Chiddingfold and Dunsfold Circular

Richard Clayton

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This is a very pleasant and quiet walk in the Surrey Weald between the attractive villages of Chiddingfold and Dunsfold, each of which features a village green, lovely old buildings with hanging tiles, an historic church and a pub - in the case of Chiddingfold the well-known and popular Crown Inn, although there are two others there as well. Each village has retained its post office, which probably says something about the lobbying power of the wealthy locals!

Chiddingfold and Dunsfold are just two among a number of villages in the Weald of Surrey and Sussex whose suffix of -fold indicates a common origin as Saxon settlements in cleared areas of woodland. Such settlements were established on the better-drained soils of the Weald, the word 'fold' being derived from the Old English 'falod', meaning a staked-off pasture area. This indicates that the settlers were probably herders of domesticated animals such as sheep, cattle and pigs rather than arable farmers.

The word 'Weald' comes from the German 'Wald' meaning an uncultivated wilderness.

A short but very worthwhile diversion from the route will take you to the beautiful Vann Gardens, open occasionally to the public in the spring and summer; see Additional Information.

England - South England - Surrey - Countryside

Features

Birds, Church, Food Shop, Mostly Flat, Pub, Public Transport, Wildlife, Woodland

6/7/2021 - nicola hajduk

At point 18, where you leave the track and cross a field next to the manor house it might be better to stay on the track. At the manor house there were two very angry Labradors who raced towards us as we walked down the track. The stile into the field is up against the fence of the manor house and it was quite frightening being so close to these dogs. If you stay on the track you will avoid this.

4/18/2021 - Stephen Harris

Walked 18.04.2021. I have to say, it's a nice walk but for the road sections. There is one section of road where you are walking alongside a road with cars passing you fast. That said they are infrequent. It's reasonably safe, but not one with kids. The walk is really quite varied with some lovely countryside and good views in places but there IS quite a lot of walking on hard surfaces (quiet roads/tracks) which does make it a little tedious at times. I'll rate it 7/10 as I feel that a re-route to avoid the roads may benefit this walk. Directions are still current and good as of 18/04/21 but a few updates have been requested from WW.

9/25/2012 - Jenifer Finnigan

Enjoyable walk after a period of dry weather. Good strong footwear probably required after rain, in places. The Sun Inn at Dunsfold does an excellent range of sandwiches etc. Just to note that the broad track mentioned (WP 29) is non-existent having been ploughed up and now is one huge field. The instruction to 'walk south' is still very relevant!! Thanks for an enjoyable walk.

4/8/2012 - Mark Bailey

Really enjoyed this walk. Lovely countryside, very peaceful and some great "posh houses" to gawk at on the way round. The Sun Inn at Dunsfold much improved compared to an earlier visit and definitely worth a stop for a cheeky beer or lunch. We will return in the Summer as doubtless it will feel a whole lot different. Thanks to our WW Hosts T and R for doing the business yet again and not once laughing at my Number 1 and Flat Cap!

4/8/2012 - Patricia Daw

We were toying with cancelling this proposed walk with friends as the forecast wasn't brilliant but I'm so glad we didn't: this is a lovely walk. It is extremely well directed (it was my fault that we went wrong a couple of times!); the contributor's little anecdotes are amusing; you pass many a beautiful property and the rolling countryside was interesting and picturesque. We had a light lunch in the friendly pub in Dunsfold - The Sun - about an 1.25hrs into the walk. We had booked a table guesstimating our arrival time - we were early but the table was ready and they didn't mind serving us from their light bites menu even tho' it was Easter Sunday and they were very busy.