert to a Google Map but can thoroughly recommend the leaflet (linked at the top) as a guide, and a GPX file of the whole 18 miles which can be dowloaded from this link.
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