Weekend of April 27th Downs Link: Christ’s Hospital to Guildford Ride

The Downs Link is an old disused railway line that ran from Guildford to Shoreham on Sea that went under the axe of Dr Beeching.  The total length is 37 miles and the route has been converted into a cycle and walking path.  Last summer The Wife and I cycled the second half of the ride, 19 miles from Christ’s Hospital to Shoreham, and subsequently I organised three families to do the ride.  However, I had never ridden the first half of the ride between Guildford and Christ's Hospital.

On Saturday the weather was cold, it wasn’t looking too bright and I was aching from playing squash on Friday night so I had no motivation to go out on my racing bike.  I had cycled first thing in the morning the four miles to Kingston to pick some documents up then after recovering in the churchyard cycled back home.  I had forgotten to take my Garmin to make sure this mileage (8 Miles) was logged on the Guildford Peloton Challenge.

With no motivation but lots of guilt to be considered I decided that today was the day to attempt the Guildford to Christ’s Hospital leg of the Downs Link.  My motivation was to see if it was as scenic as the other half of the ride.  I didn’t want to do it alone so at 11:00 am I telephone Big G and got him out of bed (Big G is an Investment Banker who works long hours in the week and likes to catch up on his sleep at weekends.  That’s his excuse anyway).  After much cajoling, countering of excuses and discussion about the weather and the accuracy of the BBC weather forecast I convinced him to ride.  I picked him up at 12:00 and we drove down to Christ’s Hospital near Horsham and parked in the Station car park.

We started the ride just after 13:00 with an overcast sky.  I was on a very heavy Landrover Vivorata and Big G was on a very old steel Specialized Hard Rock.  The track surface was damp but solid with surprisingly little mud.  We were dressed in full winter gear, gloves, fleecy tights/leg warmers and waterproofs over our cycling jackets.  Despite all that clothing we didn’t overheat.

We came across various groups of walkers and dog walkers.  Other than one hill which we had to walk up (the train used to go through a tunnel but that was blocked and you have to climb over the hill on a steep path) it was reasonably flat and quite scenic in places.  As you get near to Guildford you follow the Wey and Arun Canal (see below for more detail).

The route was all off road and for the most part obvious but in some places the signposting could have been better.  We followed the route getting lost once or twice but soon getting back on track.  We did get confused for a short time where Sustrans Route 22 leaves the Downs Link at Shalford where there was a distinct lack of signposting. 

 

We got to within a mile of Guildford where the Downs Link path goes onto the road for the ride to the town centre of Guildford and we decided to not bother with that last bit.  We were a bit tired, more than we expected considering we had only cycled just over 17 miles, so we stopped and ate some flapjack Big G had thoughtfully packed before turning back the way we came.

The route back reaches Cranleigh after 7 miles and goes behind the High Street.  We stopped at Costa Coffee for food and drink (not very acceptable but at 16:30 on a Saturday not much choice).

With about 3 miles to go we had our first and only rain shower which resulted in a noticeable drop in temperature but didn’t last very long.

 

The return journey was a total of 34 miles and it took us, including stops, just short of 5 hours.

In conclusion, whilst it was enjoyable it is not as nice as the Christ’s Hospital to Shoreham leg of the ride and we will stick to that for the family ride later in the summer (when it arrives).  Big G has concluded it is time to get a new mountain bike that weighs a few Kilos less so he will be off to Corridori cycles in Banstead in the coming week to discuss his options with Guy the owner.  I will have to make do with my Landrover Vivorata.

I dropped Big G off and got home at 19:00.

 

Wey and Arun Canal

The Wey and Arun Canal is a 23-mile-long (37 km) canal in the south of England, between the River Wey at Shalford, Surrey and the River Arun at Pallingham, in West Sussex. The canal comprises parts of two separate undertakings – the northern part of the Arun Navigation, between Pallingham and Newbridge Wharf, which opened in 1787, and the Wey and Arun Junction Canal, which connected the Arun at Newbridge to the Godalming Navigation near Shalford, south of Guildford, opened in 1816. The canal was built with 26 locks.

Passing through a rural landscape, there was little freight traffic to justify its continued existence, and the canal was officially abandoned in 1871.

Without maintenance, the canal gradually became derelict over much of its length. However, since 1970, active restoration by The Wey & Arun Canal Trust has resulted in several miles of the waterway being restored to navigable standard. Work is continuing, with the ultimate aim of re-opening the entire canal to navigation.