A Downland Rove with Shepherds' Drove and Druids' Grove (Surrey)

'When proud-pied April dress'd all in his trim / Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing.'

A Downland Rove: A rambling route but symmetrical in elevation, ascending and descending Headley Downs, crossing the Mole Valley, then ascending and descending Fetcham Downs.

A Shepherds' Drove: Sweeping swathes of herb-rich chalk grassland fringed with beech woodland (the beech mast blanketed with bluebells) and thickets of holly, yew, juniper and box.

A Druids' Grove: A mysterious clump of yew trees in the grounds of Norbury Park mansion. Among the oldest trees in the land, and according to folklore the site of ancient rituals.

Things to notice on the walk:

Settlements and buildings:

Leatherhead: The name is from Leodridan meaning 'place where people can ride (across the river)'. 'Perhaps the most pitiful of the small Surrey towns' (Ian Nairn in The Buildings of England: Surrey). High Street improved recently after it was deemed 'Britain's worst' in a Radio 4 poll. Neo-Georgian Town Hall of 1935. 14-arched bridge of 1782, widened in 1824. 

Headley: A superb location high up on the North Downs behind Box Hill. A lot of character. Headley Court is a big neo-Jacobean House of 1910 used for MOD training and accommodation.

Mickleham: In the Mole Valley in the Dorking Gap. Picturesque cottages staggering up a slight incline. St Michael's Church of early 12th century with a massive restoration of 1871 giving it a weird side-tower. Lots of character. Weir Bridge over the River Mole is Grade II* listed and from 1840. Box Hill School is neo-medieval, Victorian Cherkley Court, now a hotel called Beaverbrook, was the home of Baron Beaverbrook, press baron and Minister for Aircraft Production.

Landscapes and habitats:

A24 Mickleham Bypass: A fine piece of road landscaping, using natural and planted vegetation and a true divide between carriageways; 1934. 

Oyster Hill and Nower Wood: Semi-open woodland on sandy soil with hazel and bluebell wood. Nower Wood is managed by the Woodland Trust.

Bookham Wood: Carpeted with wood anemones and bluebells

White Hill: A variety of habitats on chalk: beech hanger, yew and juniper copse and open grassland, cared for by National Trust. 

Norbury Park: A plain house of 1774 occupying a belvedere site overlooking the Dorking Gap. Rich grasslands and woodlands around, managed by Surrey Wildlife Trusts. The Druids' Grove may have been a pre-Christian meeting place, although 'druids' is fanciful. The yews are c1500 years old.