The Deepdene Trail — Attraction in Mole Valley

We've just got back from doing part of the Deepdene Trail walk. After downloading the walk map we chose to park in Dorking Halls carpark, (take coins for parking) as the map said we could take a quiet route from there to be opposite the old Kuoni building, but a sign said not, and we had to turn around and walk up from the Cock roundabout, about 3/4 of a mile to the beginning of the walk. But once we got in, it's a lovely walk, some of the volunteers were out and about clearing and tidying up, they were all very helpful and pleasant. We walked down to the golf club for a coffee, again very pleasant people with nice and reasonably priced coffee. They are opening up new trails and we are definitely going to go back. It was great for our 2 dogs, there was plenty of room for them to run about, and the views from the tops of the hills is stunning. When we went down into the gardens, we found a small gate in the corner that runs round the side of the fencing around the Kuoni building, and back down to the main road through some...

Unusual trail with an interesting history, just outside Dorking. A network of paths lead up hillsides densely covered with rhododendrons. At the top of the hill there are good views and a circular bench, surrounded in October by a sea of fallen acorns - need to be careful walking over them! A flight of steps leads down to the gardens, home to some ornamental plants, the "Embattled Tower" and Coady the lion. The trail is well signed, with various information boards explaining its history. Once the site of an impressive manor house (demolished in the late 1960s), the gardens were atmospheric in the late afternoon shade, with a strong sense of past glory. Pictures on the boards showed the house in its heyday, would have been quite a sight to see. There are a couple of parking spaces at the entrance gate, if these are full it's about 20 minutes walk from the nearest parking in town. The trail can extend into longer walks around Dorking if you have more...

A beautiful hidden gem of Dorking, lovely views from the top of the hill and enough rhododendrons to last you a lifetime in the gardens.

The only downside is that there's not much in the way of parking nearby. But as a result the area is quieter than you might expect for somewhere so lovely.

There is a Deepdene app that you can download with details of the trails and historical tidbits about each location. Also, at the entrance on the A24 there are free leaflets with maps for you to take to enhance...