There’s nothing quite like pulling on your walking boots and heading out into the fresh air for a refreshing walk… especially when there’s the promise of a pub en route, too. To fuel your excitement and satiate your appetite, we’ve put together some of the top walks with pubs in Surrey for invigorating stomps and hearty repasts. Let’s dive straight in.
Countryside Rambles
Woodland Wanders
Nature Reserve Walks
Hill Hikes
Countryside Rambles
Pirbright Village, Woking
Pirbright is a peaceful village surrounded by heath and woodland in Surrey. A great place for walks in the countryside, it has an assortment of routes splintering off around the village, wending through open fields and wildlife areas. Best of all, it’s also home to several pubs, including the Royal Oak, the Fox Inn and the White Hart, providing ample opportunity to stop and revive during exhilarating strolls. Our favourite walk is around 7 miles long and starts and finishes at the Royal Oak, ideal for doubling up on refreshments and charging your energy reserves.
Ockham Village, Woking
A rural village between Cobham and East Horsley, Ockham has been home to a thriving community since the Bronze Ages and is home to a Grade I listed church originally founded in the 12th Century. Today, it lends itself wonderfully to countryside walks, and there is a lovely circular route that begins and ends at the village’s popular Black Swan gastropub. Wending around Ockham, through Martys Green and cutting through Ockham Common, this walk is especially appealing when coupled with a hearty pub meal. Fortunately, the Black Swan offers a range of nibbles, mains, sharers and puds, offering something to tempt all tastebuds.
Inspiring Views Walk, Hurtwood
For a countryside ramble with a twist, pull on your walking shoes and head towards Hurtwood in the heart of the Surrey Hills. Here, an awe-inspiring 6-mile circular walk invites walkers of all ages to celebrate both the beauty of the natural world and the creative vision of the Inspiring Views Art Project. Wending through the wooded hills of Hurtwood and the surrounding countryside, this walk is interspersed with a number of different beautiful artworks, sculptural benches and viewpoints, all inspired by the landscapes in which they nestle. For added incentive, The Abinger Hatch gastropub can be found by making a short and worthy extension to the route, awaiting with a large suntrap garden in summer and roaring log fires in winter.
Woodlands Wanders
Banstead Woods
A 230-acre area of ancient woodland once owned by Anne Boleyn, Banstead Woods SSSI beckons for long walks between tangled trees. A wonderful place to walk throughout the year, this former Medieval deer park features a wide range of beautiful habitats and is laced with several waymarked trails. A particular favourite, Banstead’s 3-mile circular nature trail leads you through the depths of the woods and Chipstead Downs Nature Reserve. Once you’ve walked all you can walk, head to the aptly-named Rambler’s Rest pub on the edge of the woods in Chipstead for a well-deserved pick-me-up.
Staffhurst Wood, Oxted
The beautiful pocket of woodland that is Staffhurst Wood is one of the most popular to visit in spring in Surrey for its bluebell carpets that flood the woodland floor. Just over 31 acres in size, the woodland’s four pathways are perfect for short walks through the trees, enjoying the abundance of wildlife that takes sanctuary there. Once an ammunition dump during World War II, this site is now home to 200 species of flora and 288 species of moth fauna. Follow its mile-long circular loop before stopping off at the Grumpy Mole country inn in Oxted along the way to treat yourself to something delicious.
Chiddingfold Forest
Chiddingfold Forest covers an area of woodland spanning more than 2,000 acres to the north-east of Chiddingfold village, close to the Surrey Hills. With designated public footpaths running between its gnarled trunks, you can look forward to hours of peaceful adventures as you wander through this broadleaf haven. What’s more, once you have finished your woodland wanderings, you can turn your attention to the Crown Inn in Chiddingfold, a historic country dining inn. With its Tudor façade and cosy interiors, this pub fuses olde-worlde charm and modern comforts for a truly welcoming destination pre or post-walk.
Valley Gardens, Englefield
The 220-acre Valley Gardens near Windsor Great Park are part of the Crown Estate. A stunning patch of woodland garden, the Valley Gardens, and the nearby Savill Gardens, are Grade I listed and make for incredible places to soak up the beauty of nature – woven with twisting pathways and planted with evergreens and seasonal blooms. Immerse yourself in the gardens’ undulating valleys, before tearing yourself away for refreshments at the Bailiwick which can be reached through the park. Heralded as one of the UK’s best gastropubs, this free house is sure to win you over with its gastronomic wonders.
Nature Reserves Walks
Chobham Common
One of the best and last remaining examples of lowland heath in the world, Chobham Common is special for multiple reasons. At over 1,400 acres in size, its rare habitats are some of the most ancient in Britain and support a number of endangered wildlife species, including the feathered Dartford warbler and nightjar. As beautiful in summer when pretty flowers pepper the heath as in winter when frost clings to the landscapes, it is a delight to explore. For the best walk, pick up the 5-mile Chobham Common route, starting and ending at the award-winning Four Horseshoes pub.
Thursley National Nature Reserve
Boasting one of the largest swathes of heathland in Surrey, Thursley National Nature Reserve is a real favourite amongst walkers of all generations. As you walk, the environment changes around from open dry heathland to peat bogs to pine and deciduous woodlands. For the best way to explore the area, head to the Three Horseshoes pub on the border of the reserve and choose from one of two routes: a 4-mile walk around Thursley Common, or a slightly more challenging 7-mile walk with hill climbs and views of the Devil’s Punchbowl. Whichever you choose, a drink and a meal back at the pub will be a mouth-watering reward.
Reigate Heath Walk
Just a stone’s throw from the National Trust’s Reigate Hill and Gatton Park is Reigate Heath, a 126-acre nature reserve and designated SSSI. Encompassing heathland and acid grassland, this stunning reserve is knitted with beautiful heathers, gorse and spiny grasses. It’s also home to Bronze Age burial mounds, which date back over 3,500 years. Stretch your legs over a 4-mile circular walk around the heath, passing Reigate Windmill, Wonham Mill, and World War II pillboxes, before making tracks to one of two pubs, the Skimmington Castle and the Black Horse, both of which can be reached along the way.
Albury Heath, Guildford
Just a stone’s throw from St Martha’s Hill (featured below), a wonderful walk awaits across the beautiful Albury Heath near Guildford. While there are lots of fantastic walks to choose from here, there’s a particularly lovely 4.5-mile loop that wends around Albury Heath and Blackheath. Navigating through fields, woods, heath and meadow, this route is a real beauty and one that is made all the more appealing by the promise of a visit to The William IV pub en route too. Nestled between the villages of Albury and Shere, this thriving pub is as popular for its atmospheric evenings in the bar as for its Sunday roasts served with all the trimmings (including meat from the local butchers down the road).
Hill Hikes
Leith Hill, Coldharbour
One of the best places to visit in Surrey, Leith Hill marks the highest point of the Greensand Ridge in the Surrey Hills – and is actually the second highest point in South East England. Measuring nearly 300 metres above sea level, it affords far-reaching views across the surrounding landscapes, which extend as far as the English Channel and London on fine days. For a winning way to ramp up your appetite, trace the 3-mile circular walk from the Plough Inn to Leith Hill and Leith Tower and back again. With a wonderfully welcoming pub to start and end your walk, this is sure to be a firm favourite.
Box Hill, Westhumble
Box Hill and its iconic stepping stones make for one of the most popular walks in Surrey thanks to its picture-perfect scenery. For the full experience, lace up your boots and tread the National Trust’s 2-mile Box Hill and Stepping Stones walk, before picking up a section of the North Downs Way National Trail and heading into the nearby Westhumble village for a bite to eat. Less than 0.5 miles from the foot of Box Hill, the Stepping Stones pub, named after the area’s famous river causeway, is the ideal place to stop for a hearty lunch or Sunday roast.
St Martha’s Hill
St Martha’s Hill is nestled between the village of Chilworth and the town of Guildford in Surrey. Forming part of the Greensand Ridge, it’s connected to lots of superb walking routes in the area, ideal for ramblers of all abilities. Should you fancy a challenge, you can park in St Martha’s Hill car park in Guildford Lane and walk a well-worn 6-mile loop around the fringes of Chantry Wood towards Guildford, and more importantly, the Seahorse pub. A contemporary pub with stylish interiors, the Seahorses awaits with a suntrap garden in summer and warming fires in winter – perfect for halfway refreshments.
Alternatively, you can also pick up the more strenuous 8-mile Box Hill Hike, which starts at Box Hill Shepherd’s Hut and follows a strenuous course across much of the Box Hill estate. As well as boasting some lovely viewpoints to reward hikers along the way, this route also happens to run right next to the King William IV pub in Mickleham (known as the King Bill on the Hill by locals). A haven for walkers, cyclists and foodies alike, this pub is well-known for its great walks nearby and is a welcome haven, whether you plan on finishing your hike here or simply stopping off for a well-deserved pick-me-up en route.
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