Ripley - River Wey - Pyrford (The Anchor) - Wisley - Ripley

David Leedham

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The walk starts from Ripley's large village green and heads for Walsham Weir, an impressive sight after rain. The River Wey Navigation is followed past a turf-sided lock, a summerhouse with a plaque commemorating John Donne's time in Pyrford and on to Pyrford Lock. The Anchor pub, located right by the river, provides refreshments here.

The route then crosses Wisley Golf Course and after a short stretch on the road, leads onto the ancient Wisley Common. Our path then goes through the pinetum area of Wisley Gardens and along a lovely stretch of the River Wey. The spectacular Bicentenary Glasshouse is in view as we leave the gardens behind.

Later, a short detour leads to the Ockham Mill conservation area, an attractive grouping of buildings beside the old millstream. A final stretch through woodland brings us to Ripley Green and back to the starting point.

Some sections of the route will be muddy after wet weather.

England - South England - Surrey - Canal Walk

Features

Birds, Butterflies, Industrial Archaeology, National Trust, Pub, River, Woodland

12/31/2021 - Stephen Harris

Walked again 31.12.2021 - Directions and photographs remain current and this is a lovely walk, flat throughout with easy underfoot conditions for all. Does get muddy for much of the walk after rain/winter time but so pleasant. Horses in various fields, you get to see Wisley RHS Gardens from your own private corridor which is lovely. Highly recommended 10/10.

12/28/2020 - Stephen Harris

Walked 28.12.2020. This is a lovely walk in a very nice part of Surrey. It's easy to follow and the directions are all correct as of 28/12/20. No locked gates at all. No livestock to encounter and easy paths with a great deal of variety throughout. This is a superb walk for short winter days (it does get VERY muddy so boots are a must) or a summer stroll. It's worth taking the short diversion as suggested to Ockham Mill as there are some amazing properties to see and it's very nice there! Highly recommended 10/10.

2/22/2019 - David and Chris Stewart

The work at Walsham Weir is now complete, and the path over the weir has re-opened

1/10/2019 - Walkingworld Admin

The path over Walsham Weir is currently closed for safety reasons due to engineering works at the weir. The closure lasts until 13 July 2019, or until the work is complete, whichever is earlier. Check the following website for updates. It includes details of the diversion route which is outlined below. https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/land-planning-and-development/countryside/footpaths-byways-and-bridleways/rights-of-way-public-notices/public-footpath-34-ripley-and-public-footpath-123-woking David has also supplied directions to be found in the Additional Info section.

1/7/2019 - Stephen Harris

A word of warning, as of the 5th January 2019 it is not possible to cross Walsham Lock. As it was late in the day, we aborted the walk as we had done this walk previously. Here is a link to the diversion route. I'm not sure when it will re-open but the diversion adds a bit of distance to the walk. https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/163890/Ripley-34-Woking-123-Diversion-Route.pdf Please see Additional Info for diversion directions.

11/6/2016 - David Ardern

An average walk around Ripley. We decided to cut out the Wisley wood section and continued along Wisley lane. The route we covered was 4.5miles and took just over 2 hours at a steady pace.

9/10/2015 - David Leedham

In response to Nicola's previous comment... I’ve visited the gate at WM5 and it isn’t locked. It’s a fairly common type of prefabricated kissing gate. The horizontal bar, which is padlocked, only needs to be opened in order to swing the gate wide open, eg to get a wheelchair through. Presumably Nicola tried to slide back the bar and didn’t notice the catch at the side. The gate is on a public right of way so barring access would be illegal.

9/6/2015 - Nicola Clarke

Lovely walk, excellent directions. At point 5 however the gate to the footpath was locked so we had to follow the road to point 10.You do get road noise at some points (from the M25 I believe) and at point 15 when the path follows the fence, it is very narrow and was overgrown due to the recent wet weather. However we loved this walk and I would thoroughly recommend it.

5/8/2011 - Patricia Daw

8/5/11 Tricia Daw Completed on a lovely sunny day. Excellent directions throughout. We took the walk's advice and snuck into Wisley to the first bench in the Pinetum area to have our picnic lunch. Lots of boats on the canal to look at. A very interesting walk.

4/26/2011 - Julie Preddy

Although not advertised as "wheelchair friendly" we thought we would give it a go. I have a Trekinetic all terrain wheelchair and can walk a little if we get into difficulties. We did have to take the wheels off to get through some of the metal kissing gates, and lift it (and me!) over the stile, but as there were six of us, the others did this while I got round the obstructions with sticks. We walked it on the very hot Easter Monday and it was just perfect. The majority of it was in shade which was good for the two dogs and us. Instructions were very easy to follow and I would strongly recommend this walk.

1/23/2011 - Walkingworld Administrator

Our thanks to David Leedham for his updates to this walk. Adrian (Admin)

1/6/2008 - Stephen Harris

Congratulations to the author of this work for a true gem. Interesting variety and perfect directions with lots to see. There are benches at the Pinetum, great for a detour for lunch and horses in fields that are very friendly! Definitely recommend doing this walk, it's nearer 4.5 miles and takes about 2 hours at a leisurely pace!... Boots recommended during winter. Spot on, 10/10.