Ancient Artery

At the very beginning of the walk and for much of the return leg you are on the North Downs Way, which is one of the most ancient arteries of communication in Britain. The first settlers, who arrived 6,000 years ago, followed this high road above the impenetrable forests of the Weald.

Not far into the walk you will pass the first of several "pillboxes", a constant reminder of the fortifications of World War II. Erected all along the North Downs before the beginning of the war, in anticipation of the threatened German invasion, they were the third line of defence of London, the coastal batteries being the first and the fortifications on the South Downs the second.

A favourite path of mine is the one through the beechwoods above the Tilling Bourne. (Keen photographers should be at the ready here as this view has all the makings of a very pretty picture indeed.) After passing some attractive ponds at Albury, and a very busy trout farm (peep through the fence and you can see them being fattened for the frying pan), you will soon be walking along the Tilling Bourne. On this pretty river you may find jewelweed – orange balsam. It was first found growing wild in England on the River Wey in 1822 by John Stuart Mill.

Later on, it is possible to cross the river and take a short diversion into Chilworth, which today is a quiet village. You will be surprised to find in this quiet backwater of Surrey the remains of what was a centre of industry for many centuries. It was a good site for a water wheel, and gunpowder was manufactured here as early as 1580. During the reign of Charles I, in 1624, the East India Company set up more extensive mills making gunpowder and cordite, but the Chilworth Gunpowder Company was not formed until 1885.

Banknotes were also manufactured here in the 17^th century. There were, predictably, explosions and one of them brought down St Martha’s Church, which you will pass later. The mills, which at their peak had provided work for about 4,000 people, continued in use until the end of the First World War.

Concluding the riverside stretch of the walk, you turn right onto a road. Before turning left from this road onto a footpath at a bend, a short diversion to the right will take you to Chilworth Manor, which has origins going back to Saxon times and was once owned by Sarah, widow of the great Duke of Marlborough.

A slightly longer, but extremely worthwhile diversion will take you into Shalford, which won a "Best Kept Village" prize in 1983. Shalford Mill, which you pass if going into the village, is open to visitors and well worth seeing. It is early 18^th century and operated until 1914. Most of the machinery is still intact.

Shalford had an important fair in medieval times, possibly the model of Vanity Fair in Pilgrims in Progress. Here you will find plenty of delightful old houses and cottages, also the village stocks and whipping post, still preserved outside the churchyard wall.