64km London to Guildford
Pewley Down, Guildford
Ride Overview
Riding the by-ways of the North Downs is I imagine, akin to riding on roads before they were covered in bitumen. Mile after mile of firm, sometimes muddy, sometimes rough and rutted tracks, which makes for a perfect antidote to the uniform and frankly dull riding on tarmac. Add the woods - this is a real ‘forest bathing’ route - the views across the gentle pastorale of Southern England, and you have a gravel ride nirvana. The finish in Guildford with its steeply sloping High Street, its castle and its river, together make for a very fine end to the ride.
Ride practicalities
START/FINISH: Putney/Guildford DISTANCE: 63km TOTAL ASCENT: 637m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: Mixed surfaces including a rough up-hill gravel track to get onto the North Downs, firm by-ways and bridleways. This is really a summer route, for in winter the tracks on the North Downs become extremely muddy FOOD: Polesden Lacey (NT) cafe, West Hanger Car Park; The Pitch; homemade food alongside emergency spare bike parts, (no toilets or inside seating, only open 90-5 weekends), Newland’s Corner; The Plucky Pheasant, great food, very popular, expect queues, Guildford; The White House; Good riverside pub PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Regular trains to London from Guildford. You pass Esher station after the first third of the route. LINKS TO OTHER RIDES: Heaths and Parks
Ride Notes
For travellers heading south-west out of the capital, Putney has been one of London’s key exit points. Archeologists believe that there was a wooden causeway across the river dating from the Iron Age, although ferries were the more normal means of crossing until 1729 when the first bridge was built. The current bridge opened in 1886.
Setting off, the gravel begins almost immediately, once you have ridden past one of the largest concentrations of boat yards in the country. (so be aware that there will be long sleek craft being carried in and out of the water by eager or tired young rowers). The Thames Path is well used by joggers, cyclists, dogs and walkers and these first few kilometres are very pretty, taking you past the Wetland Centre, and into Richmond Park.
Acid grasslands of Richmond Park
The Tamsin Trail is a gravel track which circumnavigates the boundary of the park. If Richmond Park is new to you, this is an early treat. The track is firm; it undulates over the rare acid grasslands and weaves between some of the oldest oak trees in the land. There are deer and of course, plenty of other users enjoying it too. From the park, you cross Ham Green, and re-join the Thames Path. The riding, other than a short section of cycle paths through Kingston, rides beside water willows and alders. There are grand houses, river boats, wildfowl, swans. It’s all rather serene.
"The Splash", Fetcham
You’ll probably keep Hampton Court Palace for another day, but glance at its magnificent frontage as you pass it. Cross the Thames for the last time and ride on some relatively quiet roads to Littleworth Common. Now you’re truly out of the city, and you’ll have no idea as you ride across the heaths, that you are riding through some densely populated suburbs. In summer the tracks are firm, the light filters through the trees and the riding is blissful. Across Esher Common you go, with its sandy paths, heather and Scots pine trees. There’s a short, but unavoidable section (4km) of unpleasantly busy road, before turning off down River Lane and arriving at Fetcham Ford. The gravel lane leads to ‘The Splash’, which until the arrival of the modern day kill-joys, aka The Health and Safety Police, was a popular swimming and fishing spot. Children caught minnows and sticklebacks, dived from trees and spent their summers in this little idyl.
There are prettier villages in Surrey, so Fetcham will not delay you, but the hill on a quiet road up onto the Downs will test you. Once at the top, you ride through the car park onto a by-way. This is how roads must have been like. Narrow, bounded by hedges, roughly surfaced, rolling over hills, past fields of grazing sheep and through woods. You sort of wonder if you should be riding a ‘BHM Safety Bicycle from 1885’ rather than your modern ‘gravel bike’.
The by-way, Norbury Park
Polesden Lacey, a spectacular Edwardian ‘country retreat’ now in the hands of the National Trust, has not only fabulous gardens as well as the house, but importantly for adventure cyclists, there are two excellent cafés. Once refuelled, you rejoin the by-way, bumping your way down the hill, which like all chalk-land can be more slippery than ice when wet. And this being the Downs, an uphill section quickly follows. Hogden Lane is a challenge and perfectly rideable, despite its rough and pitted surface. Note that it’s a by-way open to all traffic, so you may expect the odd moto-cross bike zipping along. Once at the top, on Ranmore Common, you ride on the road for a kilometre before turning off and joining the North Downs Way.
Ood Sim's Copse
Considering that this is the North Downs, the next few kilometres are remarkably flat. The surface in summer is firm and fast, in winter or after heavy rain, it is the opposite. You ride through glades of beech trees, ancient yews and there are views across the deeply wooded Weald to Sussex and beyond. Avoid if you can, the temptation to hammer it, rather immerse yourself in ‘shinrin-yoku’, or ‘forest bathing’. The green air is almost tangible as you inhale. Butterflies dance in the beams of light. It is in short, a wonderland of woody loveliness.
Pewley Down
At Pewley Down, you emerge into a different land of sky along with extensive views across southern England. Pewley Down was owned by local merchants, the Austens, who in 1898 went bankrupt. The trustees attempted to sell the land to developers but such was the local outcry, that Friary, Holroyd & Healy's Brewery in a moment of public altruism so lacking today, bought the land and donated it to the town of Guildford on 29 July 1920 to commemorate the conclusion of WWI. The one condition was that it be ‘preserved for time immemorial as a playground for the people of Guildford’.
There’s a steep hill down into Guildford, passing the ruined castle and many houses built in the Southern vernacular style. A bike lane takes you to the town centre, where once across the old bridge, you arrive at The White House, a river side pub and shortly after, Guildford Station.
All the details given on this route are given in good faith. However, situations on the ground can change, so if you know of any access issues, closures, or have any thoughts and feedback on the route, please include them in the comments section below.
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