This project has been made possible thanks to a generous grant from Surrey County Counciil and a fruitful fundraising event by Serenity Beauty Salon, Limpsfield.
Please remember that you walk at your own risk. Limspfield High Street is partly cobbled, uneven and narrow in places. Woodland paths may be muddy and slippery. Trail is not suitable for wheelchairs or prams.
Please respect golfers when crossing the golf course.
We hope you enjoy our trail!
Trail Directions
The trail starts in St Peter's churchyard. A separate leaflet in the church shows where several famous musicians, including Delius, are buried.
- Walk up the High Street
- Just past Memorial Stores, turn left opposite Sylvan Close up the way-marked footpath leading into beech woodland.
- Near the top of the hill, where the path divides, you can turn right to visit the National Trust WW2 Air Raid shelters.
- Return to the marked trail; turn right at the way-mark. After a while you will see a bench on the left with stunning views to the North Downs.
- Just before the bench, swing to the right and cross the golf fairway diagonally, aiming for the way-mark and carved three "throne".
- PLEASE TAKE PARTICULAR CARE CROSSING THE GOLF COURSE
- Cross Grub Street and enter the woods at the signpost marked "Community Orchard". Follow the winding footpath through the woods to the Orchard.
These woods belonging to the National Trust were badly damaged in the 1987 storm. Today mosses and lichens thrive not he fallen trees and bluebells in spring are magical. There is a bench for you to sit and admire them, and a fairy ring of logs further along.
Limpsfield High Street
As you leave St St Peter’s Church, do not miss the lych-gate, built in the 15th century. On your left is The Manor House. This was once the home of Eugenia Stanhope, wife of the illegitimate son of the 18th-century statesman and author, Lord Chesterfield.
The picturesque cottages on the corner of Detillens Lane date from the 16th and 17th centuries. Just beyond the cottages is Detillens, originally a 15th-century hall house.
Beyond Detillens is what was Miles’s butcher shop, a 15th-century house with jetted gables.
The Old Lodge on the left was built as the lodge for Hookwood, a former dower house for the owners of Titsey Place. The White House, further up the High Street, dates from the 18th century. The Old Court House, now very much restored, was originally another 15th-century hall house, while White Hart Lodge on the right was the former home of pianist Eileen Joyce, now buried in the churchyard. Forge Cottages are next to the site of a demolished forge.
Limspfield Common Air Raid Shelters
The shelters were built at the beginning of the Second World War to protect Limpsfield School’s pupils fromGerman air raids and the aircraft fighting the Battle of Britain in the skies above. There were six shelters built a few hundred yards from the school, one for each year group.
Over the years, the air raid shelters became overgrown with vegetation and were in danger of being lost. The air raid shelters were recognised as an important part of our local history and, in 2005, plans were made to renovate them to benefit the local community and the wildlife.
Thanks to funding from the Local Heritage Initiative, the Surrey Hills AONB Partnership, Tandridge District Council and the Friends of Limpsfield Common, five of the six shelters were adapted to provide an ideal habitat for roosting bats. The remaining shelter was restored to its former war time condition to be used as an educational resource for local schools and other groups. Schools now visit and enjoy real hands-on learning. The shelters are normally opened to the public a couple of times a year.
