# 🥾 Walk 238 - Chantries, Shalford and Blackheath

I have a confession to make. On Sunday 21st August, Julia and I drove to the wrong starting point for Ann and Kathy's walk. At first we wondered why no-one else had turned up, but a phone call to one of the leaders soon had us in the right place just in time for the start. I felt a bit guilty as I'm often telling people to check the directions before they set off so as not to keep everyone else waiting. Sorry!

We set off, first heading up Rosemary Hill and then joining the Downs Link, a long-distance path that connects the North Downs Way with the South Downs Way. The sandy soil of Blackheath was supporting a wide variety of colourful plants including heather, fir trees and some rather Autumnal looking shrubs.

![A riot of colour in Blackheath.](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume17/images/blackheath.jpg)

Leaving the heath at Lockner Holt, we made our way through a small farm, which had a field of woolly piglets. Not something you see very often on our walks!

Then we took a detour from the Downs Link at Tilling Bourne, passing the picturesque Albury Mill and Postford Pond before heading up through the woodland of Colyers Hanger to join the North Downs Way. We followed this path up to the top of Saint Martha's Hill and stopped for a rest outside the church. We could hear that a service was taking place so we didn't go into the church for a look around.

![Woolly piglets at Lockner Farm.](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume17/images/woolly_pigs.jpg)

Descending the hill on the other side, we left the North Downs Way at the bottom and took an alternative route through the wooded and hilly Chantries. Stopping for lunch on an open high point, we sat on a bench that had a view across to Guildford Cathedral.

Making our way through the Chantries, we came to the village of Shalford. Here we passed Shalford Mill on the way to The Seahorse pub, where we stopped for a drink. After our refreshment stop, we left Shalford on a footpath through a meadow and joined the River Wey.

![The chuch at the top of St Martha's Hill.](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume17/images/st_marthas_church.jpg)

We followed the river northward until we reached a lock, where we crossed and began to follow the river southward, on the Wey-South Path. This we followed until we reached Broadford Bridge, where the Wey-South Path crosses the river and passes through Broadford. We carried on following the river Wey until it crossed under a dismantled railway, which we then began to follow.

The dismantled railway and the Wey-South Path converged at a bridge under the main road south of Shalford and we carried on following both until we reached the point where they joined with the Downs Link (If that sounds complicated then please look at the map using the link is below.)

![Stopping for a drink at the Seahorse pub in Shalford.](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume17/images/seahorse_pub_garden.jpg)

We followed the Downs Link path through Wonersh Common and past Tangley Hill, back to Rosemary Hill. Finally, we retraced our steps down the hill and back into Blackheath. See our route on Bing Maps.

It was certainly worth the trip out to Surrey for this interesting walk, which showed us many sights of a landscape different to our usual Berkshire. It also gave us a chance to pick many blackberries and gather a few fallen cooking apples. We're hoping Julia can turn them into a blackberry and apple crumble for us to have on another walk.

![Crossing the River Wey at Shalford.](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume17/images/shalford_lock.jpg)

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