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Bookham CommonsFamily trail
More InformationWelcome to Bookham CommonsYou can start your walk at the Hundred Pound Bridge car park, Mark Oak car park or the Tunnel car park. It’s a circular walk and at a gentle pace should take you 2 hours.
National Trust
Find out more about what happens on the Surrey Hills
The National Trust is an independent conservation charity and needs your continued support. If you would like to know more about the National Trust, local places to visit, or how to become a member, please contact our local office:
Surrey
Surrey Hills Estate Office, Warren Farm Barns, Headley Lane, Mickleham, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6DGTelephone: 01372 220640www.nationaltrust.org.ukFacebook: NationalTrustSurreyHills
Photography: ©National Trust Images/John Millar, Joe Cornish, Arnhel de Serra, Paul Harris, John Miller, Britainonview/Rod EdwardsOther photography: Dr. Alan Prowse, Stuart Cole LNHS, Neil Lodge, Ian Swinney, Rob Hewer Printed on 100% recycled paper. Please recycle this leaflet after use.© National Trust 2013. National Trust is an independent registered charity, number 205846
There are plenty of places to stop off on the way for a picnic, to watch the birds, climb trees or build dens. You can walk the route in any direction you like.
The commons – Great Bookham, Little Bookham and Banks Common, were given to us between 1923 and 1925 and we’ve looked after them ever since.
The National Trust looks after much of the Surrey Hills – from Limpsfield Common in the east to Hindhead Common in the west. In between are Box Hill, Leith Hill and Bookham Commons to name but a few of the places we care for. Our places are great for running around and exploring, building dens and seeing the wonderful wildlife that lives there. You could take a kite on windy days and wear wellie
boots for splashing on wet days. Pack a picnic and make a day of it, or come along for just an hour or two.
Take a look on our website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/surreyhills to read about our latest news and events, to download more trail leaflets, or make friends with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NationalTrustSurreyHills
Free (donations welcome)
Things to look out for along the way
Explore...A kingdom of ancient trees, magical ponds and amazing creatures.
A Central and Eastern Woods
Take some time to explore the woods. Rustle through leaves or splash in the puddles. You could build a den using branches and twigs that you find on the ground – please don’t tear any from the trees.
In this part of Bookham Commons grow our “king trees” – ancient English oaks and holly, both of which are native to the British Isles - some date back at least 500 years when the woods provided timber for housing and shipbuilding. Records suggest that timber may have been felled from the commons to build King Henry VIII’s palace at Nonsuch in Cheam.
B Bird HideLooking over Upper Eastern Pond is our bird hide. Sit quietly and be patient and you may well see some native and non-native birds. In spring the dabchick, or little grebe, nests here and in
C Eastern PlainDue to a different, sandy soil, this open area of the commons supports plants such as heather, dwarf gorse and purple moor-grass.
D Western PlainThis part of Bookham Commons is less wooded than other parts because it was once open grassland, where cattle grazed. The Western Plain is prime hunting ground for sparrow hawks and goshawks. On a May evening, you may be lucky enough to hear the strident call of a male nightingale as he sings for his mate.
Listen carefully – lots of bird song means that the wood is dense enough to provide home, food, shelter and nesting places at different heights for birds. In the spring and summer months, the woodland glades support a variety of orchids. During the autumn months, the woods display a wonderful collection of fungi such as fly agaric, chicken-of-the-woods, sulphur bracket and the wood blewit.
Don’t miss! Look out for the heronry marked on the map. Herons raise their young high up in broad nests. They tend to come back to the site that they hatched at to raise their own young. You might even hear the distinctive noise they make when clacking their beaks together.
Did you know?You can tell the origins of a pond by its shape and size. The largest ones were usually dug for rearing fish; steep sided ponds are old “borrow-pits” where soil, stones or rock was taken away to be used on roads, walls or houses. Most of the medium-sized ponds were dug for farm animals to drink at.
winter, kingfishers and herons can sometimes be seen.
Watch for roe deer on the opposite bank;
Did you know?You can work out the age
of a tree with this simple
formula:
Measure the distance
around the trunk of the
tree (its girth). If the tree
has lots of branches and is
in an open position, then
every 25mm of the girth
will be one years’ growth.
If the trunk of the tree is
tall and straight, with no
branches, then every 12mm
will be one years’ growth.
they like the peace and quiet of this undisturbed part of the commons. You could let us know what you see at the hide by joining our Facebook page – search for National Trust Surrey Hills.
Look out for! Triangular craters in the ground... these were anti-aircraft gun
emplacements from the Second World War and were manned by the Royal Artillery. Though the concrete bases were taken-away after the war, they retain the same unusual shape and are home to caddis-fly larvae and burr marigold.
A
B
C
D
Isle of Wight Enclosure
Manor CottageHandleys Cottage
Merritts Cottage
I.O.W. Pond
Lower Hollows
Heronry
Hill House Wood
Central Wood
Hill Farm
Kelsey’s Pond
Eastern Plain
South East Pond
Banks Common
Banks Farm
Western Plain
Ivy Cottage
Central Plain
I.O.W. Plain
Bookham Stream
Bayfield Plain
Stents Wood
Kelsey’s Wood
Eastern Wood
Sheepbell Pond
Upper HollowsBird Hide
Lower Eastern Pond
Hundred Pound Bridge
To Downside
Upper Eastern Pond
Bookham GrangeTo Leatherhead, London
To The Glade, Fetcham
To Effingham
To Effingham Junction, Guildford
The Plains Car Park
Five Halls
Bayfield Pond
Tunnel Car Park
To Great Bookham
Bookham Railway Station
Mark Oak Car Park
Footpath to Stoke D’Abernon Cobham Road
To Cobham
Sheepbell Farm
To Little Bookham
To Fetchamand Leatherhead
Bookham CommonsA kingdom of ancient trees, magical ponds and amazing creatures
The commons are home to a wonderful variety of wildlife and have been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest by Natural England.
For more information about Bookham Commons please visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ bookham-commons
Key
Access and rights of way
A variety of landscapes await you on Bookham Commons... From shady, mysterious oakwoods, to open grassland plains, marshy ponds and wetlands, to wet heathland and wood pasture. Be sure to look out for all the fascinating things along the trail.
Family TrailSurfaced bridle tracksBridle tracksWater courses
Public bridleway
National Trust permissive bridle track
Public footpath
DogsDogs are very welcome on Bookham Commons, though we do ask that they are kept under reasonable control and kept within sight of you.
D Western Plain• Look out for sparrow
hawks and goshawks as this is their prime hunting ground.
• On a May evening, listen out for the strident call of a male nightingale as he sings for his mate.
A Central and
Eastern Woods
• Take some time to explore the woods.
• Rustle through leaves or splash in the
puddles.
• Build a den using branches and twigs that
you find on the ground – please don’t tear
any from the trees.
• Using the formula overleaf, calculate how
old a tree is.
• In Autumn you can look out for fungi such
as fly agaric, chicken-of-the-woods, sulphur
bracket and the wood blewit.
C Eastern Plain• Look out for plants such as heather, dwarf gorse and purple moor-grass which grow here due to the different, sandy soil.
• Look out for triangular craters in the ground... these were anti-aircraft gun emplacements from the Second World War.
B Bird Hide• Sit quietly and patiently in the bird
hide and you may well see some native and non-native birds. In spring the dabchick, or little grebe, nests here and in winter, kingfishers and herons can sometimes be seen.
• Watch for roe deer on the opposite bank.
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