The first of these is Broadwood's Folly, a little circular flint tower (one of quite a number in Surrey) dating from the early 19th century. Once upon a time you could get in through a now-blocked doorway, and you can see the marks of the internal stairs to access the long-vanished roof for a view over to London to the north.
This area of the Hill was completely deserted, and I suppose it's no surprise as the long wooded northern slopes of Box Hill are accessed by tracks which are a long way from civilisation and were baking hot this afternoon. The areas around the National Trust car parks on the south, on the other hand, were busy. Everyone kept their distance sensibly and it was delightful to see people enjoying themselves in beautiful countryside, especially as I reckon about half the visitors were black or Asian, which was a surprise to me. We always get told that people from ethnic minorities don't go walking in the countryside: in Surrey they seem to.
Financier and big-house owner Leopold Salomons bought Box Hill and gave it to the National Trust to preserve it for the nation, and has a memorial at the viewpoint on the southern flank. Everyone takes photos here.
Box Hill Fort is one of a string of late Victorian defences ringing London to the south and east, just in case the country was invaded from the Continent. It really seemed a sufficiently likely scenario for the Government to invest in a set of these small fortifications designed for the storage and distribution of munitions.
WW2 anti-tank defences, on the other hand, you find all over the place. The old stepping stones at the ford across the River Mole to the south of Box Hill were destroyed as an anti-invasion precaution (just imagine a group of Nazis goose-stepping from one to another), and then replaced in 1946 using re-purposed dragon's teeth. The spot was very popular this afternoon.
I walked back from the Stepping Stones to the Burford Bridge car park and celebrated with an ice lolly, the first I've had in some years.
"I reckon about half the visitors were black or Asian, which was a surprise to me. We always get told that people from ethnic minorities don't go walking in the countryside: in Surrey they seem to."
ReplyDeleteCuckmere Haven, in East Sussex, seems to have more Asian and Oriental visitors than whites. Apparently it was the setting for some scenes in popular films, including a Harry Potter. I saw dozens of women in saris in the car park, and assumed that a couple of coaches had brought them down from London. But in fact they all arrived separately with their families in big 4x4s. A very colourful procession down to the sea.
Folly towers are not uncommon in the eastern part of the county, mostly on the chalk downs. There is a nice one at Merstham, just to the north west of the church and another, rather more decrepit, example at the top of White Hill where Bletchingley, Caterham and Chaldon parishes meet.
ReplyDeleteI think Cuckmere Haven and the White Hill folly will have to go on my visiting list. Thank you, gentlemen.
ReplyDeleteDo Bletchingley Church while you're that way: quite a few remains of Anglo-Catholicism there. St Mark's Chapel at South Park is worth a look for the same reason.
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