A group of enthusiast Society walkers enjoyed the stunning views and glorious sunshine this Sunday between Dorking and Leatherhead.

A big thank you to walk leaders Diane and Pete!

“Loved the walk – really pretty, interesting walk with only one small hill!” Susie, SHS member

A big thank you for the GASP people for inviting us and presenting us their project!

What an interesting and great thing for those young lads to be involved in!

We will try and give them as much publicity as possible.  If you hear of anyone who needs to get rid of a car, GASP may be interested or if you know of any engineering companies that may wish to take on one of the lads for work experience or an apprenticeship do tell them about GASP.

Also, if you know of any young people struggling at school, do let them know about GASP.

Chris Howard with GASP students and Volunteers

We had a really enjoyable day out assisting Chief Executive, Louise Miller with a day’s scrub bashing in the beautiful grounds of Gatton Park. The sweeping landscape, including a hand dug lake which was the work of famous landscape architect, Capability Brown.

The Surrey Hills Society have been supporting the Gatton Trust with their Heritage Lottery Funded Project during the last 18 months, to restore some of the original features of the park, as part of the 300^th anniversary celebrations for the celebrity garden designer of his day.

It was great to meet some of the people who regularly volunteer for the Trust.  It was also interesting to be able to view the new landscaping around the lake that the SHS had raised match-funding for.  As a treat, in the late afternoon, we were taken over to view the special Japanese garden which was once featured on “Gardener’s World”.

I will definitely be volunteering there again.

By Jessica Howard

Torrential rain cleared for our “Inspiring Views Walk” in The Hurtwood and Winterfold Hill, names as poetic and imaginative as the poetry and music that have been created to accompany and enhance the experience of the quirky seat sculptures on The Greensand Way, funded by The Mittal Foundation. As someone who knows and appreciates this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the viewpoints where the seats are located, I have to say that for me nothing more than that which nature has already provided is necessary, but thanks anyway for somewhere to sit!  I am all for keeping sculptors, poets and musicians in work and this has been achieved, I would add at the additional cost of a booklet (how many trees were felled for this) explaining what was going through their minds. The walk was delightful and the gods were on our side as the heavens once again opened as we came to the end of our trail.  The Surrey Hills Society brilliantly provides great opportunities to see, experience and learn more about the diverse aspects of this most sylvan beautiful county.

Heather Aitken, SHS member

The chilly weather didn’t discourage our participants. The course was fully booked and all were very keen to learn how to use their maps and compasses in an accurate manner.

The morning was spent learning everything in theory and in the afternoon we tried to follow the instructions of the morning session, some more successfully than others.

A few comments at the end of the day:

“Thank you for a very informative day! I have learnt a lot – I just need to get out and practice now.”

“After today’s training, the map reading is not such a mystery any more. Thank you Peter!”

Part of our group, who had a fascinating day despite the weather, by the war memorial.

One of the many questions on the day was about the date, why 1919 instead 1918 designating the end of the war? We were told that it includes some who died after repatriation from wartime injuries.

A Society member comments on the day:

“Dorking is a very interesting town – surprising what there is behind the High Street which you normally never see as you travel through!”

GATTON PARK …

… where nature seamlessly meets the man-made.

The afternoon began, as it so often does on Surrey Hill Society visits, with greeting familiar faces and getting acquainted with some new members. All from the shelter of my waterproof hood as the clouds decided to sprinkle us with rain. Hey Ho: Spring Time in Surrey. No matter; within minutes of starting to walk, the sun broke through and we found ourselves bathed in the sight and sound of the bluebells of Nut Wood. A mile or so later, breaking out of the wood, the Capability Brown landscape opened out before us. However, it was only seeing it through the eyes of our expert guide, Glyn Sherratt, I realised just how much contrived the whole scene is. Was it just co-incidence that we passed by the lakes at exactly the time when the sunlight turned the ripples into gold and silver sparkles? Or was it that Glyn was guiding us according to Capability Brown’s design of when best to view it? Something to contemplate as I stood in the tranquillity of Japanese Garden. And yet nothing quite matched the privilege of seeing the view from Gatton House itself across the Mole Valley, usually only visible to the staff and students of the Royal Alexandra & Albert School. Tea, cakes and one final mystery before the end of the afternoon: just how did those earlier gardeners produce the Bundled Ash? I think it is rather nice that our predecessors can still baffle Modern Science!

Carol Coyne – Founder Member

What a day!  One recent Saturday I felt as if I had been transported back in time and I was once again reminded why I fell in love with the Surrey Hills in the first place.  I had the great pleasure of spending a day in Blackheath village and visiting a few of its magnificent Arts and Crafts houses.  This hidden gem in the heart of the Hills really is worth the visit.

I was a bit worried in the morning of the visit as it was pouring with rain when I left home and I was taking a friend with me promising her a day she wouldn’t regret.  Luckily the sun came out again as we entered the Cricket Pavilion where the other members of the group were gathered.  The sun stayed with us for the whole day and my friend enjoyed herself so much that at the end of the day she decided to join the Surrey Hills Society.

Thanks to the excellent organisation of the Society, we had Sarah Sullivan – an architect and member of the Arts & Crafts Movement in Surrey – as our leader for the day.   We were able to hear all about the history of the village and especially its Arts and Craft identity through the work of architects like Charles Harrison Townsend.  We also learned about influential women having sojourned in Blackheath – people like Anna Lea Merritt whose work can still be admired on the walls of the village church.

A wonderful lunch and delightful cream tea were served in the Arts and Crafts style Cricket Pavilion. Even a Victoria sponge cake, freshly made by the daughter of one of the home-owners of a house we visited, made its way to our table!  Delicious as it was, it disappeared in a flash.

What a lovely village and such marvellous and friendly inhabitants!  They say that once you settle down in Blackheath, you never move away.  You might swap houses with your neighbours, but not go further than that.  And now having seen it for myself, I truly understand why.

Marika Elzinga