... Journal Entry
On a bright though cloudy day I visited box hill the summit of the North Downs in Surrey, approximately 19 miles south-west of London, the western part of which is owned and managed by the National Trust. Within their parkland there are a number of spectacular viewpoints, the highest being Betchworth Clump though that from Salomons Memorial, overlooking the town of Dorking, is the most popular.
Box Hill is named after the ancient box woodland found on the steepest west facing chalk slopes overlooking the River Mole. In 1914 Leopold Salomons, an insurance magnate from London, purchased 230 acres of Box Hill to protect it from development, which he subsequently donated to the nation. Box Hill became the UK's first Country Park and is now owned and managed by the National Trust.
A memorial to Salomons (commonly known as The Viewpoint) was constructed at the summit of the hill and was opened by his widow in 1920. The views from here are spectacular.
The aerial views make the distant historic market town of Dorking, nestling in The Mole Valley and surrounded by the Surrey hills, seem like a bit of a toy town as in the photos above. The railway that still runs through the bottom of the valley seems nothing more than a 0-0 gauge train set.
A place to be revisited when I have more time and am better equipped for some of the longer trails that lead up to other more distant and higher viewpoints. Great place for photography.