The best hikes from bus stations around Worplesdon

Great place to stay the night for the cycle tourist looking for a roof with character. This community run venue is not for profit with proceeds all going back into keeping it running. https://puttenhambarn.uk On the North Downs Way, there’s secure bike storage, a peaceful garden and for those looking for a good beer, it’s also only a stone’s throw from the Good Intent.

The lakes are just as beautiful as the pleasant wooden path through the marshland. It's very quiet here, although you can hear the noise of the nearby highway. Nevertheless, you can find and enjoy the silence here - we were thrilled by this little paradise!

Excellent Bunkhouse on the borders of Surrey and Hampshire. https://puttenhambarn.uk Puttenham Barn Bunkhouse offers simple overnight accommodation in south-east England in surroundings superb for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Our Barn provides reasonably priced wardened accommodation for up to 11 visitors - similar to, but more basic than a Youth Hostel. It inspires an imaginative vision with a strong environmental emphasis. It is run entirely by volunteers. We are located in west Surrey on the North Downs Way and Sustrans cycle route 22 between Guildford and Farnham, at a point not served by any Youth Hostels. If you’re on a pilgrimage between Winchester and Canterbury, then you walk right past our door. We are the perfect place for an overnight rest.

Lovely little village that has a single pub and not much else, other than the excellent Puttenham Barn youth hostel!

Stoke Lock is a uniquely historic, well maintained and picturesque lock on the River Wey Navigation. It is situated 2 km northeast of central Guildford in Surrey. Stoke Lock has the distinction of being the oldest lock in Surrey and the oldest pound lock in England! A pound lock is where two sets of gates enclose a small section of water. The original Stoke Lock was dug in 1618-1619 by Sir Richard Weston, a wealthy landowner who lived nearby at Sutton Place. Weston created this lock not for river navigation but to make a man-made river through the grounds of Sutton Place so that he could flood meadows to improve local agriculture. Later Weston had the idea of extending his ‘new river’ all the way to the River Thames. This led to him leading and part-funding the construction of the Wey Navigation that opened in 1653. This canal provided a ‘highway’ to London for Guildford and Surrey merchants. Since 1964 the Wey Navigation has been managed by the National Trust as a leisure waterway for narrowboats and small cruisers. Despite its proximity to the Slyfield Industrial Estate, Stoke Lock has a beautiful setting. It is pleasant and relaxing to stroll past the lock and to see the brightly-coloured narrow boats passing through it. The adjacent lock-keeper’s cottage that was built in 1882 to replace an earlier one, adds to the historic and picturesque scene.

Crossing the metal 'Bowers Footbridge' below Bowers Lock is a highlight of walking the River Wey Navigation between Guildford and Weybridge. This footbridge allows walkers and cyclists to cross the River Wey where the Wey Navigation rejoins the River Wey beyond Bowers Lock. The footbridge has a tranquil rural setting and an interesting history. When the Wey Navigation at Bowers Lock opened in 1653 there was no bridge. Barge horses had to cross the River Wey either by wading or by swimming. Following complaints by barge-owners a ‘horsebridge’ was erected on the site of the current metal footbridge so that towpath horses could cross the river more easily. Records show that a horsebridge was still present here in the 1920s. In addition to its peaceful and scenic environment, the Bowers Footbridge provides a good vantage point for seeing narrowboats entering and leaving Bowers Lock and, if the light is correct, for seeing fish swimming in the clear River Wey waters.

Situated just over a kilometer downstream from Bowers Lock, Broadoak Bridge and Pippers Point are two notable features on the River Wey Navigation. Being located next to each other these features combine sensibly into one highlight. Broadoak Bridge carries the east entrance drive of Sutton Place over the River Wey Navigation from the nearby busy A3 road. Sutton Place is a large Grade 1 listed Tudor mansion built in 1530 by Sir Richard Weston who was a courtier of King Henry VIII. Anne Boleyn was an occasional guest at Sutton Place and it is said that Henry first met his future queen here. It was the Weston family who created the River Wey Navigation in the 17th century – a transformation that inspired other canal builders across Britain. In recent times Sutton Place has had a series of wealthy owners including John Paul Getty, then the world’s richest private citizen, who spent the last 17 years of his life living there. Although Sutton Place is not visible from Broadoak Bridge its impressive tree-lined drive hints at the estate’s standing and wealth. Next to Broadoak Bridge is Pippers Point – a right-angle bend in the Wey Navigation where the Navigation separates from the natural course of the River Wey. The latter cascades over a weir marked by a ‘Danger Weir’ warning sign. The sharp bend at Pippers Point together with the strong pull from the water falling over the weir meant that special measures were needed to help barges safely negotiate the 90-degree bend in the Navigation. The remains of these measures are evident today and comprise a cast-iron pulley (for the tow rope) anchored in a concrete block, a vertical roller at the bend apex and the remains of brackets for additional rollers located underneath the Bridge. When hiking past Broadoak Bridge and Pippers Point it is worth pausing for a moment to view their interesting features, and to contemplate all the notable historic events that have occurred here thanks to the Weston family and to Sutton Place!

About 70 m southwest of Bowers Lock next to the River Wey Navigation footpath there is an ancient hollow oak tree bound by a large iron hoop. This tree is thought to be 250-350 years old which would mean that it may have started growing around the time that the River Wey Navigation was created in the mid 17th century. The tree is referred to as the ‘Bowers oak’ on a nearby National Trust information board. The oak tree certainly looks very old and it is a wonder that it has survived with towpath horses (until the 20th century) and pedestrians passing so close, and with children playing hide and seek inside the tree!