We will be following the Deepdene Trail which was opened by MVDC in September 2016. The walk is 9 miles long and is a challenging walk on pavement, gravel paths and grass. Contains steep slopes, sturdy shoes recommended, the historical gardens with the tunnels that were used in the war and the Grotto along with Coady the Lion we will visit last and will only be achieve this if you are fit enough to cope with the steep slopes.

This is a fantastic walk which enables us to see:

The Hope  Mausoleum is one of the most important historic buildings of its kind and the sole intact surviving structure created by the highly influential, collector, builder and designer of major international importance, Thomas Hope.

The Deepdene Terrace, where Thomas Hope erected a temple in honour of his brother after he gifted Thomas the Chart Park Estate in 1814

Brockham Village, the church sits on land that was donated by Thomas Hope and the 1st clock that was used was provided by him from the nearby Betchworth Castle that he also owned

Betchworth Castle with it's colourful history originally built in 11th century as an earthwork fortress and was later turned into a stone castle in 1379. Hope bought the castle in 1834 and demolished part of it to use the stone elsewhere on the Deepdene Estate, it is now in private ownership sold to local building historian in 2008 for £1

Deepdene Gardens although these are still undergoing some fantastic restoration you can see how good they once would have been, The view from the grotto across the tops of the Dorking rooftops is outstanding, Coady the lion has been recast after taking a 3d scan from the current owner of one of the original Coade Stone lions that once sat in the glorious gardens, the tunnels that are currently closed were used by Southern Railway during WW2 and housed the control room and switchboard which were operated by 30 staff when the whole operation moved from Waterloo.

Please bring a packed lunch and a bag or something to sit on during lunch. We will end the walk with tea and cakes