Hydon's Ball is a hill covering most of Hydon Heath in Hydestile,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England.

Description

The hill on Hydon Heath, Hydestile, reaches and is almost a quarter of the way between

Gibbet Hill, Hindhead Gibbet Hill, at Hindhead, Surrey, is the apex of the scarp surrounding the Devil's Punch Bowl, not far from the A3 London to Portsmouth road in England. Geography Gibbet Hill stands above sea level. It is the second highest hill in Surrey. ...

and

Leith Hill Leith Hill in southern England is the highest summit of the Greensand Ridge, approximately southwest of Dorking, Surrey and southwest of Charing Cross, central London. It reaches above mean sea level, above sea level, and is the second highe ...

in 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 ...

. Sometimes known as Hydon Ball or Cup Hill, the area is under the management of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. At its highest point is a large stone seat dedicated in 1915 to

Octavia Hill Octavia Hill (3 December 1838 – 13 August 1912) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, whose main concern was the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, especially London, in the second half of the nineteenth century. Born into a fa ...

, one of the Trust's founders. It is believed that the term ''ball'' refers to a signalling station which once stood at the top of the hill. Its shape is similar to other hills named as ‘ball’; there are more than six on Dartmoor e.g. Cuckoo Ball, grid reference SX 717902. There is a short poem associated with Hydon's Ball, which may explain its other alternative name: Its slopes are planted with a range of tree species, including native

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

. Two non-native shrubs,

Amelanchier ''Amelanchier'' ( ), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear,A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants/ref> is a g ...

and

Gaultheria ''Gaultheria'' is a genus of about 135 species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae. The name commemorates Jean François Gaultier of Quebec, an honour bestowed by the Scandinavian Pehr Kalm in 1748 and taken up by Carl Linnaeus in his '. These pla ...

, are said by

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

to have been planted there by landscape gardener

Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and wrote ...

,Hydon's Ball and Heath information at the National Trust National Trust information
Retrieved 2013-11-04 who lived approximately to the north at

Munstead Wood Munstead Wood is a Grade I listed house and garden in Munstead Heath, Busbridge on the boundary of the town of Godalming in Surrey, England, south-east of the town centre. The garden was created by garden designer Gertrude Jekyll, and became ...

, Busbridge. Hydon's Ball is a meeting spot for local

Morris Dancers Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may ...

who gather on the hilltop to welcome the first day of spring. Memorial near Hydons Ball - geograph

The Grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Robertson War Memorial lies slightly below the summit of Hydon's Ball. The eight-foot obelisk Commemorating the first world and features a plaque designed by

Laurence Arthur Turner Laurence Arthur Turner FSA (9 July 1864 – 4 October 1957) was an English artisan and master craftsman. Career The brother of the architect Thackery Turner, was a leading figure in woodcarving and ornate stonemasonry, and undertook many prestigi ...

. Hydon's Ball is one of the top ten highest points in Surrey. An underground drinking water reservoir is beneath the summit.

Transport

Hydon's Ball is centred south of

Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...

, which sits by the A3, in central southern England. The nearest village is to the south, Hambledon, which has a large public house (''The Merry Harriers'') and a village shop. Around away,

Milford railway station Milford railway station is a railway station serving the village of Milford in the English county of Surrey. It is a stop on the Portsmouth Direct Line, from . The station has two side platforms flanking a pair of tracks, with step free ac ...

is nearest to the hill on the direct line between

London Waterloo Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of ...

and

Portsmouth Harbour Portsmouth Harbour is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area. It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it i ...

. Lying on the

Greensand Way The Greensand Way is a long-distance path of in southeast England, from Haslemere in Surrey to Hamstreet in Kent. It follows the Greensand Ridge along the Surrey Hills and Chart Hills. The route is mostly rural, passing through woods, and al ...

, the hill can be reached on it from the direction of Godalming/Dorking/Sevenoaks Wealds/Hamstreet and from that of the nearby western end of the ridge,

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 ...

External links

Hydon's Ball and Heath information at the National Trust

Notes and references

;Notes ;References {{Waverley Hills of Surrey National Trust properties in Surrey