Horton Country Park is a Local Nature Reserve north-west of

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

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. ...

. It is owned and managed by

Epsom and Ewell Borough Council Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. ...

. The park is a wooded recreation and amenities area occupying the east of a narrow upland watershed between two tributaries. As such, the summit being the parish divide, it is in traditional terms, within Epsom

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and occupies land due west of the town, and due east of the semi-rural, semi-urban London district of

Chessington Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. Th ...

. Part of the area is occupied by Hobbledown Children's Farm, which contains various folkloric themed adventure playgrounds and a small zoo hosting domestic farm animals, and exotics such as

meerkat MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilom ...

nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'' and was described by Peter Sim ...

emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

and

Bactrian camel The Bactrian camel (''Camelus bactrianus''), also known as the Mongolian camel or domestic Bactrian camel, is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. It has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped drom ...

. The farm is not open to adults without children. The

Horton Light Railway The Horton Light Railway had its origins in a contractor's line (the Ewell & Long Grove Railway) built in 1905 to transport building materials, coal and other supplies for London County Council's Epsom Cluster of psychiatric hospitals in the Hort ...

used to run through this land from

Ewell West railway station Ewell West railway station is one of two stations in Ewell (in the Epsom and Ewell district) in Surrey, England. The station is served by South Western Railway. It is down the line from . From 1905 to 1950 there was a connection to the Horton ...

to the five

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

s owned by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

, known as the

Epsom Cluster The Epsom Cluster, also referred to as the Horton Estate, was a cluster or group of five large psychiatric hospitals situated on land to the west of Epsom. The hospitals were built by the London County Council to alleviate pressure on London's e ...

. Parts of the landscaped grounds of these hospitals have now been incorporated into the country park. The

Thames Down Link The Thames Down Link is a official walking route linking the Thames Path and the North Downs Way. It starts in the town centre of Kingston upon Thames and finishes at Box Hill & Westhumble railway station. Name The path is so called as it conn ...

long-distance footpath from

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

to Box Hill & Westhumble station passes through the park.

References

{{Local Nature Reserves in Surrey Environment of Surrey Country parks in Surrey Local Nature Reserves in Surrey Epsom