Chobham Common Walk

The latter parts of the walk take you onto Chobham Common, very little of which is enclosed. Apart from its dissection by the M3 motorway and a row of pylons, it remains much as it has been for hundreds of years — a wild and boggy expanse of colourful heather and gorse with clumps of pine trees dotted around, steeped in history.

While on the common you pass near Bee Farm, a reminder that until the year 1215 local parishioners were expected to pay 20 shillings and supply 10 pounds of beeswax annually in order to have the right to bury their dead in the village churchyard instead of having to take them to Chertsey Abbey. Chobham Common is also especially important for wildlife, serving as a nationally important breeding area for European nightjars, woodlarks, and Dartford warblers, as well as supporting adders, sand lizards, and specialized insects. An obelisk on the common commemorates a visit by Queen Victoria in 1853 to review troops.

If you have time, a visit to Chobham village centre (half a mile down the road from the Four Horseshoes pub start) is well worthwhile. The village has retained its character more happily than many in heavily populated Surrey; a stroll along the High Street brings you close to historic architectural structures, most notably the parish church of St Lawrence (dating from 1080 with a 52-foot sarsen stone tower). You can also visit Chobham Forge to see tools and equipment for the local equestrian industry being manufactured.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.