Running from London to Surrey Hills (Reigate Hill)
I had an idea of visiting Surrey Hills National Landscape two years ago, and planned to start from London on foot - running! The route has long been saved on my Strava app.
Long due, but...
However, the plan has never been fulfilled until this week because of a few reasons:
Waiting for the whole sunny day (at least no rain throughout the day)
Making sure that the path is dry enough to run or walk: When it gets wet, it can take at least a few days to dry.
Not too high temperature or UV, even though I have sunscreen with SPF 50+.
The best period should be May, but I was not ready. During the summer the weather was so hot that I was mostly able to run around 14-18km.
This Monday my status was so good that I could end up half-marathon. By checking the weather, Tuesday would be the only option due to the domination of low pressure from Wednesday (for a long period, I believe). If I didn't take this chance, I might have to wait until next year. Even though I should rest on the following day after a long-distance run, I was still determined to give it a try. I could run a bit slower than usual.
But I still needed to do some work before I went.
Understanding that some of the paths could be pedestrian-unfriendly outside Greater London, and the fact that the speed limit wouldn't be as low as my home town, I thus carefully checked through the Street View on Google Maps. Yes, I had to reroute by diverting myself to public footpath in the heath or woods. I even made sure that I was able to run through London Road because I feared that the footpath could disappear suddenly. Finally, the whole preparation was done!
From urban to nature... gradually
Starting from Croydon Town Centre with a lot of skyscrapers, my first 10km was Brighton Road through Purley and Coulsdon, which are communities in Croydon. After gradually getting rid of heavy road traffic and the crowd of people and buildings, I went uphill to Farthing Downs, which has a stunning valley view, followed by Happy Valley where I totally escaped from any man-made communities and found myself entirely in the nature!
After Alderstead Heath, I arrived in a beautiful village called Netherne-on-the-Hill, with a former water tower now becoming an apartment, in which I believe is the landmark there. I took rest for a short while, and went downhill to the main road - London Road.
London Road is the continuation of Brighton Road, connecting London and Surrey with the only TfL bus route 405 serving in between. I followed the road until Merstham where I would meet North Downs Way connecting to Reigate Hill.
The elevation increased from 98m to 235m, which should be fine for me but I started feeling exhausted due to the long run on the previous day. Thankfully I could reach to the top of Reigate Hill.
There are three spots: Reigate Fort, Inglis Memorial and, of course, its view towards Reigate and other parts of Surrey. I stopped by, took some photos there, and ran down to the town.
My watch told be I had 28.7-ish, so I would rather end up 30km with Priory Park when I was triggered by perfectionism. Finally, I was done!!!
Reigate and Redhill
I was so satisfied with my long run as well as enjoying the beautiful scenery area! I was so hungry that I had to grab sandwiches from M&S, followed by a great coffee in Reigate. As I would need to take the only TfL bus 405 back to London from Redhill, as well as have dinner there, I walked 3km for recovery especially when the muscle of my legs were so tense.
Honestly this was my first visit to Surrey Hills Natural Landscape, and I hope I will go to the more popular Box Hill next time.
