Excursion to Box Hill, Surrey

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There were several places, e.g. Kew Gardens, Wisley Garden, Winkworth Arboretum, and Box Hill to view autumn coloured leaves in and around London. It was a long time since we had been to Box Hill, Surrey and we had decided to go there on 30 October 2010.

We took the British Rail from Victoria, and got off at Boxhill and Westhumble Station. We both remembered the streets, subways, and routes to Box Hill. After going through the subway under the A24 Road, Burford Bridge Hotel appeared in front of us, and we started the trail behind the hotel.

It was sunny and relatively mild when walking uphill. All of the trees and shrubs’ leaves had turned gold, orange, and yellow, and they were fallen on the ground. We looked back from time to time and enjoyed splendid panoramic views of Surrey Hill, beautiful mansions, and famous houses, e.g. Flint Cottage along Zig Zag Road. The trail led us to the White Cliff and the shady area where a number of box plants were grown. The woodland walks led us to the viewpoint. The sunny weather offered us lovely panoramic views of lush farmland and winery yard, and saw Dorking beyond. It was rather hazy at the summit, and it didn’t allow us to see the furthest places, e.g. Brighton and Gatwick Airport on 30 October.

There were numerous Christmas goods and cookery books sold at the National Trust shop. Mark bought a walking guide map of Box Hill, and suggested we would explore Box Hill in the afternoon.

After leaving Box Hill Centre, we kicked off out walk from Donkey Green. It started drizzling and soon after it turned raining. As British citizens, we continued walking on the Liquor Box. Golden leaves still stayed in the branches and they helped us shelter from the rain from time to time. After following the woodland trail, a mysterious-looking tower with the tree top appeared in front of us. Mark said, “That must be Broadwood Tower.” As the name suggests, a tree had grown in side the ruined tower. It was raining heavily while we were around the Broadwood Tower. Mark had brought his umbrella and as a gentleman, he tried to share his umbrella with me while descending the trail. Looking at the slippery and muddy surface, I said to him, “Mark, you can go ahead and I will follow you.” I thought we would both lose our balance on the slippery surface if we had stuck with each other. The rain eased up when reaching Juniper Valley. Various types of shrubs and trees were growing along the chalky surface, and they had red, orange, purple, and yellow foliage and they looked beautiful under the blue sky. The chalky path led us to the Box Hill Village and restaurant, the sight of which we had remembered. Mark reviewed where we had walked with the map and said that we would walk westwards to go back to the starting point. The weather had improved in the late afternoon, and it offered lovely views of the lush meadows below. We heard cows mooing.

Mark suggested going to the Stepping Stones on the way back. The early afternoon shower made the surface muddy and slippery. We walked down slowly, but kept stumbling with the roots of the trees and muddy surface. Our shoes and trousers were muddy at the end of the walk on 30 October. We managed to reach the destination. The recent rain seemed to have made the water level high and the stepping stones were almost sunk under the water. Considering our conditions of our shoes and possible risk of us slipping off the stepping stones, we decided to cross over the bridge. Then, we followed the trail and got back to A24 Road and Boxhill and Westhumble Station.

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