There is a place just outside London which has been described as paradise. A green and pleasant world of airy glades, dark woods and breath-taking views. Only a 45 minute train ride from London, it's ideal for any Londoner seeking a quick exit from the big smoke and into the healing embrace of nature. Sure, you could visit Epping Forest or Richmond Park, but it’s worth travelling just a bit further for this essence of proper English countryside. Here you'll find incredible landscapes, biodiversity and peace which you will be hard-pressed to find within the M25.
That temple of nature is Box Hill: part of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. You may think of the Surrey Hills as the preserve of rich bankers and posh people. It’s certainly one of the most expensive places in the country to live. And for good reason: the area is drop dead gorgeous, while being very well connected to London. As a result, people have been coming here to escape the city and enjoy nature for centuries. Jane Austen set part of Emma here, firmly establishing its place as a crown jewel atop the English landscape. In 1714 it was described it as:
“That Temple of Nature nowhere else to be equalled for affording so surprising and magnificent idea of heaven and earth”
At first, the trees and grass here may look like any other, but there’s more to the land than meets the eye. Box Hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as it’s made of chalk. This white stuff is not stone, but bone. Trillions of plankton skeletons from a time when this area was under the sea, compressed over 100 million years. So today, you walk over a monolith of ancient skeletons. Pretty cool right?
England is particularly noted for rare chalk habitats, home to a dazzling array of creatures. First cleared during the Stone and Bronze ages, they have been grazed by sheep ever since. This means other plants besides scrub and grass can flourish; and in turn an entire tree of life that depends on them. Within just one square meter, you may discover an astounding diversity of up to 40 different species! Look out for wildflowers, butterflies and orchids: especially the bee orchid, whose flower has evolved to resemble a female bee in both appearance and scent, enticing male bees for to pollinate. Today the area is still grazed by Belties; Belted Galloway cattle; to maintain the delicate landscape.
But as long as there have been common people enjoying nature, there have been snobby people looking down on them. In the 1720s Daniel Defoe wrote of:
“an abundance of gentlemen and ladies from Epsom to take the air, and walk in the box-woods; and in a word, divert, or debauch…and the game increased so much, that it began almost on a sudden, to make a great noise in the country.”
What he means is: God forbid anyone from a lower class should come here, make noise and have fun. Sadly, this attitude is still with us today. There are people who feel they can assert their ‘ownership’ over the countryside; that only people like them are permitted to visit. Bollocks to that. The land is yours and mine to explore; don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise. Come and continue a centuries-old tradition of escaping the city for some fresh air, good times and spiritual revitalisation. And if you happen to offend anyone with your respectful presence, know that this too is important for reclaiming the countryside for the enjoyment of all!
ROUTE DETAILS
Time: 2-3 hours
Terrain: A great big hill with 275 steps. Those with mobility issues might struggle, otherwise you'll be fine. Some loose stones and tripping roots. Potentially some slippery downhills. You should be fine in trainers, although boots are best if it’s wet
How to get there: A 45 minute train ride from London to Box Hill & Westhumble station. If you’re driving, park here. There is actually a car park at the top if you’re determined to avoid walking up the hill. But I'm sure you could use the exercise so I recommend parking at the bottom!
Directions: See my OS Map route here
Refreshments: There’s a café at the top, usually an ice cream van in the summer, and several pubs around the perimeter
Music: Try my Shinrinyoku playlist to for some light but mystical forest bathing vibes
THE WALK
Beginning from the train station or the western car park, make your way through the trees toward the hill. In the spring you’ll wander through a vivid carpet of wild garlic, wood anemones and bluebells aplenty. Soon you’ll reach the river Mole, which you’ll need to cross over. There is a footbridge, but I’d encourage you to seek out the more adventurous alternative…
CROSSING THE RIVER: STEPPING STONES TO THE PAST
There is a chain of stepping stones for crossing the river. Stepping here is stepping into history: each hop over the water connects you to Romans, pilgrims and prehistory. This is part of Stane Street (fittingly meaning Stone Street) developed 2,000 years by the Romans as a route between London and Chichester. Although it is likely that this was built on a truly ancient trackway used to cross country since the Stone Age. Which is pretty damn cool.
The stones themselves are not originals. Sadly the old ones were destroyed during the Second World War as a security measure, which seems odd but gives a nod to the importance of this humble crossing. The stones we see today were dedicated by prime minister Clement Attlee in 1946.
I encourage you to follow in the footsteps of the ages and take the old-fashioned route across the river.
CLIMBING THE HILL: STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
Soon you’ll reach the hill: a great wall looming before you, which Jane Austen described as:
"a bank of considerable abruptness and grandeur, well clothed with wood”
The path to the top is 275 steps. Let’s not beat around the box here: it’s a big hill; but are you going to let a big hill defeat you? Of course not! Take as many breaks as you need. With each stop you can savour your first taste of twisting yews, creeping box and some fine old beeches. Stay hydrated, enjoy yourself, and remember there’s a café waiting for you at the top.
BOX YOUR SOCKS OFF: SOME BOX TREE FACTS
While you climb, enjoy these fascinating facts:
Box Hill gets its name from the ancient box woodland that covers it: the largest box woodland in the UK, believed to be 800 years old
Box is an evergreen tree: meaning it keeps its green leaves all year round, making a walk here enjoyable any time of year
You’ve probably seen box used in fancy topiary hedges that people cut out in the shape of spirals, squirrels or dragons; but the natural version look way wilder
The wood from box trees is one of the hardest there is. It was used to make musical instruments, tools and yes, boxes: the word box comes from a rectangular container made of boxwood
It may even give its name to the sport of boxing; the ancient Greek word ‘pyx’ can mean either ‘receptacle’ and ‘punch each other in the face’. This is primarily a Mediterranean tree, so perhaps it’s no coincidence that box shares these meanings. Maybe because its well hard?
SALOMON'S MEMORIAL: A VIEW OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
Soon your path will level out onto open grassy ground, and look! A postcard vision of Surrey and the magnificent English countryside laid before you, as if seen from a mountaintop temple.
In his 1855 Handbook of Dorking, John Rowe said of this view:
“It must awaken even in the dullest soul, the sense of freedom, of grandeur, and of infinitude.”
It’s tempting to overlook such a view, as a fish overlooks the water that gives it life. But really take this in: a velvet-green tapestry of English countryside beneath a heavenly sky. What does it make you think of? A land you are proud to live in? Someone else’s land that you feel shut out from? A reminder that in 200 years this landscape may well have changed beyond recognition?
Whatever your thoughts, be fully present with this high-definition view, with greater fidelity than any IMAX theatre. Take a moment to reflect in gratitude that right now, you are here with the land, and that is enough.
There is a viewpoint here named after Leopold Salomon, who in 1914 bought Box Hill to protect it from being developed. He donated it to the National Trust for the public to enjoy, and thus it became the UK’s first country park.
Uphill of the memorial is the Donkey Green, a remnant of times when people farmed the hill. In the 1850s it was used as a cricket ground, and in Edwardian times it was used for donkey rides. A short way east of here, you can see the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow across the road. You might be more interested in making a beeline for the café and refreshments nearby to revitalise you after that steep walk, which is forgivable - especially with views like these!
BOX HILL FORT - LAUGHING STOCKADE
"See what happened when our nation collectively shat its pants"
Near the café is an old fort dating back to the end of the 19th century. Rather than an impressive stone castle or even a motte & bailey earthen mound, this drab mix of concrete and brick has a flat roof and not much else. It’s worth a quick look though purely for the story, and to see what happened when our nation collectively shat its pants.
During the late 1800s, the British public worried that the armed forces weren’t up to the task of repelling an invasion which could theoretically happen at any time. These worries were partly stoked by a novel about “The Battle of Dorking” during which the Brits fictionally fought (and were duly merked by) an invading German army in the nearby town of Dorking. In response, the government announced the intent to build a string of 13 fortifications known as the London Defence Positions. This is the location of one of those forts. It was designed to hold infantry and big guns; but only a few years after it was completed, the MOD decided it was a silly idea and all the forts were immediately closed and sold off. The lesson is: don’t get in your own head. Today the fort functions as a habitat for bats. No word on whether they have big guns.
THE FORESTS: REALMS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW
From here, you can pick a route and head north, aiming for Broadwood’s Tower. As you walk, you might find beneath your feet a fossil of a 100,000,000 year old creature set into one of the pieces of flint in the chalk-clay ground. But don’t forget to look around; the woodland here is superb any time of year. On each side of the path are two totally different realms, which make walking here a terrific experience.
On your right is a light, airy woodland of beech and oak: a cathedral-like sanctum above the forest floor. These trees are relatively young: 200 years ago these would mostly have been fields used for growing crops. In the 1830s it became untenable to continue farming up here, and so these trees were planted, presumably to sell as timber.
On your left is a more sinister affair. Here lies a brooding tangle of wild box, holly and yew, which beckon you to vanish into a dark, quiet world amongst their branches, even on the sunniest summer day. All three of these trees are evergreen, meaning they do not shed their leaves each year, and so are not seem to ‘die’ unlike the rest of the English forest. This has given them associations with death, darkness and the afterlife. Box sprigs were used in Roman funerals; yews are found in ancient churchyards everywhere and have deadly berries; and spiky holly is the ancient foe of leafy oak, flourishing in the depths of winter with vivid red berries while the oak slumbers. Gnarled with age and with roots snaking out in all directions to trip the unwary walker, this is another world entirely.
Try skirting off path to enjoy the contrast between these light and dark spaces. Be advised that if you bump into any strangely dressed people with a faerie whiff, be mindful of accepting any invitations to try their sweets, visit their treehouse or have a dance-off, as you might not come back for 100 years.
BROADWOOD'S FOLLY: THE WIZARD TOWER
Eventually your path will cross a mythical flint-studded tower rising high above you. Yes, you have just come across an old tower in the woods. Take a second to check whether you did end up in the fairy realm after all, and whether any goblins, bandits or evil necromancers are about to assault you. Once you’re sure of safety and sanity, proceed to investigate.
It was actually built sometime after 1815, when a piano maker named Thomas Broadwood bought nearby Juniper Hall, which can be seen downhill in the distance. He promptly built this mock-medieval tower, with no obvious purpose other than the sheer fun of it. If you’re rich enough to buy a hall but never gave up on owning a treehouse, why not built a tower instead? Was it to enjoy the view of his fancy manor? Maybe he went to play piano up there and make music of the night. Either way you wouldn’t get it past planning permission today.
Inside the tower is an excellent tree that grows up and out the top of the ruined roof. There’s not much else in there but you can see that there was once a staircase which apparently the National Trust are considering reconstructing. In 1979 a hoard of Roman coins were discovered near here, so maybe the site had some significance before this guy built a frickin’ wizard castle up here.
THE GRAVE OF PETER LABILLIERE
From here, you can follow your map for a route down the steep hillside back toward your starting spot and some well-earned refreshment. Or you can keep walking through the glorious woodlands by looping around to the east. If you do, be sure to stop by the grave of Peter Labilliere, an eccentric army major who frequented this area, despite tripping and poking one of his eyes out on a branch. Before his death he requested to be buried upside-down, as the world was topsy-turvy and in his eyes would put things right. According to one account:
The Major made two strange requests. One was, as we have seen, to be buried upside down on Box Hill, and the other was that the youngest son and daughter of his landlady should dance upon his coffin. The little girl, however, could not be persuaded to carry out this strange wish, but the little boy did as he was asked, and remembered the incident vividly for the rest of a very long life.’
Special thanks to Ann Lee at Darking Hundred for her post “Box Hill: Paradise or Haunt of Vice?” which is well worth a read if you’d like more historical or literary details of this magnificent temple of nature.
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