Blue Anchor Walton on the Hill - or rather the Dukes Head!

Venue: The Blue Anchor, Walton on the Hill, afterwards changed to The Dukes Head

Walkers: Farty, Registrara, 4 legs + 2 legs + 2 legs, Mrs P and later on, Clat and Lil. Windy Nohills taking sis and compost back home, Martin attending a family funeral in Cambridge, Sal and Hootsmon presumably aviating!
Weather: Beautifully sunny when we began, clouding over later and even looked like rain at one point. Quite windy.
Distance: 5 3/4 miles
Time taken: about 3 1/2 hours to include a 45 min coffee stop and a few bad signs (see more later!)
Find of the walk: A fledgling crow
We parked in the Blue Anchor where there was plenty of space and set off across the road and towards the A217. Our first bit of bad signage as we couldn't find the correct path to the road but were soon crossing the A217 - and were then unsure which road to take as the signs had disappeared! We decided to head off into Kingswood Warren which we discovered was aptly named . . a veritable warren of posh, modern houses . . . it took a fair bit of walking around gawping at the houses before we found a very well hidden path out of the 'estate'.
The path lead us to Kingswood Golf Course which was suitably well manicured and reeking of money! We were once again searching for a sign when a very helpful caddy whizzed up on his buggy and pointed us in the right direction - he knew the path well as it lead to our next pub stop, the Well House!

We decided that these coffee stops are a great idea and seem to feature more and more on our walks. Today didn't disappoint as we sat out in the pretty terraced garden (although the coffee expert, 2 legs, did comment that the coffee could have been hotter!). Having availed ourselves of the facilities (so much better than a trip into the bushes) we retraced some of our steps, through Mugswell and towards Gatwick Farm and Babylon Lane. Parts here were familiar as some of this walk crossed over others we've done, particularly Reigate Hill 2. This time we peeled off onto a footpath halfway down Babylon Lane and we ended up back on the A217.

We negotiated the traffic and the footpath sign on the opposite side of the road led up a drive to a tyre fitter's yard - very scruffy and overgrown with a spooky looking house. The signs had completely disappeared by now and there was nothing but high brambles and stinging nettles to be seen in every direction! It was turning out to be a very bad signage day! We found a helpful ' oooh, young man' to ask and he pointed through the jungle saying 'the footpath continues over the other side' - great! He tried to find a way through but we finally beat a path ourselves - thank goodness for sturdy walking sticks - and emerged almost unscathed the other side. Not for the first or last time today we thanked goodness for a compass!

We continued through Margery, skirted around Mogador and onwards towards Banstead Heath. Walking down one narrow path behind some gardens we came across our find of the walk - a fledgling crow. He was absolutely fine but couldn't fly high enough to get off the path, so Farty came to the rescue, picked him up and popped him on a garden wall where he managed to fly down into the garden. We then had a brief encounter with a beautiful 'Felix' cat who took one look at Minnie and decided to see her off - will Minnie ever live it down?! We also had a 2 legs boot malfunction - what she suspected was a bit of grit in her boot turned out to be the beginning of a blister. Nurse Provincial came to the rescue with a blister plaster so we were soon once more on our way.

So, on to Banstead Heath which was looking lovely - we spied a tree completely covered in honeysuckle and noticed there was a lot more in the hedgerows. It was here that both 2 legs' and my compasses suddenly went haywire - spooky stuff, were we on leys lines or something more sinister? They decided to spring back into action a little further on which was just as well as it wasn't easy to find the right track off the Heath! We had another doggie encounter with a lovely 14 week old Jack Russel called Freddie - Minnie not too impressed until we bent down to stroke the puppy when she suddenly became very jealous and territorial!

And then, over the next hill we spied two familiar figures approaching - our Clat and Lil! So, I'll leave them to continue the saga . . .

The Clat and Lil experience

As the hips were still being naughty, these two chose to join the walk towards the end. Clat decanted her goods into a smaller rucksack which meant that the compass wasn't transferred - never leave your compass behind!!
We set off across the heath, and Clat was convinced she knew the route backwards towards the Sportsman pub and our rendezvous point with the others. Several bushes and numerous signposts later, she decided she didn't. However, the weather was nice, lots of flowers in bloom, and lots of doggy doooo to step round - dog owners note - pick it up!!!!!!!!!!! - time for a tablet..........

Deciding we needed to start again, we found our way back to the main road, and did a box-shaped u-turn and headed along a track by the golf course, and dodged many spherical objects coming our way. Farty texted and asked us where we were - the reply? ' lost but am working on it.' Well, on and on we went and deeper and deeper into the jungle which is Walton Heath , and more sign posts. In the end, we decided we would do our own thing and meet the others back at base. Clat, out of her comfort zone headed in the direction of a blue arrow, and eventually came out onto the road once more.
Further along, this brave and gallant duo decided to give it another go and in we went again. This time - result! We spotted our lot coming over the ridge, and we were very pleased to see them, and after our re-union, we headed back to the pub - The Blue Anchor.

This pub has recently changed hands, and is 'dog-friendly'. Well, it isn't and it isn't people friendly either. We should have got a clue before entering when we saw the chef hosing down the wheelie-bins, still in his whites and chef's apron. No smile or words of greeting and the same applied once inside this hostelry or should i say hostilery?

We sat down, menus given out and then the waitress told us that dogs were not allowed in that area and we had to move to the bar area, which was dark, pokey, no chairs - just low stools and tables, and, it did smell. Two staff members seated nearby with their paperwork obviously didn't like us being there, so we upped sticks and left.

Mrs P said she needed to follow someone to find the alternative pub, which wasn't necessary as the place was next door. By the way, she has a lovely new car, and it has sat-nav so we shall be following her in the future.

Well, the difference in the ambulance and welcome was huge. Welcomed in with open arms, attentive and friendly (dogs too), staff, and lovely food - Mrs P took a photo of Lil's concoction of a bacon/avo/chicken salad - yum yum. The rest of us had good fare too, and we chatted to the landlady Wendy, who has just returned from a cruise to the Arctic areas, and has come home to warm up once again.

After some time we suddenly realised it was nearing 5 p.m. and we were still there! Mutterings of rush-hour traffic and things that needed to be done, came to the fore, and we said our good-byes, and talked of the future.
Scores for the pubs - Blue Anchor - a big fat zero on all counts. Duke's Head - top marks as always.
Next week - walk t.b.a.