The Highest Road in Surrey

Over the years, there has been discursive chatter amongst the A Group as to what might be the highest road in Surrey.  Harmless enough discussion, to pass the time on a sunny day.  Was it the Greensand Ridge at Winterfold?  Or the Leith Hill Road at Starveall?  Or perhaps the point on The Ridge near Titsey?

The other day, it came to me.  The answer was hidden in plain sight.  Leith Hill Tower, an obvious landmark visible for miles, was built to be the highest point in Surrey.  Richard Hull, sometime owner of Leith Hill, was not satisfied with its 960 foot elevation and had built the tower to get his hill over 1000 feet.  He made a comfortable sitting room in the tower, so that he might relax at altitude, and liked his tower so much that he is buried there.  Now, if you're going to build a tower on a hill, then you're going to need a road to get the bricks up ...

Perhaps.  But of greater current significance, if the National Trust, today's custodian of the tower, wants to run a tea-shop there (open every day except Christmas Day), then it is going to need a road to get the buns up.

Here it is.  The surface is firm, the gradient is slight, and it is a bridleway, so cyclists have right of passage.  This is the route from the West, which is the easier.  There is a similar track from the East, starting at Coldharbour.  It is steeper and rough in parts.  I rode down it; it's a bit tricky.

But, sitting on the top in the sunshine, it's a very pleasant place to be.  The views are excellent, from the South Downs on the one side to the City of London and the Chilterns beyond on the other.

And it's the highest road in Surrey.

Mark

 

Author: Mark G

1 Comment:

Simon L 23 November 2020 at 10:17 GMT

Well spotted, Mark! And the ride up (from the west) is definitely worthwhile.
I too tried to ride down eastwards towards Coldharbour. There was also a winding mountain bike track with banked corners. How hard could that be? The answer is that it was too hairy for a road bike, so I walked a bit and then got on the track straight down, which as you say, is quite tricky. I won't be doing it again on a road bike.