Yesterday, Mr Good(ish) and I decided to start the year off right: with a standard issue New Years Day Yomp. What better way to start off 2019 than by trying out a new figure of eight walk, about 30 minutes drive from home in the heart of the Surrey Hills. Highlights included meeting three very friendly pigs and a runaway Saluki dog called Dodger. Low points included attempting to get up hills after December’s excesses and a few New Years Eve beverages. Overall, a win for Team Good(ish) that chips away at my goal to get off my rear end a bit more this year on Day One.
The walk started in a tiny village called South Holmwood which is home to one of those incredible little British railway stations that don’t even run on Sundays, and a very friendly grey Maine Coon cat (who I obviously had to play with for at least five minutes). Then, by way of a quick left turn from the main road, we were suddenly up into the hills and farmland of the Surrey Hills.
From there, we found Coldharbour (and a pub), Leith Hill (no pub) then Friday Street (another pub, but settled for a break on a log for a flask of tea and stroopwafels – thanks Santa). From then on it was a meander back through beautiful woods and farmland, where we met three incredibly inquisitive piggies who wanted to make friends.
For those of you not in the know, Leith Hill is home to Leith Hill Tower which is the highest point in South East England at 1029ft (313m). According to the National Trust, who own the Tower, it was built in 1765 by Richard Hull of Leith Hill Place as ‘a place for people to enjoy the glory of the English countryside’. And that it does.
The overriding themes for the day for me were:
- Trying to simultaneously avoid eye contact with other walkers whilst pulling my top down over my legging-clad bum without tripping over my own feet, as I panted my way up hills
- Trying not to get too excited every time I saw a dog on their walkies
- Covering myself in mud.
So, a pretty standard day’s walking for me, really.
As starts to the year go, this was a good one. We walked 9.5 miles in just over 4 hours and got lungfuls of countryside air. Just don’t ask us how our calves are feeling today…
Our walk came from Country Walking’s 100 Greatest Walks in Britain – but this is seemingly out of print now, so I’ve listed some similar walks in the area below – all are a quick hop on the train from London or easily accessible from the M25 so there are no excuses for city-dwellers not to investigate this beautiful part of the South East.
- 2.5 miles at Leith Hill – courtesy of the National Trust
- 9.5 miles around Leith Hill and Holmwood Common – courtesy of Fancy Free Walks
- 10.4 miles from Holmwood to Gomshall – courtesy of the Saturday Walkers Club
Good(ish) Intentions 