BOAT: Hogden Lane

• Overall Rating: 4
• Location: Ranmore Common, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 146, 'Dorking, Box Hill & Reigate, Leatherhead & Caterham.'
• Starting OS Grid Reference: TQ125501
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 14' 22.64" W000 23' 19.62"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: TQ136529
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 15' 48.45" W000 22' 18.32"
• To see: Polesden Lacey, Ranmore Common.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

Take care to take the correct entrance into this BOAT! The metalled lane 'Hogden Road' can also be found approximately 75m to the west of the start of 'Hogden Lane', and the two run parallel for their initial stretch. It'd be a shame to waste time on the tarmac!

This task of picking the correct lane, however, is the most complex part of driving this extremely easy, reassuringly lengthy, great byway. For its entire length it is surfaced with gravel and mud, however it is well kept and completely unrutted, and, save for the odd tree root to be negotiated, therefore represents no problem to drive. Even in exceptionally wet weather there are at worst the odd puddles of standing water.

We drove this greenlane from it's southern end. The lane strikes north from Ranmore Common Road (Ranmore Common itself worth a visit in its own right as it boasts some incredible views over southern England) and runs through dense woodland past Hogden Cottage, Pigden Cottage, and the appropriately named Lonesome Cottage, all of which are on the western side of the lane. After passing these cottages the lane becomes a little more muddy, but by no means enough so to present a problem, and follows a gentle slope downhill along a shallow valley. It continues in this manner until it reaches approximately 110m of elevation, it's lowest point. The lane then starts a slightly steeper climb around a long, sweeping right-hand turn until it starts to follow the 120m contour line. At this point, looking south out of the woodland, an extremely pretty bucolic view presents itself southwards across the valley towards Yewtree Farm.

The byway jinks sharply to travel along the border of the orchards of Polesden Lacey, a 1400 acre National Trust estate with a suitably grand house on site since at least 1336. At the point where Hogden Lane meets Chalkpit Lane (TQ132525), we are presented with a choice of routes:

• Hogden Lane is the right-hand fork in the picture above. Here it begins a sweeping right turn to the east, follows one of the field boundaries of Goldstone Farm, and then emerges onto Polesden Road where it ends just north of Polesden Lacey.
• Chalkpit Lane is the left-hand fork. This remarkably straight section of lane is covered in full in its own separate entry, here.

Note the rubbish bag hung on the Byway sign. This should not even need to be said, but that bag should not exist. The fact it does is an embarrassment and not a good advert for the human race. Those who litter should have their hands cut off! DON'T DO IT!

View Hogden Lane in a larger map