The best walks and hikes around West Clandon

This is a lovely footpath along open fields showcasing tremendous views of the Surrey Hills National Landscape.

Agatha Christie famously staged her disappearance from Newlands Corner in 1926…only to end up some days later in Harrogate. We’d recommend you lose yourself simply in the views across the Weald towards the distant ridges of the South Downs or the villages of Shere and Albury below.

Very sandy. Geology changes from the chalk and flint of the rest of the downs to green sand (not green). Not easy to walk on when it's dry!

You can walk around the pond, but be warned you do have to walk through someones garden.

The historic, scenic and well-maintained Guildford Castle is well worth visiting during a hiking tour close to Guildford. Guildford Castle has a fascinating history. It is one of nine impressive castles that were built in a ring around London by William the Conqueror soon after the Norman invasion of England in 1066. The Castle has been used subsequently as a Royal Palace, a prison and as a private residence. Should you have time, you may wish to climb the Castle Great Tower via its spiral staircase. This will give a panoramic view of Guildford and of its beautiful surrounding countryside. It will also provide an appreciation of why the Castle’s location was geographically well-chosen. An additional highlight of visiting Guildford Castle is to see and to walk through the excellent year-round flower displays that occupy the Castle’s former moat.

Guildford Castle is a hidden part of the city which is easy to miss if you walk along the river or to the picturesque high street. It dates from the early Norman times and is always surrounded by beautiful flower displays in its grounds.

Pewley Down is a 23-acre elevated chalk downland on the southeastern edge of Guildford. The Down has delightful southerly views. The splendid green and rural panorama from Pewley Down includes views of St Martha’s Hill (just over a mile distant), the Chantry Woods, Hascombe Hill (south of Godalming), Gibbet Hill (near Hindhead) and Black Down (the highest point in the South Downs National Park and about 12 miles distant, southeast of Haslemere). The views are arguably at their best in the early morning and evening. Since Pewley Down is primarily windward-facing, the air on the Down is usually refreshing (and occasionally bracing!). This adds to the Down’s charm.

Estimated to be about 950 years old, the Newlands Corner yew trees are one of the oldest large populations of wild yews growing anywhere in the world. A survey conducted in 2012 found six yews with a girth of at least 19.7 feet (6 m) and 17 yews with a girth of at least 16.4 feet (5 m). The UK’s ‘Ancient Yew Group’ state that the oldest yews originated from about the time of the Norman invasion (and are demonstrably about 950 years old). There is also a ‘Black Death’ cohort of yews that date from soon after 1348 and are about 670 years old. Unfortunately, two of the ancient yew trees at Newlands Corner have died recently for an unknown reason. This has led to the construction of a boardwalk to protect the roots of three of the oldest surviving yews as part of a ‘Yew Tree Project’. The boardwalk is next to the main footpath between Guildford Golf Course and Newlands Corner. It was inspiring to see an ancient yew woodland of international standing where the trees date back to soon after 1066!