Despite the threat of dire weather and constant reminders from the leader about steep and possibly slippery inclines, 13 of us gathered at West Humble for a good and reasonably long walk in the lovely Surrey Hills.
We started with a fairly drawn-out climb to Mickleham, a bit of flat and then the first steep haul up onto Mickleham Downs which, in summer, is full of the kind of chalk downland wildflowers which have become a rare sight. Over 50% of the UK’s chalk grassland was lost between the mid-1950s and the early 1990s. Now that these areas are not routinely grazed, unchecked encroaching scrub is one of the main problems and there are, thankfully, schemes to control it including the National Trust’s introduction of Belted Galloway cattle on Box Hill.
We had a chilly lunch stop in the churchyard at Headley and a warming drink in the pub. The strong gusty winds that were forecasted, began to make themselves felt so we set off for Headley Heath where the soil is sandy with patches of clay. Sandy soil, being more acidic doesn’t support the delicate flora that chalk does so there is a lot of gorse and heather.
We tackled one of the steeper inclines magnificently, possibly because we had been well warned, and then were rewarded by an easy path along the edge of Juniper Top and down into the valley. One more steep climb but a short one and luckily not as slippery as it could be, and we made our way down to Ryka’s where some  went straight to the station and others availed themselves of the refreshments on offer.

Harriet. Photos by Ida