Norbury Park
Leatherhead
Children will love the natural play area and playing beside the river on this walk.
In April and May, wild garlic grows in Nicols Field
The Basics
Time: 2.5 hours for the entire route below, or see some of our adaptations for shorter routes.
Distance: 7.5 km for the entire route below, or see some of our adaptations for shorter routes.
Terrain: Some paths are paved, there are some hills, some kissing gates and steps if you walk to the garlic.
Pushchairs: Although our full route is not suitable for pushchairs due to the steps, there are some good pushchair paths in the park - see below.
Dogs: Dogs are welcome.
Refreshments: Wild!… About Coffee is in a woodland clearing in the centre of the park (W3W: ///teeth.grabs.town.)
Toilets: There are toilets next to the sawmill/Wild!… About Coffee.
Public Transport: Westhumble and Box Hill train station is within easy walking distance of the park.
Parking: Free parking can be found in three car parks. For the garlic, we recommend Crabtree Lane car park (Postcode: RH5 6BQ - W3W: ///feared.grape.varnish). For the natural play trail and picnic area, we recommend Young Street car park (Postcode: KT22 9DX - W3W: ///solve.closet.first)
The natural play trail is found by Young Street car park
This historic parkland between Leatherhead and Dorking is a much valued place for recreational walks. Multiple trails pass through woodland, grassland and beside the river Mole, revealing fabulous views over to Box Hill along the way. Look out for the coffee van in the Woodland Hub and a natural play trail near Young Street car park. The wild garlic in Nicols Field is exceptionally beautiful in May.
The Route
From the car park, head straight through the picnic area and down to the river bank. Turn right and walk through the gate into a large meadow. Keep the river Mole to your left and follow the worn path across the grass to the other side. Continue on the track as it exits the meadow and at a cross paths, turn right, going through a wooden kissing gate to the side of a large metal gate.
Go under the railway bridge and walk uphill. At a cross paths, turn left, and continue uphill before meeting some steps and then a tarmac drive. Turn left and follow the tarmac as it takes you through the parkland with views over farmland, the river and the hillside beyond. You will pass a number of benches positioned for you to enjoy the scenery. Just where the tarmac drive bends off down to the left, look for a padlocked wooden barrier opposite a six bar metal gate. Go right here, around the barrier, and leave the tarmac. You will soon meet another cross paths, where you should turn left with the fingerpost pointing towards Westhumble Station.
The path will enter woodland and you should continue with the same path as it makes its way along the side of the wooded hill. Look out on your left for the pretty picnic area at Swanworth Farm where you can sit and watch the sheep in the fields, but other than this diversion, continue on the same path as it traverses the bottom edge of the wooded slope. You will eventually come to a fork in the path - take the left hand fork that goes downhill and is marked by a wooden arrow saying ‘footpath’.
As the path curves downwards with a field to your left, look out for the steps directly ahead of you. They are just beyond where some farm sacks are hanging and a little grassy triangle. The steps will lead you down into Nicols Field, where in late April/early May, the entire woodland (and the steps) are coated in wild garlic. You can explore this are by the river before retracing your steps back up the steps to the wooden arrow saying ‘footpath’ from section three.
This time, turn left on what would have been the right hand fork when you first arrived at this point. Continue on this path until you almost reach the tarmac of Crabtree Lane. Just before this, take the right hand path that will lead you through Beechy Wood. In spring, look out for the odd patch of bluebells through the following sections. When you reach the bridleway, fork right and follow this well surfaced access track.
Look out for a sign to a viewpoint which is quick and worthwhile and also has a few picnic benches. Back on the track, continue towards Norbury Park. As you approach the property, you will find the private land screened behind a green fence. Keep this to your right throughout the next stage of the walk.
Just after you pass the sawmill on your left, you will come to Wild!… About Coffee, who sell hot drinks and snacks from a repurposed land rover and trailer. There is lots of seating in the woodland clearing and a firepit is often roaring where you can toast marshmallows, teacakes etc. The area is also used to host activities and events such as an Easter trail. Toilets cane be found here too.
Keeping the green fence to your right, keep circling the perimeter of Norbury Park and follow the tarmac drive downhill. Just as it levels off, look out on the left for the footpath and steps where you came up before. Retrace your steps the rest of the way back to the car park.
Route adaptations
For a circular walk from the natural play area, through the picnic area, along the river Mole and then up to Wild!… About Coffee (missing out the wild garlic) - follow the signs for the 2.6 mile/1hour Hazel Trail from Young Street car park.
To just walk to the wild garlic in Nicols Field and nothing else - For this we recommend parking at the Crabtree Lane car park. Head back down Crabtree Lane in the direction you drove before turning left at the wooden barrier. Follow the path down until a wooden fingerpost saying ‘footpath’ take you down to the right. At the bottom of this short path, you will see some old farm sacks on your left and the steps down to Nicol’s field and the wild garlic will be directly ahead of you. This will take you about 20 minutes in each direction.
To walk to Wild!… About Coffee and then the wild garlic (missing out the natural play area) - For this, we also recommend parking at Crabtree Lane car park. Follow the track out of the car park by the information boards and walk in a straight line until you reach Wild About Coffee. Keep the green privacy fence to your right and head downhill on the tarmac drive. Continue around the parkland with the views to your left and pass a series of benches. Look out for the six bar metal gate opposite the padlocked wooden barrier mentioned in section two above and then continue with the directions until section five. At this point, do not turn right at the path, but instead meet Crabtree Lane and then turn right to walk up the lane back to the car park. This walk will take about 1.5 hours and could be done with a pushchair in the summer by missing out the steps to see the wild garlic.
Did you know?
In 1931, Surrey County Council purchased 530 hectares of land at Norbury Park to protect it from development. This was the first intervention of its kind to protect the countryside and to keep it available for the public to use forever.
If you enjoyed this walk…
…try this one at Chinthurst Hill with a similar natural play trail and spring flowers.
We are passionate about keeping The Ambling Path as a free resource available to everyone, forever. If you have enjoyed using our walking guides, then please consider leaving us a donation. This will help to cover our costs as well as rewarding the considerable time and effort needed to maintain the site. Thank you.
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