Sun and bathing in the North Downs

Early July and the country is in the grip of its third heatwave of the year; with temperatures over 30 deg C. So an ideal moment to take on 80+ kms offroad and 1400+ m of climb along the North Downs.

The full route can be found here but I only had a day to spare so chopped it down to start at the beginning - Farnham but end at Oxted - about a third of the way through. Mindful of the heat, I also added a 5 km detour to an open water swimming spot called Divers Cove. GPX below - including a couple of small route malfunctions!

NDW_Farnham-Oxted.gpx

Download GPX • 6.43MB

The route is a bit fiddly in places - some parts of the SDW proper are on footpaths - so the work arounds involve a bit of doubling back etc. But actually I think I preferred it to the South Downs Way. Partly because it was a lot less busy and partly because there seemed to be fewer gates to negotiate. Nothing makes an off-road ride more of a real grind than having to stop start every few minutes and open/close gates.

The views off the escarpment are quite amazing..... but also the noise.

You can't see the traffic, but you can hear it!

From the M25 mostly.

What made the North Downs a vital part of the late 19th Century London Defence Positions also made the route of London orbital motorway beneath them pretty much of a foregone conclusion. Which is a bit of a shame - but please don't be put off. The route has everything: lung busting climbs; gnarly singletrack; jaw-dropping views; cute country pubs; history..

My start at 10.30 gave me 7 and a half hours to cover the 80 odd km before my 18.00 booking at Divers Cove. I had the trail mostly to myself except for passing what seemed to be 100s of schoolkids out on a day trip near Waverley Abbey. A lot of the route is on wide forest roads and BOATs etc., but in sections its something a lot closer to singletrack. And at this time of year that means nettles and brambles are at their most luxuriant. In a couple of places they were so dense that I could barely see the track. Another thing I must point out is that a number of stretches are over what is effectively sand - which seems to suck up every last bit of energy you expend - even down hill. And the uphills? Hike-a-bike. The temperature averaged 28 deg C and peaked at 33 degress.

Combine all the above and after a couple of hours I was hot, sweaty, scratched and dusted in grit. Strava tells me that my average speed was 11.8 km/h - with a max speed of 41 km/h - so not the speediest biker.

Apple + Blackcurrent or sweet sweat?

I was probably the thirstiest though. I refilled my 750ml bidon 3 times and my 1.5l bladder twice. So I must have taken on board something close to 5 litres across the trip. It's worth flagging that unlike the South Downs Way the North Downs has less infrastructure - like accessible water points. So fill up where and and when you can is my advice. Also I ensured that I had plenty of electrolyte tablets - I find doing this really helps prevent agonising cramps kicking in when I'm trying to sleep. They do taste more like sweetened sweat than the Apple + Blackcurrant that www.phizz.co advertised - but then I guess that's what they are. And they did the trick.

The old man and the gravel pi

Anyway by 18.30 I finally made it to Divers Cove. I found it by accident when planning the route. It's 1500 metres off the route (and downhill) but on such a hot day it was worth every penny of the £10.99 I paid. Cooling off in 25 degree water was blissful. It's quite an operation they have there - and busy too. I was sorely tempted to order a pizza and simply crash in their car park.

Thankfully common sense prevailed and I slowly ambled back up the hill to the North Downs Way, to find a place to bivvy. My plan had been to stay at a place called Pilgrim's Fort. Regular readers will know that I am a bit of a history nut; fewer things make me happier than overnighting somewhere with a bit of history. Iron Age forts, memorial crosses, boat yards...I love them all. So one of the 15 forts built in the 1890s to protect London in case of invasion (by the French or Russians appararently), perched overlooking Godstone, just off the North Downs Way looked perfect. There are others on the route too including Box Hill and Reigate.

But what the 1:25,000 OS map didn't show was that Pilgrims Fort is privately owned and part of a very des res. In estate agent speak "This unique Grade II listed four/five-bedroom home, with lodge-style architecture, is nestled on 7.5 acres of ancient woodland and serves as the ultimate wildlife sanctuary, together with a unique Defence Fort, and a charming annexe currently on Airbnb. With potential for further development, this property offers commercial and residential opportunities."

It was also surrounded by a very high wall with the ubiquitous PRIVATE PROPERTY - KEEP OUT signs. It was 8.30pm by now and I was beat. So rather than look any further I simply found the nearest place where I could sling the hammock. That turned out to be

///coffee.gossip.pints just a few metres from the Gravelly Hill viewpoint.

As you can hear on the video, it was also just a few metres from the M25. So the soundtrack to the usual Famiglia Rana pastafest and slumber was not the rustling and squawking of nature but the rumble and sirens of humanity. But I've been in worse places and it was so warm that there was no need to rig a tarp over the hammock. Of course being so near to the summer solstice it was light by 5, so I was back on the trail by 7 pretty much. It was barely 8 km from there to Oxted. So I had plenty of time for a coffee and bacon butty at a place called Papillon before the train back to CLJ.

I really enjoyed this trip - lots to see and enough of a challenge to feel worthwhile.

Give it a go.