Explore a mysterious pool, golden beech woods and spectacular North Downs views before descending to Shere’s charming and characterful 15th-century inn, suggests Dixe Wills
Dixe Wills is an author and travel writer who writes for The Guardian on green travel.
WALK: Shere, Surrey
Set on the Tilling Bourne, between the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge, Shere has long been a mainstay in lists of the nation’s most beautiful villages.
In autumn, when the wooded downland slopes turn golden brown, the subtle contrast with the russet roofs of the village’s ancient timber-framed houses makes an exquisite spectacle. It’s no wonder that filmmakers have been coming here for over a century to give their work a sprinkling of stardust.
But should the autumn winds bring showers, you can always take cover at the museum (sheremuseum.co.uk). There you’ll learn the fascinating story of the village, an agricultural settlement that goes back to days long before the compilers of the Domesday Book rode in. Today, Shere is a delightful base for a woodland ramble that is almost entirely off-road.
1 SILENT WATERS
Start by taking the waymarked Fox Way westward along the Tilling Bourne vale, admiring the sylvan Albury Park on the hillside to your left. Dive into Silver Wood and out the other side, to cross the A25 and reach Sherbourne Pond and the Silent Pool. It was in the latter that a woodcutter’s daughter is said to have drowned while attempting to avoid the advances of a certain King John.
Although not reputed to be haunted, some visitors have observed that there is a peculiar ‘feel’ to the pool, a sensation very much in keeping with autumn’s lengthening nights. Thankfully, the eerie atmosphere has not put off the local kingfishers, so keep your eyes peeled for a flash of orange and blue.
2 GOLDEN WOODS
The walk’s one stiff climb will take you up through the Boxwood and on to a section of the North Downs Way built by Canadian soldiers in the Fir
