Sheepleas

Sheepleas (or Shere woods as my husband called it for thirty years) is where “The PODfather” used to walk with his grandparents and their dogs when he was little. This is the only reason we know it exists. He has lots of  fond memories, including watching the elderly patriarch Springer Spaniel slowly sniffing out a particularly good place to do his business, only to have his hyper active son bound over and pee on his head. Hilarious stuff to a 10 year old boy. The offending dog in question was called Brek, as he refused to eat anything but Ready Brek as a puppy. Brek later survived leaping over a barbed wire fence in pursuit of a rabbit, returning  empty handed and ready for the next chase, unaware that he’d practically disemboweled himself. Thankfully he lived to a ripe old age.

Managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust, the Sheepleas Nature Reserve lies on the chalk slopes of the North Downs within the Surrey Hills area of outstanding natural beauty. The area is a myriad of ancient and recent woodland and grassland, it’s beautiful.

The beech woodlands were widely accepted as one of the best woodland areas in the county before they were partly destroyed in the storms of 1987. It seems the years since have seen the spread of naturally regenerated ash in the place of beech and an increase in grassland areas. The mixture of habitats supports so much wildlife that Sheepleas has been designated a site of specific scientific interest.

For those of you without a toddler in tow, there are two different trails you can follow – one passing through the downland areas and one passing through the woodland. The Grassland Trail starts at Shere Road or St Mary’s car parks and provides easy walking with some gentle slopes, no kissing gates or stiles. It takes about 1.5 hours and the route is waymarked by green arrows.

Alternatively the Woodland Trail starts from Green Dene car park and provides easy walking with some slopes and narrow tracks, no kissing gates or stiles. This trail takes about 1 1/4 hours and is waymarked by white arrows.

I’m afraid following a trail is not something I seem to particularly excel at. It started in the eighties when I failed to follow a path of flour on a school trip at Cuffley Camp. Although me and my giggling counterpart were rescued when we got lost and darkness fell, the experience has stayed with me.

Fast forward to 2008 and we’re in New Zealand. A recommendation from a couple of indigenous friends was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, described by our (fit) chums as a ‘nice walk’. It’s actually a World-renowned trek in-between three active (yes I did say active) volcanic peaks and ranked as one of the top ten single day treks in the World.

Had I known this I would have stayed in front of the fire with a nice cold lager rather than spending an entire day walking twenty kilometres with two broken toes. That said the views were simply incredible.

So back to Sheepleas. If you don’t fancy taking one of the trails at Sheepleas just do what we did, have a wander. It’s beautifully unspoiled, incredibly peaceful and, considering it’s in Surrey Hills, it’s not especially hilly.