The Greensand Way is a

long-distance path A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents excep ...

of in southeast England, from

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...

in Surrey to

Hamstreet Hamstreet is a village in Kent, in South East England. The village is located 6 miles (10 km) south of Ashford on the A2070, the main road between Ashford and Hastings. The majority of the village is in the parish of Orlestone, named aft ...

in Kent. It follows the

Greensand Ridge The Greensand Ridge, also known as the Wealden Greensand is an extensive, prominent, often wooded, mixed greensand/sandstone escarpment in south-east England. Forming part of the Weald, a former dense forest in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, it runs ...

along the Surrey Hills and Chart Hills. The route is mostly

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

, passing through woods, and alongside fruit

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

s and

hop A hop is a type of jump. Hop or hops may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hop'' (film), a 2011 film * Hop! Channel, an Israeli TV channel * ''House of Payne'', or ''HOP'', an American sitcom * Lindy Hop, a swing dance of the 1920s and ...

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

s in Kent and links with the

Stour Valley Walk The Stour Valley Walk is a recreational walking route that follows the River Stour, through the ''Low Weald'' and ''Kent Downs,'' from its source at Lenham to its estuary at Pegwell Bay. The walk passes through some of Kent's finest landsca ...

near

Pluckley Pluckley is a village and civil parish in the Ashford (borough), Ashford district of Kent, England. The civil parish includes the nucleated village, adjacent hamlet of Pluckley Thorne. Geography The landscape of the area itself is the edge of a ...

in Kent. The trail was opened on 15 June 1980 and is jointly managed by Surrey and Kent Councils who fully updated it in 2012 (route, waymarking, online guide). Much of the land is designated an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

(AONB). The stretch from Hindhead to Leith Hill has formed part of the Surrey Hills AONB since 1958. The Sevenoaks Ridge, from the Surrey–Kent border to Borough Green, is included in the Kent Downs AONB. The waymarks alone are not sufficient to follow the trail – an OS map, or the online guide with maps, is required. An updated guide with maps and walk directions is available online from the Kent and Surrey Council websites. The original guidebook is out of print. On

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

Explorer map 145, a spur – also labelled ''Greensand Way'' – is shown from Thursley to

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...

; this is not part of the path.

Places en route

Places passed along the trail include:

Hindhead Hindhead is a village in Surrey, England. It is the highest village in Surrey, with buildings at between 185 and 253 metres above sea level. It is best known as the location of the Devil's Punch Bowl, a beauty spot and site of special scientific ...

Thursley Thursley is a village and civil parish in southwest Surrey, west of the A3 between Milford and Hindhead. An associated hamlet is Bowlhead Green. To the east is Brook. In the south of the parish rises the Greensand Ridge, in this section reachi ...

, Wormley, Hambledon,

Hascombe Hascombe is a village in Surrey, England. It contains a large cluster of cottages and country estates, St Peter's church, the village green, a fountain, pond, a central public house and is surrounded by steep wooded hillsides. History Above the ...

Shamley Green Wonersh is a village and civil parish in the Waverley district of Surrey, England and Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Wonersh contains three Conservation Areas and spans an area three to six miles SSE of Guildford. In th ...

Holmbury St Mary Holmbury St Mary is a village in Surrey, England centered on shallow upper slopes of the Greensand Ridge. Its developed area is a clustered town southwest of Dorking and southeast of Guildford. Most of the village is in the borough of Guildfor ...

, Wotton, Westcott,

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Br ...

Brockham Brockham is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is approximately east of Dorking and west of Reigate. The village lies south of Box Hill, with the River Mole flowing west through the village. At t ...

Betchworth Betchworth is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. The village centre is on the north bank of the River Mole and south of the A25 road, almost east of Dorking and west of Reigate. London is north of the ...

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...

Earlswood Earlswood is a suburb of Redhill in Surrey, England, which lies on the A23 between Redhill (in the direction of London) and Horley (next to Gatwick Airport). Earlswood Common is a local nature reserve that separates the suburb from the sout ...

, South Nutfield,

Bletchingley Bletchingley (historically "Blechingley") is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with medieval buildings and is mostly on a wide escarpment of the Gr ...

Godstone Godstone is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Surrey, England, east of Reigate at the junction of the A22 road, A22 and A25 road, A25 roads, near the M25 motorway and the North Downs. Godstone railway station is separate ...

Tandridge Tandridge is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge District, in the county of Surrey, England. Its nucleus is on a rise of the Greensand Ridge between Oxted and Godstone. It includes, towards its middle one named sub-locality (hamlet), ...

, Broadham Green,

Limpsfield Limpsfield is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs close to Oxted railway station and the A25.

Crockham Hill Crockham Hill is a village in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. It is about south of Westerham, and Chartwell is nearby. The village has a population of around 270 people. It contains a 19th-century pub, the Royal Oak, and Holy Trinity ch ...

Toys Hill Toys Hill is a hamlet which lies within Brasted civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. It lies to the south of Brasted Chart, also in the parish. The hamlet is situated on the steep scarp slope of the Greensand Ridge, a promin ...

Ide Hill Ide Hill is a village within the civil parish of Sundridge with Ide Hill, in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It stands on one of the highest points of the Greensand Ridge about three miles south-west of Sevenoaks. Its name first appears ...

Sevenoaks Weald __NOTOC__ Sevenoaks Weald is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the Low Weald, immediately south of Sevenoaks town, with the village of Sevenoaks Weald at its centre. It was formed in ...

Knole Park Knole Park is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Sevenoaks in Kent. About 43 acres of the park belongs to the National Trust, as does Knole House, which sits within it. The remaining parkland is privately owned by the Knole Est ...

Shipbourne Shipbourne ( ) is a village and civil parish situated between the towns of Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in the English county of Kent. In 2020 it was named as the most expensive village in Kent. It is located i ...

, Dunk's Green,

West Peckham West Peckham is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The River Bourne flows through the extreme west of the parish, and formerly powered a paper mill ( Hamptons Mill) and corn mill ( Oxenhoath Mill) ...

, Nettlestead Green,

Yalding Yalding is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The village is situated south west of Maidstone at a point where the Rivers Teise and Beult join the River Medway. At the 2001 census, the parish, which incl ...

Linton Linton may refer to: Places Australia * Linton, Victoria Canada * Linton, Ontario * Linton, Quebec United Kingdom England * Linton, Cambridgeshire * Linton, Derbyshire * Linton (near Bromyard), Herefordshire * Linton (near Ross-on-Wye), Her ...

Sutton Valence Sutton Valence (in the past also called Sudtone, Town Sutton and Sutton Hastings, see below) is a village about five miles (8 km) SE of Maidstone, Kent, England on the A274 road going south to Headcorn and Tenterden. It is on the Greensand ...

, Egerton,

Little Chart Little Chart is a village and civil parish, situated north-west of Ashford in Kent, South East England. The parish lies south of the M20 motorway. Geography Within the parish boundaries is the linear settlement village centre by the old water ...

Hothfield Hothfield is a village and civil parish in the Ashford Borough of Kent, England and is 3 miles north-west of Ashford on the A20. It is completely split in two by Hothfield Common. Geography In the north west is Hothfield Common, 58 hectares (1 ...

Kingsnorth Kingsnorth is a mixed rural and urban village and relatively large civil parish adjoining Ashford in Kent, England. The civil parish includes the district of Park Farm. Features The Greensand Way, a long distance footpath stretching from Hasl ...

and finally

References

* The Greensand Way in Kent, 1992, Kent County Council, (Out of print) * Colton, Adam ''Mud, Sweat and Beers''

External links

Kent Council – Homepage and online guide with maps of Kent and Surrey sections of the walkSurrey Council – Homepage and online guide with maps of Surrey section of the walkSaturday Walkers Club – Description, GPS data, and OS map of walk

Route of the Greensand Way on OpenStreetMap (takes a long time to load e.g. 25 seconds)
{{Transport in Surrey Footpaths in Surrey Footpaths in Kent Long-distance footpaths in England