An April Arboretum Airing with Arts and Crafts Architecture

In the late nineteenth century, designers rejected mass production and returned to simple forms, traditional materials and folk and medieval influences. Unfortunately we'll only glimpse the homes designed by Edwin Lutyens and their gardens designed by Gertrude Jekyll that line our route as they are hidden by high hedges. On the plus side, the rhododrendrons, azaleas, narcissi and bluebells at the National Trust arboretum of Winkworth (free to walk through on a public footpath) should give a dazzling display, likewise the woodland of the Surrey Hills AONB, while more colour will be seen at a building we can visit: a church with stained glass by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. 

The sights:

Busbridge: On the edge of Godalming. St John the Baptist Church by George Gilbert Scott, 1865-7. Stained glass designed by Edward Burne-Jones or Archibald Keightley Nicholson and made by William Morris. Iron rood by Edwin Lutyens. War memorial and graves to horticulturalist and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll (d. 1932) and family also by Lutyens. 

Munstead: No village, just a group of country houses in a woodland setting built mostly by Edwin Lutyens under the sponsorship of Gertrude Jeykll. The houses, which use local stone, timber-framing and tradional forms aren't large but are well-hidden among the trees, the area still looking a lot like it did in the late C19. Jekyll's own house and garden in which she perfected her design of spacious borders with swathes of colour is Munstead Wood (1896-7). The high wall prevents scrutiny but we'll see her triangular Thunder House from where she could watch storms. The water tower is 40 m (130 ft) high, constructed in 1898. Now a private home (the garden of which I trespassed during the recce!).

Winkworth Arboretum: More of a superb landscape garden than a mere collection of trees. Occupying a wooded hillside with fine views. Home to around a thousand species of trees. Begun by Dr Wilfred Fox in 1938 and given to the National Trust in 1952. Famed for its rhododrendron and azalea displays in spring, but also its autumn colour. We will use a public footpath that goes through the middle of the garden and so not pay for entry, although we must stick to the footpath.

Hydon's Ball: A hill of 179m in the care of the National Trust. At its highest point is a large stone seat which was placed there in 1915 as a memorial to Octavia Hill, one of the Trust's founders, and a tireless campaigner for the rights of city dwellers to health and access to the countrysid le. On its slopes grow pine, rowan, ash and birch and two non-native shrubs (Amelanchier and Gaultheria) planted by Gertrude Jekyll. 

Hascombe: A picturesque location in a wooded valley, but we won't see the village centre today. All stone and tile-hanging and feeling isolated and timeless. Winkworth Farm is an C18 house remodelled in 1895 by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Garden by Jekyll. 

Godalming: An attractive town. From being a centre for clothmaking, weaving and leatherworking in the Middle Ages, it prospered in the C18 as a coaching stop on the way to London. There are many timber-framed medieval and Tudor buildings, some re-fronted with Georgian brick. Pretty Market Hall with a cupola, 1814. 

River Wey and Godalming Navigation: Part of a scheme to link the River Thames to the River Arun (and hence London to the English Channel), the Wey was made navigable in 1653 with 12 locks between Weybridge and Guildford. (A navigation differs from a canal in that it is a river made navigable.) Construction of the Godalming Navigation, a further four locks, was completed in 1764. Commerical traffic ceased in 1983 but before then the navigations were donated for recreational use and restoration in 1968.

Dogs:

I welcome dogs on my walks and this is highly suitable for them. There will be some roads to walk along and cross, but much of the walk will be through woods and heaths. Dogs need to be on leads at Winkworth. A dog off its lead must be obedient.

The route (please click the link in red):

We'll set off eastwards through the town of Godalming along the High Street before crossing the A3100 heading south to Crownpits and Busbridge. Before reaching Alldens Hill we'll take a footpath to Winkworth Arboretum. Crossing the arboretum using the public footpath we'll emerge at the Brighton Road and take a bridleway along the valley to Hydon's Ball. We'll then turn east to go along Marespond Lane toward Hascombe. At Hascombe Court we'll turn north and use bridleways to then go east. We'll cross the Brighton Road and use a bridleway to reach Thorncombe Street almost to Bramley. At Nurscombe we'll use a footpathto go to Munstead Heath Road. We'll then use a bridleway almost to Farncombe where veering southwest at Catteshall across Lammas Lands and the along the navigation will take us back to the town centre.  

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(Picture credits:  Bluebells & Narcissus, Winkworth Arboretum: Photo © Len Williams (cc-by-sa/2.0). Winkworth Arboretum, Azalea Path: Len Williams (cc-by-sa/2.0);  Busbridge Parish Church: Tyer Memorial Window (1920, A.K. Nicholson) 2, King Alfred: Photo © Michael Garlick (cc-by-sa/2.0); Miss Jekyll's Thunder House, Heath Lane, Busbridge: Photo © Stefan Czapski (cc-by-sa/2.0); Munstead Water Tower: Photo © Ben Gamble (cc-by-sa/2.0); Surrey Hills near Thorncombe Street: Photo © David Kemp (cc-by-sa/2.0); Winkworth Arboretum - The boat house from Rowe's Flashe: Photo © Rob Farrow (cc-by-sa/2.0); Azaleas at Winkworth Arboretum: Photo © Rod Allday (cc-by-sa/2.0); Hydon's Ball: Photo © Colin Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0);  Barn at Scotsland Farm: Photo © Colin Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0);  View from Winkworth Arboretum: Photo © Colin Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0); By Barrett's Rough: Photo © Colin Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0); Catteshall - Jude II: Photo © Colin Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0); River Wey Navigation, Godalming: Photo © Alan Hunt (cc-by-sa/2.0); Timbered buildings, High Street: Photo © Ian Taylor (cc-by-sa/2.0); The Pepper Pot, Godalming: Photo © Robin Webster (cc-by-sa/2.0). All pictures are attributed to their copyright holders and are licensed for re-use under Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0.)