Pic 'n' Mix

(see the bottom of this blog for top tips on how to buy good wines under £10)

Merriment before the wine tasting even begins *

We had our twelfth Tongham Tasters wine tasting get-together this month to complete our first year of existence. The event promised quite a lot as we had six of our regular tasting team buying wines up to the value of ten pounds to compete to see who could buy the best wine. Reality was something different and it highlighted the difficulty ordinary wine drinkers have in purchasing wines. In this respect it was highly interesting and as usual the company was excellent and we had a great time even if some of the wines were decidedly weird!

So what wines did we try, why did our six team members pick them and which did we prefer. As usual we present them in descending order of preference with individual scores out of 20 in the order John E, Ian, Clive, Jane, Sheila, John S and Steve W.  Prices quoted are what our team actually paid and are often after receiving a discount.


1. Marlborough Springs Sauvignon Blanc, 2010, New Zealand white 13%, Sainsbury £6.35
Clive selected this one because he thought that a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc would stand a good chance of being a good quality and popular wine. This was a tactic that worked and three of our tasting panel of seven voted this their favourite wine of the evening and everyone had it in their top four. It was one of cheaper wines as Sainsburys had it on special offer when Clive bought it. A number of us including Ian and myself identified this as a NZ Sauvignon Blanc, although it didn’t have the power and fruitiness of many examples. Flavour comments included sherbety and elderflower. Scores were 14.5, 11, 19, 12, 9, 15 and 14. This was a pleasant wine at the offer price, if not particularly complex or exciting but at less than seven pounds you shouldn’t expect too much. New Zealand wines are almost always a safe bet if buying wines in your supermarket, particularly at prices just over the ten pound mark and are thus well worth buying in 25% off promotions.

2. Vina Taboexa Rias Baixas Albarino, 2010, Spanish white, Waitrose £9.99
Ian surprised us by not bringing along something from the Wine Society. However, he did pick a popular grape variety and bought it in a good supermarket for wines and went right up to the price limit. This wine had the best bouquet of any we tasted on the night and had a nice flavour but in the mouth its petillant character was not appreciated by most of our tasters. The fizz was too extreme for most of us and detracted from its lime and stone fruits flavour. Scores were 13.5, 13.5, 12, 14, 13, 13 and 10. If you don’t mind a slight fizz in your white wine this could be a wine for you.

3. Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Languedoc Grenache Syrah Carignan, 2010, French red 14%, Sainsbury £5.88
Sheila adopted the very good tactic of buying one of Sainsbury’s normally excellent Taste the Difference range. It was our cheapest wine of the evening as it had been bought whilst on offer. Most of the team thought it was a Californian Zinfandel or perhaps an Italian Primitivo. John E eventually got that it was from the Languedoc and it had that characteristic sweetness of that region allied to the pleasant colour you get in a Grenache based wine. Score were 9.5, 12, 13, 15, 12, 12 and 11. This is a red wine for those with a sweet tooth but not terribly exciting and not one of the best of the Taste the Difference range – why not try the Barbaresco red or the Gruner Veltliner white, I had them both this week and they are very pleasant.

4. Premiere Vouvray, 2010, French white, Londis £8.47
Steve selected a wine he had served a number of times at is daughter’s christenings; always a good tactic to pick a wine you have tried before. Jane wondered if this was “one of those dreaded Pinot Grigios” but Ian quickly identified it as an off dry Chenin Blanc. Flavour comments ranged from Steve’s rhubarb and custard, to John S’s melon and pear to John E’s pear and marzipan with a hint of lime. Although it was off dry it had reasonable acidity but perhaps was just a little bland. Score were 11-, 10.5, 16, 10, 9.5, 10 and 11. A safe bet to serve your grandmother at a party.

5. Ritu Viognier, 2010, Indian white, Waitrose £6.99
Jane brought along a wine that had been recommended by Olly Smith on a recent Saturday Kitchen on TV. She also thought it would be interesting to see how one of Waitrose’s new range of Indian wines would do in a blind tasting. Using press recommendations is often a good tactic but Olly had recommended it with a curry and we drank it on its own. As soon we started to sniff this wine there were loud exclamations from around the table. Oohrr!! Said Ian, good grief! said John E, tastes like Indian whisky said Steve W, which was quite a good guess. Ian again guessed the grape variety and flavour comments ranged from clove and dried mango to Christmas pot pourri. John E thought it might taste quite good by the time you got to the third bottle! Steve actually quite liked it but was relatively alone in this opinion. Score were 8+, 8.5, 12, 10, 8, 11 and 11. This wine needs a curry to hide its differentness.

6. Chateau Musar, Hochar Pere et Fils, 2004, Lebanon red 14%, Majestic £9.99
John S had adopted the admirable tactics of buying from a specialist wine retailer, spending up to his limit, buying a wine from a well respected producer and selecting a red that had aged. So how come it came last? I think we must have got a rogue bottle, although I note from the Majestic web site that at least one other customer thought it foul as well. The smell and taste was of the sort of plastic cement that you make plastic kits with when you are a kid. Truly bizarre smell and taste for a wine; it was like sniffing glue and tasting fried blackberries. Still, Clive, the sage of Tongham, says we mustn’t grumble! Scores were 8.5, 8.5, 13, 12, 8.5, 10 and 12, Hopefully, John’s second bottle will taste better.

This month Clive welcomed us into his home and conservatory and Sarah cooked us some really nice home grown and cooked tomato and basil soup and we had Tongham bakery bread and also some roll mop herrings. It was difficult for Clive to match the food to the wine as everyone brought the wine along on the night. Following this evening we will return to our usual tactic of one person buying all of the food and wine for most of our evenings. We must say thanks to Clive and Sarah for their hospitality and well done Clive for winning our little competition.

Thank you also to John S who brought along a Wine Nosing Aroma kit for us to try.  It was fun but we found after our six wines we quickly found it difficult to detect the more subtle aromas; no problem with the manure aroma funnily enough!

So what lessons can we learn from our team’s successes and mistakes? What would my top ten tips be for buying good wine under £10 a bottle?

• New Zealand wines are very reliable - dont forget we will be having a New Zealand Wine Tasting Dinner in Tongham Village Hall on Saturday November 19th.
• Supemarket own-brand wines, especially Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference, represent good value for money.
• Waitrose and Marks and Spencers offer, perhaps your best chance of picking up an interesting bottle of wine if shopping at a supermarket.
• Buy from supermarkets when they are offering their 25% discounts.
• If spending up to the £10 limit then on line retailers and specialist shops probably give you the best chance of high quality and value. The Wine Society, Fromvineyardsdirect, Majestic and Laithwaites are all worthy of consideration. The supermarkets seem to be concentrating on the lower end wines at present.
• If buying in specialist wine shops ask for the staff’s recommendations. If buying on- line look at the customer comments.
• Following press recommendations can help you make a decision and take the stress out of wine buying but not all will be to your taste. Picking out the medal winners can also be a tactic that works but remember that most producers don’t enter these competitions.  Otherwise why not attend a wine group like ours and buy the favourite wines you taste.
• Don’t buy wines from expensive areas like Burgundy, Bordeaux, Barolo and Sancerre if only paying £10 or less, you will normally be disappointed.
• Avoid the big advertised brands although if you want to play safe some brands like Wolf Blass and even Jacobs Creek can be well made wines.
• Be wary of just buying a bottle because of an attractive label or buying wines where the value is too good to be true.

Follow two or more of these recommendations and you may be on to a winner. Also remember that wine tasting is an adventure and trying different wines is exciting but sometimes they will be a disappointing bottle or two; this is just part of the adventure.

We start our next 12 months of Tongham Tasters with another visit “over the border” into Farnborough, Hampshire where Ian will be hosting our “Joy of Ceps” evening on Saturday 15th October. Theme will be wines to serve with your foraged mushrooms; he has also asked Jane to cook a Tarte à l’oignon so there should be some good food for our Tongham and Farnborough gourmets. Knowing Ian, there should be some interesting wines for us as well. In November Sheila will be hosting our TT evening on Thursday 10th whilst we will be having a Christmas party theme on December Saturday 12th. January 13th will see another Farnborough event with John S presenting New World wines for the New Year. If you would like to join us you would be most welcome – click on Wine Circle at the top of this page for more details.

*Thanks to Clive Greenfield for the picture at the top of this blog post.

Peaches and Garlic



Pinot Noir and White Bean Soup

 There is a craze on food and wine blogs at the moment to name tem matching flavour combinations, so here goes with my contribution to the genre.


Cheese and Beetroot – A personal favourite (cheddar or Cheshire cheese work best)
Figs and Parma Ham – A really sensual combination
Haggis and Canadian Icewine – You can tell I am not Scottish but believe me this works really well.
Lamb and Mint Sauce – You can’t get more English than this. If you don’t like mint sauce try anchovies, if you don’t like anchovies, splash out on a good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Pork Sausages and Marmalade – This is one from my childhood; I imagine we all have a weird one like this.
Rhubarb Jam and Peanut Butter – This is vegetarian heaven in a sandwich.
Toasted Teacakes and Butter – Perhaps, the quintessential taste of England.
Tomatoes and Lemon – A surprisingly good combination when cooking.
Tortilla (Spanish Omelette) and Dry Fino Sherry – A Spanish tapas classic. Fino Sherry works well with olives as well.
White Bean Soup and Pinot Noir – Actually, Pinot Noir with almost anything! A good Premier Cru Burgundy preferably.

And one that didn’t make the list……

Peaches and Garlic – An in-joke with the Whyisthereair blog so don’t try this one.

I won't be asking another five blogs to participate, that is too much like one of those old chain letters.

Greyfriars – A Vineyard in Transition

John inspecting the vines

Our nearest vineyard and winery to Tongham is Greyfriars on the Hogs Back near Guildford.   We have visited them a couple of times over the years and were long overdue another visit.   Since November 2010 it has been under new ownership so it was going to be interesting to see what their plans were.  An open day on Saturday September 10^th 2011 was an ideal opportunity to see.  A few enthusiastic Tongham Tasters, John, Jane and Sheila got together and made the trip the few miles along the Hogs Back.

Bottles produced under the old owners

A Little History

Two vets, Bill and Phil, planted the Greyfriars vineyard in 1989 because the planning permission for the land on which they had their vetinary centre required some agricultural use; after an abortive attempt at sheep farming, they settled on a vineyard.  Being on a south facing chalk slope of the North Downs, it is a great spot for growing grapes.  For Bill and Phil it was a sideline to their main business and the vineyard was very small and the winery very much of the “garage” type. As a hobby business it was quite successful and they had no problem selling about 4,000 bottles of their still and sparkling white wines to the local community each year. We had visited them a couple of times and bought some of their wines that could be very acceptable in a good year. They grew only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Grapes and as well as trying to produce a champagne style sparkling wine they produced some interesting still wines including a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend.   After the 2006 vintage, no more still wine has been produced as the climate and economics favours the sparkling wine.

New Ownership

Mike explaining the riddling process

In November 2010 Mike Wagstaff bought the vineyard and brought along David Line as his Vineyard Manager.  Neither, has a history in the industry as Mike made his money in the oil and gas industry and David had his own rock band and later a wine bar.  Brave men!    Their ambition is to expand the vineyard and winery from its current hobby scale to become a small commercial vineyard producing quality English sparkling wine.   They have already began expanding the vineyard and planting new vines.  As well as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, they have added the classic champagne variety Pinot Meunier and also a little Pinot Gris.   More expansion and planting is planned.   Following this they will redevelop the winery so that they have better production and storage facilities.   Their aim is to produce an English Sparkling wine that is more than just a Champagne copy and reflects English wine growing and style.

Greyfriars Pinot Noir

The Open Day

The Old Vineyard

Their open days are very popular, the new owner’s had their first in June this year, and there were a lot of people already visiting when we turned up at 11.30.  We were taken on a very interesting tour of both the old and new vineyards by David the Vineyard Manager.  It was a lovely time of year to visit as we could see well developed grapes ripening on their vines.  We were impressed by how many new vines, something of the order of 12,600, had already been planted as part of their expansion.  David was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable and gave us a great tour.  All of the pictures on this blog post were pictures we took on the day.

Brand  new tractor in front of the new plantings

Some of the 12,600 new vines

For the tour of the old micro-winery we were accompanied by the owner Mike who was also very enthusiastic, welcoming and knowledgeable.  It will be interesting to come back in a few years time when they have redeveloped this part of the business.  At present it is as it was under the old owners but some new equipment will start being delivered soon.

After this came the business of tasting and after a lovely welcome from Hilary we tasted two still white wines and three sparkling white wines.  These were the wines produced under the old ownership and thus do not currently represent the true potential of the current team.  However, they made for a very interesting tasting and we eventually bought three of their sparkling wines; my favourite being the 2004 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend Sparkling wine at £17.   Incidentally their still wines sell for about £6.50 and ther 2006 Sparkling for just £13.50.

 I highly recommend you go up to one of their open days and follow their progress over the coming years.  It will be interesting to taste some of their wines after they have redeveloped the winery.  We wish Mike, Hilary, David and their team good luck and we will certainly visit them again.   You can follow their progress and get the dates of their open days on www.greyfriarsvineyard.co.uk.    They should be harvesting in early October.

Chardonnay ripening on the vine

Pinot Noir Leaves and Grapes

By the way, there is public footpath through the vineyard that you can pick up if you park near Puttenham Golf Course, follow the North Downs Way and then head uphill. 

New plantings through the tractor window

Chardonnay

Jane tasting the local produce

If you want to read my 2012 update - click here.

Tomatoes

Heirloom Organic Tomatoes

We have reached the time of year when many of us have plenty of tomatoes ripening in the garden or greenhouse and they are also plentiful at the market or in the shops. My favourite way to eat good organic tomatoes or those out of the garden is a simple tomato salad. However, if you have a glut you might want to consider making a tomato confit which is also delicious.

The word confit comes from the French verb confire that means to preserve. A confit tends to be something that is cooked slowly and then preserved in the fat or oil it was cooked in. A tomato confit is made by slowly cooking tomatoes in olive oil, normally with garlic and thyme. It concentrates the flavour of the tomato by reducing the water content and they end up absolutely delicious. By putting them in a preserving jar and covering with olive oil and keeping in the fridge you will have tomato confit available for between a few days and maybe up to a month. You can eat them on their own, in a tart or as part of a salad or other recipe. I like adding them to grilled vegetables (courgettes, aubergines, mushrooms, red peppers etc). You can also eat them on toast like a form of brushetta.

Prepared tomatoes ready for slow roasting

Opinions differ on how to prepare tomatoes to make the confit. In Michelin star establishments they tend to peel the tomatoes and remove the membrane, seeds and jelly, thus just leaving the sweet flesh. Some amateurs leave all of the tomato intact and thus get a less refined result but keep some extra flavour and acidity.

Four different types of tomato confit

Last weekend I decided to see which I preferred the best. I prepared 32 tomatoes in total, eight I peeled and removed the centre, eight I peeled but left the centre intact, eight I did not peel but removed the centre and eight I left completely intact. The tomatoes were medium size and I quartered them. They were laid out on a baking sheet and I then sprinkled over a quarter cup of best quality extra virgin olive oil, 5 garlic cloves and a dozen small sprigs of thyme. They were then slow roasted at 100° C for three hours and then allowed to cool. It is was easy as that.

The next day we had a taste test with five of the family participating to decide which of the four variations we preferred. All were given high marks and were delicious. Top came the Michelin Star style prepared tomatoes with just the flesh. We definitely decided we preferred peeled tomatoes and the ones with the centre were good but different. They also required less work and there was less waste.

Ready for peeling

By the way, it is very easy to peel tomatoes if you use the following technique - cut a small cross in the skin at the bottom of each tomato. Then put these in a bowl and pour bowling water over them. Leave in the water for about 20 to 30 seconds and then remove. The tomatoes are then easy to peel, starting where you cut the cross.

Wine pairing will depend on the food accompaniment to the tomato confit, but you might want to at least consider a nice Italian red wine.

September 2011 Diary

Tongham Tasters Evening
Our next get-together is on Thursday 15th September in Poyle Road Tongham. Theme of the evening is top wines to buy in the UK at £10 or under. As usual we will be sampling 6 wines with some accompanying food to cleanse the palate or enhance the tasting experience. We’ll also share tips on how to buy good wine for under £10. Anyone is welcome to join us for this evening, although we are limited to a maximum of 12 persons. Cost to be shared amongst those attending is a maximum of £10 each. Let John know if you would like to attend; either ring him on 07717 876743 or email tonghamtaster@gmail.com. We welcome new faces to our events.

Local Events in Surrey
Our local vineyard on the Hog’s Back – Greyfriars – is holding an open day on Saturday 10th September. A few of us intend to pop up there so maybe we’ll see you there. Details are on the Greyfriars Vineyard website.

I note that on Tuesday 20th September the Surrey Hills Society are having a tasting in Albury of ten wines from six different Surrey Vineyards. Details are on their website. Book early if you wish to go as there are limited places. Unfortunately, I can’t make this one, should be interesting.

Surrey Farm and Food Week is happening between September 17th and September 24th. We’ll probably attend the farm walk on the Hampton Estate on Saturday 24th September as we are big fans of their produce (beef, pheasants, rabbits, honey etc). Look for details of all that is going on, on the Surrey Farm and Food Week website.

Events Further Afield
For those of you keen to refill your wine rack, cupboard or cellar, the Foire Aux Vins in France are rapidly approaching. This is the time of the year when the French supermarkets have some wine bargains and also a much larger selection of wine than normal. From their website, I believe that Auchan in Calais and Boulogne are having their Foire aux Vins between Tuesday 13th to Monday 26th September (not open on Sundays). Again some of our group are planning trips, so we might bump trolleys en France! I have some postings to help you choose you wine – click on this page link.

Local Award-Winning Wines



Walking through Denbies Vineyard

I have visited a number of wineries and vineyards but very few in the UK and surprisingly not one of the large ones right on my doorstep in Surrey, England. Denbies in Dorking, Surrey can lay claim to being the largest vineyard in the UK at 265 acres and is also one of the largest privately owned vineyards in Europe. Its wines have won many awards over the years and currently they are proud to have won the top prize for a Rosé at the 2011 International Wine Challenge beating 300 other Rosé wines from around the World. Like many southern England vineyards they are also famous for their increasingly good sparkling wines that they claim are as good as the best in the World.

Vistors Centre and Train

Denbies is not just an award winning winery and vineyard; it is also a tourist attraction in its own right. We visited them yesterday and were impressed by their slick organisation and the investment they had made to be a top tourist destination. First we took their vineyard train tour priced at £5.50 per person and had a 45 minute tour of the vineyard; alternatively, as there are 7 miles of public footpaths through the vineyard including the North Downs Way, you could do this for free on foot, but then you miss out on the commentary. Why not do both and spend an enjoyable day-out? There are lots of lovely photo opportunities for taking pictures of the grapes on the vines at this time of year and I can imagine this must be a beautiful photography location in autumn as well.

Second, we purchased one of their indoor tours which make this a good tourist destination on a rainy day, although we were blessed with fine weather. The indoor tour includes an incredible 360° circular cinema virtual vineyard tour, a quick whizz around the winery on their indoor train, and of course a cellar tasting of three of their wines. We took the Sparkling wine option and thus our indoor tour was priced at £12 per person.

Beautiful View from the Vineyard Train

Third, you get a chance to visit their lovely restaurant and shop in the visitor centre. You can also taste wines in their shop and of course buy them and there is usually a 10% discount for those who have been on the tour. Denbies sell about 65% of their wines through their shop in the visitors centre and also sell on line. Some supermarkets such as Waitriose also stock their wines. Currently, Denbies does not export their wines.

Fourthly, there is a farm shop selling organic and local produce and also a small garden centre type shop where you can even buy you own vine – fancy growing Chardonnay in your own back garden? There is a large purpose built car park and an area to picnic.

Sparkling

Our overall opinion on the tourist experience is that it is very good, well worth a visit. They are kid friendly and make a fuss of them on the vineyard tour. The train rides make it good for people with walking disabilities – it helped me on this visit as I am sporting an injury to my knees at present. Tasting was good but slightly confusing as they have three different experiences all going on at the same time (standard, sparkling and food and wine).

Our overall opinion on the wines we tasted was again very good, the sparkling wines were lovely. I appreciated the fact that they were only about 12% abv. First we tasted the Whitedowns which is made with 100% Seyval Blanc – nice, fruity and light. Second we tasted the Pinot Noir Rosé Cuvée 2007 which was pleasant, very dry and had hints of strawberry. Finally, we tasted the 2006 Greenfields which is made from the typical champagne grapes and had an excellent length and nice citrussy flavour – it was good enough for us to buy some in the shop (good value on the day we went, as this week there is 25% off sparkling wines)

Whites

They grow a surprisingly large variety of grape varieties in the vineyard including well known French varieties such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. However, German varieties such as Muller Thurgau, Schonburger and Dornfelder make up much of the vineyard. Their award winning rosé is made with Rondo grapes which is a red fleshed varietal grown in Northern Europe including Denmark and is popular with wine growers due to its disease resistance, early ripening and the colour it gives to the wine. It is becoming increasingly grown in the UK and makes good rosé and sometimes even gold award winning rosé as with Denbies who grew only a small amount and thus have sold out very quickly (although is still available in their shop as part of a mixed case).

The terroir is ideal for wine growing; the sub-soil being chalk, the aspect being mainly south facing slopes and the location being in a closed valley that protects the vines from the wind. It is thus, perhaps, surprising that the first vines were only planted in 1986, although the Romans had planted vineyards not very far from here much earlier.

Award Winner

Their range of wines is rather large; they do the full gamut from red, white and rosé to sparkling. Prices start from just under £8 for some of their whites and go up to over £20 for their top sparkling wines. They sell via mail order so visit their excellent and informative website at www.denbies.co.uk. Best of all pay them a visit on the northbound A24 between Dorking and Mickleham- they are open 7 days a week all year long apart from Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years Day. I think this is an excellent local family business with good conservationist principles that is worth supporting.

As a footnote, we have tasted the award winning Chalk Ridge 2010 Rosé and it is superb, easily the best rosé we have tasted all summer - lets hope they plant more of the Rondo grape in future.

Vines alongside the A24 in Surrey

Inside the Winery

Grapes in August

Vineyard Map

View of the Vineyard from the North Downs Way

Literary Connections, a Tongham walk through local literary history

After a hard life eating and drinking, we all need a good ramble to walk off those calories. Tongham is ideally situated to take advantage of the Surrey Hills, Blackwater Valley path, Basingstoke Canal towpath and the old Tongham railway line. This is number one in a series of blogs to give you some different ideas for walks around Tongham.

Tongham Village Hall, where we regularly hold wine tastings, was built for those engaging in physical activities or for social, moral, cultural or literary purposes. This walk manages to combine the first and last of these objectives. It will surprise many residents of Tongham that there is such a wealth of literary connections just south of the village and in this age of the car it is so easy to miss out on so many of the local beauty spots and points of interest around us.

The walk I took and describe below is about 7 miles long and may take about 3 hours. The highlights are Waverley Abbey, Crooksbury Hill and Moor Park. There is a possible picnic spot at Waverley Abbey or on Crooksbury Hill. Refreshments might be taken at the Barley Mow Pub in Sands. I found this route suitable for walking a dog, mainly on lead but there are a few points where you could let the dog have a run.

Tongham Village Hall

1. Start out from Tongham Village Hall which is located at No 75 The Street in Tongham, and head uphill along The Street in a southerly direction towards the Hog’s Back. At the top of the hill continue onto the Hog’s Back going down into Runfold.

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) mentions both Tongham and the Hog’s Back in Chapter 18 when describing the Savage and his abandoned Air-Lighthouse (used to guide helicopters) on Puttenham Common. Huxley was born in Godalming and was a keen cyclist around the Surrey Hills.

Freeman Wills Croft wrote the detective novel The Hog’s Back Mystery (1933) set in the area just south of the Hog’s Back (Seale, Hampton, Sands, Puttenham, Binscombe etc). It is a good read that stands the test of time if you like Whodunits. Croft lived in Blackheath near Guildford.

Charles Ludwig Dodgson (Lewis Carroll of Alice in Wonderland fame) would visit his family in Guilford and often walked across the Hog’s Back and into Farnham. He is buried in Mount Cemetery near Guildford.

Mike Hawthorn's two children's books

Musician-singer-songwriter Richard Thompson wrote the song MGB-GT which contains a line in which he claims to have driven at 110mph along the old Hog’s Back.

As we pass into Runfold we join the Pilgrim’s Way which went from Winchester (St Swithin) to Canterbury (Thomas a Becket). Amongst the first to trace the route was Hilaire Belloc (The Old Road 1904). A prolific writer, he was perhaps best known for his Cautionary Tales. This part of the Pilgrim’s Way is not part of the route for Chaucer’s pilgrims who just travelled from London to Canterbury.

2. Continue down the Hog’s Back and then follow it to the right into Guildford Road and then along here until you reach Crooksbury Road just before Barfield School.

Footpath near Barfield School

Barfield School has had houses named after Mike Hawthorn, Jane Austen and J.K.Rowling.  Mike Hawthorn attended the school and is best known as Britain’s first motor racing World Champion but he also wrote four books including two children’s fiction books. Jane Austen certainly passed by here from Chawton and up onto the Hog’s Back in 1813; she wrote about the fine views.

3. Turn left into Crooksbury Road but shortly turn right up a footpath along the perimeter of the school. Keep right along the footpaths eventually turning sharp right at some steps and then follow the North Downs Way through the woods and onto Compton Way. Turn right into Compton Way and follow it as it turns left downhill. Shortly, turn left into the driveway of Moor Park House.

Moor Park House

Moor Park House was the home of Jonathan Swift who wrote Gulliver’s Travels. In his time at Moor Park he wrote two books. He had a female acquaintance called Stella, hence the name of the cottage at the far end of this section of the walk.

Another writer who passed by here was William Cobbett best known for his 1830 book Rural Rides where he describes the early nineteenth century countryside and gives free of his opinions about many things, hence his nickname Peter Porcupine.

Footpath after Moor Park House

Stella's Cottage

4. Follow the footpath past Moor Park House and all the way along past pill boxes, the nature reserve and Mother Ludlam’s Cave to Stella’s Cottage. Turn right into Camp Road and then straight on into Waverley Lane. Follow the road around to the right and then turn immediately left into the grounds of Waverley Abbey. Go into Waverley Abbey and spend some time there.

At the entrance it states that Waverley Abbey was the inspiration for Sir Walter Scott’s novel Waverley. This is somewhat misleading as the novel is not about the local area or an abbey at all. It probably inspired him to come up with the name for the main character Edward Waverley. The monks themselves wrote the Annals of Waverley which describes their life and famous visits such as that of King John in 1208.

Old Bridge by Waverley Abbey

Part of the Waverley Abbey Ruins

5. Retrace your steps back to the road and follow the B3001 Waverley Lane around to the right towards Godalming. Be careful here as the pavement does not continue very far and you will need to walk in the road. After a couple of hundred yards turn left up a footpath. Follow this footpath past a number of houses until you reach Crooksbury Road. Cross the road and follow a footpath to the left.

Arthur Conan-Doyle lived in Hindhead and set the Sherlock Holmes’ story The Solitary Cyclist (1903) around Crooksbury Hill.

6. Keep going uphill and slightly to the left until you reach the memorial trig point at the top of Crooksbury Hill. Admire the absolutely stunning views and then turn around and head on down the hill and eventually towards the right until you get to Smuggler’s Way. Turn left into Smuggler’s Way and continue down to the Barley Mow Pub.

The Barley Mow pub in Sands

Was The Barley Mow the pub where Sherlock Holmes had a punch-up in The Solitary Cyclist? I think The Donkey is more likely but who knows?

7. Turn right out of the pub into Sands Road but soon turn left into Sand’s Recreation Ground. Cross the Rec into the far right corner and exit by the side of the golf course into Binton Lane. As you exit look to the left at Jan Smut’s memorial stone which is hidden in the undergrowth.

Smuts Memorial Stone

Jan Smuts was a soldier and Prime Minister of South Africa. He wrote the preamble to the United Nations Charter and an unpublished work on Walt Whitman. The memorial dates from 1958 and was put there by old local soldiers who admired him as an enemy and as an ally. His only connection with the area is that he stayed a short time at the home of his private secretary’s parents in Sands.

8. Go along Binton Lane until you reach the cross roads with Seale Lane and Thundery Hill. Take care along this stretch as again there is no pavement beside the road.

Binton Lane

Thundery Hill is named after the Norse god Thor and reminds us of the pre-Christian era legends. Local village Thursley is also named after him, as is the day of the week – Thursday.

9. Go up Thundery Hill and back up to the Hog’s Back and then retrace your steps back to the Village Hall.

This blog post, map and directions are for guidance purposes only. Please use an Ordnance Survey map to plan out you own route using this blog for ideas on possible points of interest. The suggested route does not necessarily indicate a right of way. Wear suitable footwear and high visibility clothing and take great care when crossing roads or walking on the side of roads without pavements. No responsibility is taken by the writer for anyone undertaking these walks.