🍁Churchill, Chestnuts & Kentish Trails | Free Hike | 22 km (13.6 mi)

📈 Grade: 🥾🥾🥾 Level 3/5 (Moderate)
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📌 If you’re on the waitlist and are committed to attending, please contact the event host directly. Don’t rely on the waitlist moving automatically.
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🧠 How it will feel
Regular hikers → comfortable overall
Casual walkers → moderate
Beginners → challenging, mainly due to the distance
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Join us in Oxted for a history-rich autumn walk through the Surrey Hills and Greensand Ridge. We’ll cross rolling commons and follow woodland trails and open fields, passing picturesque villages and taking in sweeping views.

Oxted’s timber-framed buildings and Victorian façades set the scene as we head into the countryside.

Around lunchtime, we’ll stop at Chartwell’s café and visitor centre, beside Winston Churchill’s former home. If you catch a whiff of a posh cigar, perhaps Churchill is still keeping an eye on the place!

After lunch, we’ll pass through Crockham Hill and look out for Holy Trinity Church. Built from local stone around 1842, it’s also where Octavia Hill, social reformer and co-founder of the National Trust, is buried.

We’ll then pass Tenchleys Manor, a striking Elizabethan house thought to date from around 1599, as we make our way back towards Oxted.

The route takes us through more scenic woodland and open countryside, with grazing sheep and plenty of chestnuts to spot along the way.

We’ll finish at Oxted railway station, with the option to round off the day at the nearby Wetherspoons before heading home.

The terrain is varied, with woodland trails, uneven footpaths through crop fields, country lanes and open fields. There are a few ups and downs, but nothing strenuous, making this a great day out for intermediate hikers with a moderate level of fitness.

🌇 Sunset on Saturday 7 November is about 16:25 GMT. Please bring a head torch in case we’re delayed!
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HIGHLIGHTS
🍂 Autumn countryside across the Surrey Hills and Greensand Ridge
🌳 Woodland trails, rolling commons, open fields and sweeping views
🏘️ Oxted’s timber-framed buildings and Victorian façades
🏠 Lunch stop near Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s former home
⛪ Holy Trinity Church in Crockham Hill, where Octavia Hill is buried
🏰 Tenchleys Manor, an Elizabethan house
🌰 Chestnuts and grazing sheep along the route
🥳 Finish at Oxted station, with an optional Wetherspoons stop afterward
🚆 Around a 30-minute train journey back to London.
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OVERVIEW
📏 Distance: 22 km (≈13.6 miles)
🥾 Difficulty: Moderate
📈 Elevation: 366 m ascent and 367 m descent
🚶 Pace: We’ll walk at a steady, sociable pace of around 4.5–5.5 km/h (2.8–3.4 mph). If you usually walk faster, please be prepared to adjust to the group’s pace. If you prefer to maintain a faster pace, this hike may not be the right fit for you.
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📍 OPTIONAL LONDON GROUP TRAVEL
For those travelling from London: Buy a return to Oxted £9.80 with network railcard, £14.80 without.

08:30 Meet at the London Bridge ticket office
08:50 Leave the meeting point and walk to the platform
09:07 Train departs towards Uckfield (via East Croydon 09:22)
09:36 Arrive at Oxted
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MEETING POINT AND TIMINGS
📍Meet 09:40 at Oxted railway station entrance, Station Road East, next to Bocata

▶️ Start: as soon as check-in is complete (around 09:50).
🏁 Finish: Oxted railway station approximately 16:00.
⏱️ Estimated walking time: Approximately 5 hours
🕒 Estimated total duration: 6 hours, including breaks and stops
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🚗 BY CAR
Oxted Station - Oxted Multistorey car park
Station Road West, RH8 9EU Oxted (website).
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FOOD AND FACILITIES
After around 2.5–3 hours of walking, we’ll stop for lunch at Chartwell’s café and visitor centre, beside Winston Churchill’s former home. The café serves snacks and hot and cold drinks, and there are toilets and indoor and outdoor seating.
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🎒 WHAT TO BRING
Packed lunch and snacks
At least 2 litres of water, and more in hot weather
Proper hiking boots or shoes with good grip
Weather-appropriate clothing and waterproofs
A fully charged phone
Personal medication and basic first-aid supplies
Optional trekking poles
More snacks than you think you need
A smile, good vibes and a sense of adventure
🔦 Head torch
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✅ WHO CAN JOIN
Adults aged 21 and over
No children
No pets
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📅 RSVP & ATTENDANCE
Please RSVP only if you genuinely plan to attend. If you can no longer come, cancel as early as possible so someone else can take your place.

A no-show means RSVPing but not attending, or cancelling shortly before the start time. Repeated no-shows or late cancellations without a valid reason may lead to removal from the group.

If you are stuck on the waitlist and would like to attend, please message the event host directly.
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👣 GROUP PACE & PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES
This is a social group hike, and everyone is expected to stay reasonably connected with the group rather than rushing far ahead or falling behind.

Please keep the group in sight and remain within a reasonable distance, as a back marker may not always be present. Faster walkers should wait at junctions, and organisers may stop at suitable points to allow the group to regroup.

If you choose to leave the group structure or continue at a significantly different pace, you will be considered to be hiking independently and will be responsible for your own route and safety.

By attending, you agree to follow these guidelines.
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EXIT POINTS
Lunch stop: Chartwell, around 12 km
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📞 CONTACT: For questions, please message the event host via Meetup. On the day of the walk, you may contact AdrianB via WhatsApp on +44 (0) 7438 812 663.
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⚠️ DISCLAIMER:
You are responsible for deciding whether this hike is suitable for you and for taking reasonable care of your own safety. Please read the group policy before attending. The host and group accept no responsibility for injury, loss or damage.