The Earl’s Hidden Bridges | Free Hike 23km (14mi)

Grade: 🥾🥾 🥾Level 3.5/5
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📖SUMMARY:
🥾23km (14mi) | Ascent 521m | Descent 528m | Max Elevation 237m
🚊Train: Return ticket London Waterloo 🔁 Clandon
⛳️ Meeting Point: 2 Options
1- London Waterloo train station - Opposite Platform 15 | 09:10 (Train is at 09:32)
2- Horsley - Outside train station | 10:30
⚠️This is a Point to Point (not Circular) Hike
📍Hike start: Horsley train station | 10:35
🔚Hike finish: Clandon train station | approx. ~17:00

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🚊TRAIN TICKET INFORMATION:
I would recommend you get:
🎟️Sunday Out Return ticket London Waterloo 🔁 Clandon (direct) with a Network Railcard is £10.55 (instead of £15.90).

• ➡️Outbound: London Waterloo 09:32 → 10:27 Horsley
• ⬅️Inbound: Clandon → London

💡If you’d like to join other hikers using a Network Railcard, please arrive earlier so we can organise small groups. Note that each card can cover up to 4 people.
🚦Visit National Rail for details
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📕ABOUT:
The day takes in a real mix of landscapes and stories: West Horsley Place, a Tudor manor with centuries of history and a slightly eerie reputation; the Lovelace Bridges, a hidden network of ornate 19th-century brick-and-flint arches built by the Earl of Lovelace deep in the woods; the chalk grassland and yew-shaded paths of Sheepleas; a stretch along the North Downs Way, an ancient trade and travel corridor walked across the chalk downs since prehistoric times; and the rolling pastoral parkland of Hatchlands Park.
Expect cool beech and yew canopies, wildflower-dotted downland, sleepy Surrey villages tucked in the valley below, and that sense of being properly out in the wild while still being a short hop from town.
This is a slow, unhurried hike, we walk at a gentle pace, pause often, and let the day unfold without rushing.
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⭐️HIGHLIGHTS:

• West Horsley Place: A Tudor manor with 500+ years of history, said to be where Sir Walter Raleigh’s widow buried his embalmed head after his execution. Now home to Grange Park Opera.
• The Lovelace Bridges: A network of ornamental brick and flint arched bridges built in the 1860s by William King-Noel, 1st Earl of Lovelace (husband of Ada Lovelace), to let timber wagons cross his estate paths. Most are now Grade II listed and hidden deep in the woods.
• Sheepleas Nature Reserve: Ancient chalk grassland and beech yew woodland, famous for its wildflowers, butterflies and the dramatic “yew tunnel”.
• The North Downs Way ridge: Chalk-ridge walking on an ancient trackway used as a travel corridor across southern England for over 3,000 years, with panoramic views south across the Tillingbourne valley.
• Newlands Corner viewpoint: One of the iconic Surrey vantage points, on a clear day stretching all the way to the South Downs.
• Hackhurst Downs / Netley Heath: The highest point of the day at 227m, open chalk downland with skylarks and orchids in early summer.
• Hatchlands Park: National Trust parkland on the descent into Clandon, with rolling pasture and ancient parkland trees (Capability Brown landscaping).

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💷COST: Free
This hike is completely free to join but participants need to purchase their own transport tickets.
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🎒WHAT TO BRING:

• 2L Water
• Packed lunch and snacks
• Comfortable walking/hiking shoes
• Weather-appropriate clothing (layers, waterproofs, hat, sunscreen)
• Optional: trekking poles, camera

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✅WHO CAN JOIN:
• ‍‍Our hikes are open to adults aged 21 and over.
• For safety reasons, we’re not able to include children.
• We love animals, but pets (including dogs) can’t join our hikes.

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🚨RSVP & ATTENDANCE:
RSVP only if you plan to attend. Please cancel as early as possible if you can no longer make it so others can join. A no-show means you RSVPed but did not attend or cancelled just before or after the start time. Repeated no-shows or late cancellations without a valid reason may lead to removal. Reliable regulars who end up on a waitlist may message the host for priority consideration.

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☯️STAYING TOGETHER:
A dedicated back marker is not always present, so please keep others in sight and avoid moving too far ahead or falling too far behind. Faster walkers should wait at junctions. The hike leader will pause at key points to regroup and reduce the chance of anyone becoming separated from the group.

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⚠️ DISCLAIMER:
By joining, you confirm that you have read and accepted the group policy on the About page. You are responsible for your own safety, and neither the host nor the group can be held liable for injury, loss, or damage.