Day Thirteen Stage 2 Guildford to Westhumble

Day Thirteen Thursday June 11

Much better! The night before yesterdays walk neither of us had gotten much sleep , I was simply awake reading too long and  Linda had gone past her sleep time and got caught in a second wind  so we were traipsing on low fuel. This morning feels renewed.
We stole bread and ham from the breakfast buffet to make our sandwiches ( a plastic bag in the knapsack works for this and we're expert pilfer-ers) , we're driven to our left off/start off point, Shalford Park, and off we go. For Guildford being such a big town we were out of it fairly quickly, walking on a paved section of the Pilgrims Way. We picked up the ancient trackway a number or times, I could see it named on the map the North Downs Way didnt always follow for whatever their reasons. 

St Martha’s Church, which sits alone on St Martha’s Hill , was our first real view across southern England  The hill was once the site of a medieval fair attended by both pilgrims and the good people of Guildford, and the green track of the North Downs Way that I followed would once have been a busy route used for those on foot and horseback. It was a tranquil location to stop and reflect as well as to admire the views, but a busy one with joggers and bikers and cell phone babblers.

There are a lot of these pillboxes strung along the walk. The ones we saw earlier along the canal were WWI , the guide book says these today are from WWII

Finally opening up on some vistas and grass. These downs are what this area of England is known for.

Taking a Break

The Forever Road. As I walked I was singing "Forever" songs, songs with "Forever" in the lyrics. Thats not its name, we called it that, a long, straight paved track

that was never-ending. We have our friends and nabes to the North , speaking from home, the Canadians to thank for this. During WWII they built camps and supply depots along here. Its called the Canadian Road, but we know better.

One of Seven Pillboxes

Linda Was Brave and Went Into One

Now coming into Denbies Vineyards at around 11 miles. I think I'm quickening my pace because I can sense food ahead.  Behind me are the fields of grapes. You might think its a joke but the south of England has several vineyards with the climate proving to be  perfect for sparkling white wines. So well regarded are some of them, that they have a habit of beating Champagne in taste tests. 

Denbies is the largest vineyard in Britain, accounting for 10% of all vine plantings in the UK and is a major tourist attraction.

Whoa! And suddenly there is light! Box Hill, our final destination, comes into view with the vineyard spread out below and  and the little Westhumble orange train chugging by. Box Hill is named for its many species of Box trees and has nothing to do with the cardboard ones. That would actually be funny, I wish I had photoshop.  It may not look like much but at 15 miles the last trek up wasn't just up, it was UP. But first you're lulled into a bucolic sense of peace and tranquility .......

the flowing River Mole and the Stepping Stones. During WWII the Stepping Stones were removed in case of invasion. I guess if I was marching with an army taking these stones away would definitely deter me. 

Watch and learn, this is how its done.

I was pretty ho-hum over the views. It was hazy, hot, there were kids everywhere playing music and I thought the views from the earlier ridgelines were better. So..... I'm putting in this stock photo of the view from the topo triangle at the summit, taken with no one around in the poeace of a clear day.  This is much better.

This was supposed to be a 13 mile day according to the guidebook . Something  went wonky. I'm glad I scheduled that massage!