BOAT: Ash Green Lane East/Drovers Way

• Overall Rating: 4
• Location: Ash Green, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU912418
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 24' 00" W000 69' 50"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU902497
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 23' 90" W000 70' 90"
• To see: Ash Green Station.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

NB: Drovers Way is subject to a TRO between 30th September-1st May each year, and access is blocked by locked gates between these dates. Further, as of February 2013 a permanent TRO is proposed for Drovers Way, and soon it may well be closed to 4-wheeled motorised traffic. For more info, go here.

Ash Green Lane East

There are a real concentration of byways in this area, but unfortunately not all of them are open to motor vehicles. These two, however, are most certainly worth a visit (the proviso above notwithstanding). Ash Green Lane East starts westwards from Pound Farm Lane at the imposing Pound Farm House, forming the driveway that serves it. A small duck pond (not necessarily affiliated with the Conservative Party) lies opposite the house. The gravel surface of the drive soon ends and the earthy/gravel mixed surface of the byway proper begins where the lane plunges into woodland. The foliage never encroaches on the lane however: this green lane is well kept and wide in all places.

Drovers Way

After a pleasant drive past Whitegate Copse, at about 3/4 of its total length shown on the Ordinance Survey map the surface changes back to asphalt and becomes a residential street. It's a pretty straight byway, and it continues on its course as far as White Lane, where it ends. Continuing over the crossroads is unfortunately pointless as Ash Green Lane West is subject to a TRO and is closed to all motorised vehicles.

When the asphalt reclaims its crown, Drovers Way leaves Ash Green Lane East to the north. This lane looks initially like a gentle, curving lane on the map but is anything but! Twisting and turning its way through the trees and on a heavily rutted earth surface, this byway must be an ordeal to drive in wet weather. No wonder there is a seasonal TRO on it! Our Land Rover grounded out on the raised area in the middle of the ruts on a number of occasions, and the tight turns around mature trees occasionally offer a considerable obstacle, so if you choose to drive it take this lane dead slow and use care. On crossing the railway bridge the green lane presents a choice: left is a short metalled run back towards Ash Green Road, whilst right takes you back off the tarmac on a slightly longer stretch of earthen byway that follows a drainage ditch and again joins Ash Green Road. We recommend the eastern fork, for what its worth.

The now disused but incredibly quaint Ash Green Halt on the dismantled Tongham to Aldershot Gas Works Railway can be found just to the north of the eastern end of the byway. It's a private residence so you can't gain access, but it is so well kept it's certainly worth a look at for those interested in railwayana. To Surrey County Council these are Byways 521 (Drovers Way) and Byway 518 (Ash Green Lane East). For the purposes of convenience these two conjoined byways are subject to one article.

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BOAT: Ash Green Lane West/Spoil Lane/South Lane

• Overall Rating: 0
• Location: Ash Green, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU902497
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 23' 90" W000 70' 90"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU888496
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 23' 90" W000 72' 90"
• To see: Ash Green Station.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

This complex of lanes, consisting of Ash Green Lane West, Spoil Lane and South Lane, is subject to a TRO in its entirety and is as such closed to motorised traffic. Go and drive Ash Green Lane East instead. 

The now disused but incredibly quaint Ash Green Halt on the dismantled Tongham to Aldershot Gas Works Railway can be found just to the north of the eastern end of the byway. It's a private residence so you can't gain access, but it is so well kept it's certainly worth a look at for those interested in railwayana.

This is Surrey County Council's Ash Byway 518.

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BOAT: Squires Hill Lane

• Overall Rating: 5
• Location: Tilford, Hampshire.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU876441
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 18' 90" W000 74' 70"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU873454
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 20' 10" W000 75' 20"
• To see: Waverley Abbey ruins, Tilford with it's two medieval bridges and historical oak trees, and the River Wey, The Barley Mow pub, pillboxes.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

This is one of our favourite byways. I can't quite put my finger on why, but I guess it is just an easy-going greenlane which is a pleasure to drive and has a lot of awesome stuff well within striking distance after we're done. I guess short of a ford it has it all!

Starting at its southern end in the beautiful, almost prototypical village of Tilford with it's two medieval bridges and historical oak trees on the sizeable village green (complete with cricket pitch and country pub), this byway starts out on a westerly track and a metalled surface. It soon turns to the north, a path it maintains for the rest of it's length. On passing the cluster of dwellings, the largest of which proudly displays some quite epic topiary, the tarmac turns into a (mostly) unrutted surface of earth and leaf mould, although it can get a bit muddy in places in wet weather. The lane is also in pretty good nick with regards to foliage: some fallen trees were promptly chainsawed away last winter and other than the odd invasion by holly bushes there isn't much to trouble the paintwork.

Lined to begin with by pole and rail fencing and later by evergreen trees, there's not much of a view on offer but that doesn't detract from the experience. After an uphill stretch the byway crosses Sheephatch Lane, emerging around an evidently ancient barn and plunging back into Sheephatch Copse on the other side. The lane then begins to descend back down into the valley of the River Wey in a 'hollow way', which is old-speak for 'sunken lane'. Where a footpath merges from the east the byway takes a rather sharp turn to the west and then starts a long, sweeping curve down to its terminus on Waverley Lane, just easy of the gorgeous Waverleymill Bridge and weir. Well worth a drive.

Just to the west of the northern end of the lane are the ruins of Waverley Abbey, the first Cistercian abbey in England which was founded in 1128. The vast, ancient yew tree and its gnarled roots are worth checking out quite apart from the beautiful abbey ruins with the River Wey running past them. Also on the abbey grounds can be found some quite formidable pillboxes: a type 22 infantry box and a large filed gun emplacement, as well as innumerate tank traps which were shifted and dumped just next the the abbey. The compulsory post-lane tipple can be enjoyed in the aforementioned Barley Mow pub in Tilford (see above). Enjoy. 

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FORD: Rectory Lane

• Overall Rating: 3
• Location: Shere, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham'.
• OS Grid Reference: TQ071478
• GPS Co-ordinates: N51 21' 90" W000 46' 80"
• To see: the village of Shere.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

This very shallow ford over the Tilling Bourne has a concrete bottom and is seldom very deep, even after very wet periods. Worth a visit if you're passing but I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to drive it. Why not break for lunch in the picturesque village of Shere?

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FORD: Chantry Lane

• Overall Rating: 1
• Location: Shere, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham'.
• OS Grid Reference: TQ069477
• GPS Co-ordinates:  N51 21' 80" W000 47' 10"
• To see: the village of Shere.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

This over the Tilling Bourne crosses a dead-end street and is right at its very tip, so there is no point driving to it and is merely included for completeness (we'd hate for you to think we hadn't turned over every single stone!). This ford is far better used to kick back, enjoy a picnic and have a paddle. Why not break for lunch in the picturesque village of Shere?

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UCR: East Shalford Lane

• Overall Rating: 1
• Location: Shalford, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: TQ000477
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 22' 00" W000 57' 00"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: TQ015472
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 21' 50" W000 54' 90"
• To see: nothing much.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

This lane is little more than a country road with a fairly unkempt tarmac surface, and it is a dead end as the level crossing on the North Downs Line is locked permanently. East Shalford Lane is really not worth the bother of driving unless you have a reason to do so.

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BOAT: Sandy Lane

• Overall Rating: 2
• Location: Willey Green, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU949517
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 25' 70" W000 64' 20"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU939518
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 25' 70" W000 65' 60"
• To see: not much.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

This is the 'wide part'!

Sandy Lane is a very overgrown byway that runs between Wood Street and Willey Green in Surrey. When we drove it in 2009, due to the foliage, in places it is so narrow as to present a real challenge, and damage to the paintwork is absolutely unavoidable. It urgently needs to be pruned by the council. That said, as so few people have evidently been driving it the surface of the lane is in pretty good condition, its grassy surface being relatively dry and only lightly rutted. Also counting against it is the fact that it is pretty short. It also runs past a particularly un-picturesque caravan park on it's northern side.

Beginning on Frog Grove Lane in Wood Street, the lane branches west opposite some houses and BT junction boxes. It winds its way to the south west, turns gently to the north west and passes with very little room for manoeuvre indeed between some horrible fencing around the caravan park on the northern side and the wild undergrowth on the southern side before turning northwards and ending abruptly on the A323 in Willey Green.

When driving this lane from it's western end it really is very poorly signposted indeed (if at all), so take care to take the correct route (the trail biker in the video below drives it from the western end so follow his lead). As you can tell, there is little to recommend this lane and it really is not worth driving in it's present state is only included for completeness until the council cut it back.

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BOAT: Ride Lane

• Overall Rating: 4
• Location: Shamley Green, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: TQ048435
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 18' 10" W000 50' 20"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: TQ059453
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 19' 70" W000 48' 60"
• To see: Red Lion Inn in Shamley Green, Winterfold Heath, Albury Park stately home, the course of a Roman road, although there's nothing at all to see above ground.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

PLEASE NOTE: this lane is very tricky indeed, with a fair chance of damaging your vehicle. If you choose to drive it, take care.

For the sake of convenience this page deals with Ride Lane and Madgehole Lane as one and the same.

Madgehole Land plies its easterly course from the delightful village of Shamley Green, beginning where the the tarmac ends near some very expensive-looking Surrey 'mansions'. MTV Cribs it most certainly is. Initially fairly innocuous, the lane quickly enters a cutting and with the high earthen banks on each side, it becomes pretty narrow in places. It is most certainly not made any easier with the dramatically undulating surface, potholes, encroaching undergrowth and ruts. Even the trail-biker in the videos below has quite a time of it! The worst of it can be found whilst driving through what seems to be a pine plantation, up a very steep incline towards the end of the lane.

The 'cliff' at the end of Madgehole Lane: worse than it looks.

If you make it to the end of Madgehole Lane, the hardest part is to come. Madgehole Lane merges with Ride Lane at TQ060435 via a really dramatically steep slope from one to the other (see picture, right) combined wit ha relatively tight turn through 90 degrees. If conditions are very wet, and you get this slope even slightly wrong or enter a skid, you will hit the earthen bank on the far side of Ride Lane and ruin your day. Take great care here. Incidentally, if you turn south instead of north here, the lane turns into a RUPP where it meets Winterfold Heath and is such a dead end for motorised traffic.

Ride Lane strikes out northwards, but is even harder work than Madgehole Lane, and considerably so. It is extremely tight in places, as the undulating surface makes your vehicle assume some really quite dramatic attitudes. We found ourselves lurching violently from side to side even as we drove at a maximum of walking pace! At times there can be quite literally millimetres to spare, as the large trees that encroach down the earthen banks either side of the lane make all this harder still, since with your vehicle at an angle and with no option to avoid due to the ruts contact is quite likely. 

The northern end of Ride Lane, in Farley Green.

Around a third of the way up another BOAT leaves the lane to the west, but it too is a dead end as it only leads to Mayor House Farm. The lane continues in this vein and doesn't get any easier until it breaks out into the open yard of Farley Hall just south of Farley Green where the lane ends. It is certainly a relief to get to the end, and if you survived the challenge unscathed you get a pat on the back from us! This lane scores a 4 since it is pretty awesome to drive, but misses out on a 5 since it is certainly not for those new our chosen leisure pursuit or those even slightly worried about damaging their vehicle: easier days out can be found elsewhere.

A Roman road crosses Ride Lane from south-east to north-wet, although not a trace of it can be seen these days. Interestingly, there is an area of woodland called Helmet Copse just to the east of the lane at this point, and I can't help wondering if it has taken it's name from some archaeological discovery. But for a much easier day out we can thoroughly recommend stopping for a meal at the (slightly pricey, but worthwhile) Red Lion Inn in Shamley Green. The food is awesome.

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BOAT: Madgehole Lane/Ride Lane

• Overall Rating: 4
• Location: Shamley Green, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: TQ048435
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 18' 10" W000 50' 20"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: TQ059453
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 19' 70" W000 48' 60"
• To see: Red Lion Inn in Shamley Green, Winterfold Heath, Albury Park stately home, the course of a Roman road, although there's nothing at all to see above ground.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

UPDATE 11/11/14: The surface of this byway has become even worse than before, and there is fair a chance that a vehicle without a suspension lift will not make it through. Do not drive this green lane unless you have the kit and are confident in your ability. I am sure an inevitable TRO will soon become extant. (See Mr Kelly's experience in the comment section, below.)

For the sake of convenience this page deals with Ride Lane and Madgehole Lane as one and the same.

Madgehole Lane plies its easterly course from the delightful village of Shamley Green, beginning where the the tarmac ends near some very expensive-looking Surrey 'mansions' (MTV Cribs it most certainly is!). Initially fairly innocuous, the green lane soon enters a cutting and with high earthen banks on each side it becomes pretty narrow in places. It is most certainly not made any easier with the dramatically undulating surface, potholes, 'bomb-craters', encroaching undergrowth and ruts. Even the trail-biker in the videos below has quite a time of it! The worst of it can be found whilst driving through a pine plantation, up a very steep incline towards the end of the lane.

The 'cliff' at the end of Madgehole Lane: worse than it looks.

If you make it to the end of Madgehole Lane, the hardest part is still to come. Madgehole Lane merges with Ride Lane at TQ060435 via a really dramatic, steep slope descending from one to the other (see picture, right) combined with a relatively tight turn through 90 degrees. If conditions are very wet, and you get this slope even slightly wrong or enter a skid, you will hit the earthen bank on the far side of Ride Lane and ruin your day. Take great care here. Incidentally, if you turn south instead of north here, the lane turns into a RUPP where it meets Winterfold Heath and is such a dead end for motorised traffic. Avoid.

Ride Lane strikes out northwards, but is even harder work than Madgehole Lane, and considerably so. It is extremely tight in places, as the undulating surface makes your vehicle assume some really quite alarming attitudes. We found ourselves lurching violently from side to side even as we drove at a maximum of walking pace! At times there can be quite literally millimetres to spare, as the large trees that encroach down the earthen banks either side of the byway make all this harder still, since with your vehicle at an angle and with no option to avoid due to the ruts, contact is quite likely. 

The northern end of Ride Lane, in Farley Green.

Around a third of the way up another BOAT leaves the lane to the west, but it too is a dead end as it only leads to Mayor House Farm. The lane continues in this vein and doesn't get any easier until it breaks out into the open yard of Farley Hall just south of Farley Green where the lane ends. It is certainly a relief to get to the end, and if you survived the challenge unscathed you get a pat on the back from us! This lane scores a 4 since it is pretty awesome to drive, but misses out on a 5 since it is certainly not for those new to our chosen leisure pursuit or those even slightly worried about damaging their vehicle: easier days out can be found elsewhere.

A Roman road crosses Ride Lane from south-east to north-wet, although not a trace of it can be seen these days. Interestingly, there is an area of woodland called Helmet Copse just to the east of the lane at this point, and I can't help wondering if it has taken it's name from some archaeological discovery. But for a much easier day out we can thoroughly recommend stopping for a meal at the (slightly pricey, but worthwhile) Red Lion Inn in Shamley Green. The food is awesome.

View Madgehole Lane/Ride Lane in a larger map

BOAT: Whitmead Lane

• Overall Rating: 4
• Location: Elstead, Hampshire.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU893443
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 19' 10" W000 72' 30"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU884437
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 18' 50" W000 73' 60"
• To see: medieval bridges in Elstead and Tilford.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

A great greenlane, this one, even though it is pretty unremarkable in the scheme of things. Perhaps it's better for that, I don't know, but it doesn't detract from the experience all the same! It starts (at its northern end) in the car park of a pub called The Donkey. We've never been in as we've always been 'mid-session' whenever we've passed it, we've always wanted to since it looks pretty good. If anyone has any experience of it, let me know and I'll update this page.

Climbing up out of the car park, the lane truly begins just after leaving the driveway for a vast private house on the left which looks more like a railway station building than a private residence. A muddy surface with standing water in places during very wet weather, the lane is never-the-less well kept. A wall runs on one side which tends to keep back the foliage, but later in the lane when the wall is replaced by stake fencing, the foliage closes in a little. It's never dramatically bad however.

Winding it's way along the contours that form the steep northern bank of the River Wey, and following its course, the lane begins a very slight uphill climb towards its southern end, where it bursts out of undergrowth onto a very tight hairpin bend in the metaled country lane of the same name. A good drive which is made better due the proximity of Squires Hill Lane, a personal favourite.

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BOAT: Alice Holt

• Overall Rating: 0
• Location: Bucks Horn Oak, Hampshire.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU808416
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 16' 80" W000 84' 60"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU821422
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 17' 30" W000 82' 60"
• To see: Go Ape.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

This lane is closed to traffic.

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BOAT: Smugglers Way (North)

• Overall Rating: 4
• Location: The Sands, Hampshire.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU881458
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 20' 40" W000 74' 10"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU878454
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 20' 10" W000 74' 40"
• To see: Waverley Abbey and Crooksbury Hill.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

The ruins of Waverley Abbey, the first Cistercian Abbey to be established in England, in 1128, lie just to the west of this short greenlane and are well worth checking out, even more so since they are free to access!

The lane itself begins on Crooksbury Hill, which is a Surrey Wildlife Trust nature reserve. It is home to some ancient earthworks, one of which is called Soldiers Ring and is worth seeing. Leaving the country road of the same name, the BOAT itself departs steeply downhill for a few yards before beginning a more gentle descent which it maintains throughout. Passing through lovely woodland on a sandy/muddy mixture for a surface, the lane occasionally has slight issues with encroaching foliage but nothing dramatic by anyone's estimations. Most of it is unfortunately the evil Rhodedendron, which looks most out of place, but it is at least easily brushed aside with only the slightest protesting of paintwork.

Twisting and turning gently through the woods, the lane eventually ends back on the tarmac of Crooksbury Road which it meets at a very obtuse angle. A great lane, if it were longer it would score a five.

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BOAT: Smugglers Way

• Overall Rating: 5
• Location: Tilford, Hampshire.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU874430
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 17' 90" W000 75' 10"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU858419
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 17' 00" W000 77' 40"
• To see: Frensham Ponds, Tilford with it's two medieval bridges and historical oak trees, and the River Wey: great for a paddle with the kids.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

This greenlane is a really treat, partly because of its length, but mainly due to the awesomely beautiful terrain it passes through. But first! a quick note on the lane itself. We started from Tilford Road. The lane actually runs both east and west from each side of Tilford road, but in-keeping with the format of this site, this article does not deal with the short eastern as it is a dead end and therefore pointless to drive. We will only mention the western section of the lane.

That said, the lane leaves Tilford Road just south of the iconic village of Tilford itself, famous for its medieval bridges, its fabulous, almost stereotypical village green (obviously with cricket pitch) and its famous oaks, one over 800 years old and others planted to mark the reigns of various monarchs.

On a surface of sand interspersed with section of forest floor and gravel, and with the foliage never closing in at all, this undulating lane (quite markedly so towards its western end, and apparently renowned for it) passes through an epically beautiful Scots Pine plantation (see photograph, left). The lane itself is not very well signposted, and you will need to proceed to the left when given the obvious choice (when driving it westbound), as straight ahead is a private driveway down to Meadow End Farm and is not open to the public.

Proceeding on a remarkably straight track, Tilford Common passes by on the south and lush equestrian pasture and dense woodland passes to the north. Otherwise unremarkable, but no worse for it, the lane eventually reaches a seasonal ford as the lane crosses a small tributary of the River Wey. As you can see from the video from the trail-biker I've embedded at the bottom of this post, he found it really quite tough! However in the middle of a heatwave in early October 2011 we found it bone dry. The ford has a hard enough surface for a base as someone has laid some bricks along it, but be warned: proceed slowly over it. We once hit the ford at a paltry 15mph and gave Prometheus' suspension such a jolt it actually hurt us, and I could have sworn I'd broken him!

On rounding the gentle corner after the ford, the lane (as previously mentioned) crosses some pronounced undulations and then ends where it meets Grange Road. A great lane, which is awesome even in isolation, but the fact that it is 500m from the start of the epic Sandy Lane makes it better still. The entire area is popular with families and others pursuing leisure, so take more care than usual on this greenlane. Even so, full marks.

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UCR: Green Lane

• Overall Rating: 1
• Location: Aldershot, Hampshire.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU859480
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 22' 50" W000 77' 10"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU858489
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 23' 30" W000 77' 20"
• To see: Farnham, with its castle, lie nearby to the south-west.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

Your intrepid explorers are used to UCRs being deceptively challenging, in some cases almost to the point of a nightmare! This UCR also looks promising on the map, but on going to explore it I am loathe to say it is a total disappointment. 

A greenlane of two halves, the first is barely distinguishable from a normal country lane except for the plethora of pot holes that dot the metaled surface. On passing Crown Lane (which diverges to the right) the second half offers a surface of loose gravel and because of that the pot holes disappear. To highlight how wrong our perceptions were, a chav on a moped followed us all the way up the lane without any effort or evident discomfort on his part! This is not a problem, but since greenlaning is about getting away from the tarmac and enjoying the beautiful English countryside at the same time (nobody can really claim that Aldershot is 'beautiful' and actually mean it), this lane is not really what we are after. Move along.

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BOAT: Lascombe Lane

• Overall Rating: 5
• Location: Shackleford, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU911473
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 21' 80" W000 69' 70"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU923475
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 21' 90" W000 68' 00"
• To see: an Iron-Age hill fort, south of the start of the lane at Totford Hatch.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

Update 22/05/15: Apparently this byway has become too overgrown to drive. Avoid until it's cleared.

This great lane, of a perfect length, begins in the car park for Puttenham Common, all that remains of what was once a vast area of lowland heath. Guildford and the other surrounding towns destroyed part of it, with agriculture and the MoD claiming the rest, but rest assured this area just south of the Hog's Back (A31) is particularly beautiful. Just south of the car park lies an Iron Age hill fort, but little of it remains except for some traces of it's embankments.

On a sandy surface interspersed with a natural rock surface that in places looks surprisingly like cobbles, this lane is almost always dry even in the depths of winter. The only drawback it has is that it is pretty tight with regards to overgrown bordering vegetation. That said, for the most part it is just ferns and in only a couple of places birch, rosehips and holly will leave their mark on paintwork. It is also part of the North Downs Way which runs from Dover to Farnham, and so is popular with walkers so use caution.

Climbing out from the car park, the lane heads along a pretty straight track uphill along the northern edge of Puttenham Common, offering some grand views to the south. On entering Little Commn, which lies to the north of the byway, it jinks left around a large oak tree (so avoid it!) and begins a gentle turn to the right until it becomes tarmac where a driveway merges from the north west.

A brilliant green lane, and this is what greenlaning is all about.

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BOAT: Whirl Hill Lane

• Overall Rating: 2
• Location: Shackleford, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU932461
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 20' 60" W000 66' 80"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU929454
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 20' 00" W000 67' 20"
• To see: not much
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

Update 13/10/2014: Whirl Hill Lane has by all accounts (see comments, below) become even more overgrown and is now bordering on the impassable. It urgently needs a program of repair but when (or if) this will ever happen... who knows. Owners of shiny cars: be warned!

This byway, only for those who don't care about their paintwork, starts life as a farm track leaving Puttenham Lane just south of a pond covered in lilly pads, a little north of Shackleford. This metalled stretch is, to quote Michael Caine, 'the wide part'. Once passing the large farm house of Lydling Farm and a driveway to a cottage that leaves the lane to the left, the vegetation closes right in and stays that way. It is loose enough to get through comfortably with many guaranteed scratches on the paintwork, but any long wheelbase vehicles (e.g. Defender 110 or 130) will have a real job getting around the corner. On one side thick, dense foliage and on the other an ivy-covered wall and bank nearly block the lane where it enters Long Cutts Wood (at the position indicated by a blue placemarker below, or SU927459). Indeed, since we did it in a Defender 90 and found it hard enough, we can't say for absolute certain whether or not the longer models would make it. Use caution, obvs.

As the byway runs along the border of Long Cutts Wood, the foliage remains tight with particularly nasty mature branches sticking out in places. The leaf-mould and bare earth surface is also on a pronounced slant to one side, which unfortunately means that your vehicle will be tilted towards the grasping branches which are now impossible to avoid. On the other side of the lane runs a barbed wire fence demarcating the field boundary, lurking behind relatively soft ferns and brambles which can offer some respite from the worst of it, but believe me it's a very narrow lane!

Bit of a tilt!

After turning sharply to the south where it enters Puckstool Wood the lane opens out as it passes through the conifer plantation. The going is far more easy here, but even so we had to stop in places to move huge fallen branches and trees. On entering Mitchen Hall Plantation and cresting Whirl Hill the again greenlane turns sharply to the east and eventually ends on Lombard Street, just west of Shackleford.

We drove this track in mid-winter when the foliage was at a minimum: in summer the byway may be so dense with fresh growth that it may be hard to even see where one is driving. As such, it's probably best to avoid this byway until a program of clearance has been undertaken, unless you drive a true greenlaning machine!

This is Surrey County Council's Byway Shackleford 527.

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UCR: Chalk Lane

• Overall Rating: 0
• Location: Shackleford, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU936457
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 20' 30" W000 66' 20"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU943459
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 20' 50" W000 65' 10"
• To see: not much
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

This lane, between the village of Shackleford and the A3, is blocked off by locked gates and a such is impassable to vehicles. Even if it was open for access, the lane has been rendered a dead end by the A3 embankment anyway.

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BOAT: Sandy Lane

• Overall Rating: 5
• Frensham, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU853416
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 10' 04.11" W000 46' 52.44"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU862405
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 09' 31.34" W000 46' 12.87"
• To see: Frensham Ponds.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

For once a lane that has, apparently, not been named ironically! And it's a good one, and oh my word is it ever. Sandy Lane is an awesome greenlane that runs down the western bank of the National Trust-owned Frensham Little Pond. There is absolutely no vegetation of any import to ruin one's paintwork despite the widespread gorse on Frensham Common, principally because it seems to be subjected to a regular controlled burn. It's surface, being deep sand for it's almost entire length, is a little harder going than we'd have expected, but only because a different technique is required for driving these seldom-encountered sandy surfaces. Once you're used to it, it's a breeze!

But the real reason this lane stands out is the view and the landscape it traverses. This really is one of the most beautiful parts of south-east England, maybe even in England as a whole, and on the sunny, clear autumn evening that we drove it, the lane was breathtaking (see picture, right). As a negative, its beauty unfortunately means it is very popular with all kinds of people, especially on weekends, and since not everyone is as open-minded as your devoted explorers when it comes to vehicular access to unsurfaced roads, be warned a confrontation might take place, however it is very unlikely (see the terrible video below, taken by an unknown trial-biker).

Running south from Priory Lane, just south of Millbridge, Sandy Lane heads in a southerly direction from one of the car parks for Frensham Common up a steep but short incline through sparse coniferous woodland. On cresting the hill, the lane very gently descends and starts out to form a tangent with the western bank of Frensham Little Pond. After passing through open, gorse-dotted countryside for just over a kilometre, the lane re-enters woodland and where it hits Lowicks, the lane turns to the east and for good measure crosses a ford! Admittedly, it's nothing dramatic as it is merely the overflow stream from the pond, and has long had a hard concrete base, however, a ford is a ford! Shortly after the lane turns back into tarmac and continues into Rushmoor. Full marks for a wonderful lane that has it all.

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BOAT: Green Lane

• Overall Rating: 3
• Flexford, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU923496
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 14' 20.82" W000 40' 40.23"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU915495
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 14' 17.91" W000 41' 24.48"
• To see: not much.
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

Green Lane forms a 'c' shape with Beech Lane, very similar in form to the astrological constellation Gemini! A short, if very pleasing drive through open fields and Week Wood. It is a little tight with regards to undergrowth in places, especially where holly has grown a little too vigorously. The paintwork will squeal and complain, but it is never so tight as to present a huge problem. The going is firm too, and it is almost completely unrutted.

Green Lane starts life as a metalled country lane in Flexford. The tarmac soon ends and the lane follows field boundaries, with the open fields of Rickwood Farm to the south and dense woodland to the north. After around one kilometre, upon exiting Week Wood, Beech Lane joins from the north. At the junction between the two lanes, the best signpost ever can be found (see picture above left). If only life was always that simple!To make a good go of it, it's best to combine driving the two lanes, as individually they are too short to make it them worth driving separately. Otherwise Green Lane ends as it began, back on tarmac just east of Rickwood Farm.

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BOAT: Beech Lane

• Overall Rating: 3
• Flexford, Surrey.
• OS Explorer Map 145, 'Guildford & Farnham, Godalming & Farnborough'.
• Starting OS Grid Reference: SU921500
• Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N51 14' 29.08" W000 40' 55.92"
• Finishing OS Grid Reference: SU916496
• Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N51 14' 17.91" W000 41' 17.59" 
• To see: not much
• ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

Beech Lane forms a 'c' shape with Green Lane, very similar in form to the astrological constellation Gemini! A short, if very pleasing drive through Highfield Copse and Week Wood. It is a little tight with regards to undergrowth in places, especially where the holly has grown too vigorously. The paintwork will squeal and complain, but it is never so tight as to present a problem. The going is firm too, and it is almost completely unrutted.

Beech Lane starts life as a metalled country lane just south of the railway in Flexford. The tarmac soon ends, and the lane wends its way through the lovely woodland of Highfield Copse. After around one kilometre, the lane turns hard south, continues for another 250m in that direction, and then joins Green Lane from the north. To make a good go of it, it's best to combine driving the two lanes, as individually they are too short to make it them worth driving separately. At the junction between the two lanes, the best signpost ever can be found (see picture above left). If only life was always that awesome!

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