The Old Fort at Box Hill

Yesterday I shared pictures from the Stepping Stone walk at Box Hill and ended that post just as I got to the Old Fort, saving the pictures of it for today.  The Fort was built in the late 1800s during a crisis period in British history. It was part of the London Defence Scheme, which was built as a last ditch attempt to save the capital of the empire.

And this was my first view:

it looked intriguing and I was soon exploring further.

It was built during a time of great changes, when ships were starting to be made from steel and powered by steam. There were also improvements to weapons, with large artillery guns becoming more accurate and more destructive and infantry rifles quicker to reload. Britain hadn't kept pace building modern warships and its forces were spread across the whole empire, leaving London vulnerable.

If London fell, the whole empire was likely to follow so therefore it needed to be protected while the naval forces were bolstered. So this and the twelve others built were literally a last ditch defence protecting London from attacks arriving from the south and the east. Known as the London Defence Scheme, this series of defences were seventy two miles long. It was never used in battle though.

The design of each of the thirteen Defence Positions varied; they were never elaborate with just a magazine and storehouses for the mobilisation of troops.  The doors and windows of the fort at Box Hill were made of thick cannon proof steel, fitted with rifle loops to defend the fort from an enemy at close quarters. 

The magazine rooms were protected from shelling by the earthen roof and contained ammunition for infantry rifles and artillery guns. Those chimneys were used as ventilation and were important to keep the gunpowder in good condition.

Today though, as you can see it's derelict and serves as a reminder of time gone by and is no doubt used well by the local wildlife population. While I was there a small group of children thought it was a great place to run around and play hide and seek. And they were right, It was large enough that they could run around and not see each other, but small enough that they could call out and easily confuse themselves. It looked like fun and the sort of game that could easily keep you occupied for quite a while, and one I'm sure I played when I was much younger!

As you can see it also provided a great photo opportunity for me. It was great to walk around, take some pictures and learn a bit about the Old Fort and its part in history. 

The Stepping Stones walk at Box Hill

A couple of weekends ago I headed over to Box Hill in Surrey with MOH. The plan was for him to cycle on some of the roads on the route of the Prudential Ride100, so off we went with his bike strapped to the back of the car. We parked in the National Trust car park near the Visitor Centre, him readying himself for the ride and me looking for the start of the Stepping Stones walk. I'd chosen this walk over cycling up Box Hill because I remembered just how steep Box Hill was from my childhood visits.  And because I'm still not that big on going up hills on my bike!

The walk starts just outside the visitor centre and is clearly signposted throughout and you're quickly at the Salomons Memorial viewpoint and these fantastic views.

LEITH HILL, SIX MILES IN THE DISTANCE

The viewpoint was built to commemorate Leopold Salomons who gave the original 230 acres of Box Hill to the National Trust in 1914 and it overlooks Box Hill's famous panoramic view to the south of over twenty five miles.

Then it was time to start my descent taking the 275 steps down through the Yew wood. Some of the trees on Box Hill are more than a thousand years old.  There were plenty of gnarled branches and twisted trunks, dens and trees seemingly pointing the way.

Shortly after the steps I reached a fork in the path; the left took me towards the stepping stones and the right-hand path leads to the footbridge over the River Mole. As this was named the Stepping Stones walk I headed towards those.

I warily crossed the river using the stepping stones, after a false start when a group of people appeared behind me. Knowing that I might take a while to cross - as sometimes my legs don't work when they need to swing over water - I stepped back and let them go ahead.

I made it across without dipping my toes into the river and admired the reflections of the trees on the water.

I followed the path along the river, my legs pleased that we were back on flat ground and soon I entered the Burford Meadow with its complete change of scenery.

At the end of the meadow the walk passes for a short while along the path of the A24 until the Burford Bridge Hotel where I took a small path just past the hotel with this view.

Yeap, the only way was up!  The walk avoids the steps on the way up and I'll admit at times the walk up was tough going. But I took plenty of opportunities to stop and admire the views around me, including up to where I was heading and back from where I'd started.

At the ridge I joined the white chalk path, which continued uphill albeit at a much gentler incline.

The walk ends with a visit to the Old Fort before heading back to the Visitor Centre. I'll share my pictures and some history of the Old Fort in another post soon.

This was a great walk which reintroduced me to the beauty and hills of Box Hill. At two miles it was easily do-able in the hour and a half that the walk leaflet suggested. And I think the walk up Box Hill was harder work than cycling as when I met up with MOH he deemed cycling up the Zig Zag Road "not too bad!"

Cycling on holiday: why I'm hooked

WITH MY HIRE BIKE IN BAD BAYERSOIEN

Well I'm half way through sharing the exploits of our recent cycle tour in Bavaria. You'll know it was my first cycling holiday and that I was a little wary beforehand; but I hinted at it when I came back and it's true I'm more than a little bit hooked.

Today I thought I'd share why I've found cycling on holiday to be such good fun.

1. It's a great way to sightsee

Yes it's a little harder to take pictures along the way and I wouldn't recommend taking pictures on the move, but the advantage of cycling is you can cover so much more ground than if you were on foot, so you get to see more of the place you're holidaying in.  We've done walking holidays too and believe me 25km on a bike is much easier than 25km on foot!

2. It builds a healthy appetite

Well I'm known for having a healthy appetite anyway but on this holiday we ate very well. The German cuisine features a lot of pork and of course the sausages or the wurst. Not only does cycling build a healthy appetite but you're also burning calories too. It's a win win situation.

3. It helps you sleep well

I'm attributing the good sleep I had on holiday to the exercise I'd taken during the day. After a full day of cycling, new experiences and a hearty evening meal I was ready for my bed and not only that my sleep quality was better too.  So much so that I was ready to do it all again the next day!

4. It gives a sense of accomplishment

Whether it's the distance, going up or down hills or mastering the gears on your bike, when you've done what you've set out to achieve it's brilliant - there really is no better feeling. When I started cycling again earlier this year there was no way I thought I'd be able to take my hands off the handlebars while I'm cycling. But I do - well not both at once - as I'm a lot more relaxed and confident on my bike (and on my German hire bike)

5. It's fun!

Honestly it is, it's not like running that sounds fun until you, well until you start running!  You're in charge of how fast you go and there's nothing like the feeling of going downhill with the wind in your hair. It's doubly nice if you're somewhere warm as it's a great way to cool down - but don't forget your suntan lotion as cycling is also a great way to catch the sun!

The people at James Villas also think holiday cycling is a good thing and they've put together some cycling guides for five of their destinations. So if you're in or going to the Algarve, Cyprus, Lanzarote, Mallorca or Menorca then take a look; for each destination there's an infographic showing a beginner, intermediate and advanced route so you can choose which one suits you best. Three are available now and the others will be available throughout this month.

• Cycling in the Algarve - the Nature Lover's choice
• Cycling in Cypress - the Family-Friendly choice
• Cycling in Mallorca - the Enthusiast's choice

And don't just take it from me, Olympic Gold Medallist Nicole Cooke has also been talking to James Villas and sharing her top tips for cycling on holiday, so what are you waiting for? Get on your bike and do some holiday cycling!

 Disclosure: this is a collaborative post. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.