Tag: NaBloPoMo

The notes in my book said this walk would take two to three hours. I suppose I didn’t do too bad considering I lost my way twice and had to contend with extreme mud in places. That slowed things down a little. Even so, I completed the walk in just under three hours.

The walk begins and ends at Chessington South railway station. It being schools half term holidays last week, I got off the train with families on their way to Chessington World of Adventure. I quickly left them behind as I was cutting down a lane that would take me behind the zoo and adventure park.

The first part of the walk led me off that path and up a hill known as Winney Hill, quite apt actually as the field beyond the woods I walked through contained grazing horses. The book was a little vague about direction here. It said walk acros the field, but which way? Using my instinct (a vague and sometimes unbelieved sense of direction) I worked out that straight on meant left. I could hear the screams of the riders on the rollercoaster from the adventure park and knew I needed to go along that way. I did find the viewing point and the small lake on my way, so I knew then that I was right. Following the fence of the adventure park was the easy bit. Eventually, on my right, I came across the car park for the park, and an entrance, which a steward tried to guide towards before I told her I wasn’t going in, just passing.

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At the bottom I crossed the main road and headed along a grass track to another road, which I also crossed. I was doing quite well until I came across an arable field. The books said walk straight across it. I found a grass swathe alongside the field which I took. I was walking towards the farm buildings. I felt quite explosed here, wondering…should I be walking along here? The book told me to look for a gap in the hedge on the other side. Huh? I guess I was expecting some tiny shove-through hedge job, but actually there was a wide gap which took me up through another field towards Ashtead Common.

Here I was back on a main path. There was a temptation to explore the common, but I was conscious of time and getting lost, so I stuck with my plan. Something I have come to realise is that the signposts for footpaths don’t always correspond with the ones in books! I came to a fork in the path with several options. I wasn’t sure which way, but I went right. I wasn’t convinced, so I asked a walker coming from the direction I was going. He confirmed my fears, but at least I hadn’t walked far. I retraced my steps back to the original path and carried on to Stew Pond, the next main point on my walk. There I picked up the Chessington Countryside Trail and headed towards Horton Country Park.

It was near Horton Country Park that I veered off track somehow. Again I stopped a walker. She was so helpful that she actually led me back to where I needed to be. We chatted about walks, direction, getting lost! We found some noticeboards near a car park and some toilets, and this is where we parted. The toilets were open so I made use of them. Then I was off again. Somehow, more luck than judgment I think, I managed to keep to the right paths, trunderling along the side of a field and then up through a path that went by the back gardens of houses. I was nearly there.

The last part brought me out to a road I vaguely knew, but I overshot the signpost. I’d seen it, but convinced myself it was the wrong way! Silly me. I double backed and hauled my aching legs up the steps into the last part of the walk. This sections was Huntingate Walk and had lovely views back over the countryside. At the end of the path I came back out on Garrison Lane and the station was a welcome sight over the road.