At a glance
A long walk that takes in the stunning views from Leith Hill as well as the quaint beauty of Friday Street & Broadmoor. With a few steep climbs and muddy terrain, this is fantastic route that generously rewards your efforts.
Jump to:
- Route map & overview
- The beginning
- The woodland
- Friday Street & Broadmoor
- Coldharbour & detour
- Travel information
- Share & subscribe
- Review & final scores
Route map & overview
Download the route file below to import it to your preferred app (a step by step guide can be found here).
| Difficulty | Tough |
| Length | 10.6 km / 6.6 miles |
| Time taken | 2 hours 40 minutes |
| Elevation | Some tough climbs with many long flat sections |
| Dog Friendly? | Yes |
The walk
While many of the walks on this site start at some lower ground before climbing to a viewpoint, this one is a little different. Starting at Redlands Car Park, you’re little more than a stone’s throw away from Leith Hill Tower. This means it’s not long into the walk before you’re greeted with arguably one of the best viewpoints in Surrey.
I could attempt to describe just how brilliant this place is, but I sense it would be futile. Instead, take a look for yourself and keep in mind that even these photos don’t really do it justice.
Interestingly, Leith Hill Tower was built to make up for the fact that the hill itself falls just short of 1,000ft. The top of the tower records 1,029ft, the highest point in South East England.
Although you’ll be early into the walk at this point, make sure you take your time here. The views in every direction are stunning and there’s even a small coffee shop in the tower.
Both literally and hypothetically, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the route could only go downhill from here. However, while that’s technically correct, there are plenty of beautiful locations ahead.
The woodland
As you pass Leith Hill Tower, you’ll dive into the woodland. It’s worth noting that the route is currently partially blocked due to forest operations. Although there were some signs up, we chose to power on regardless, as many others were doing. If you’d rather find an alternative route, keep left at the first fork after the tower (heading towards the main road), or follow the route but continue straight instead of taking the sharp 90 degree right hand turn.
If you do choose to ignore the ongoing forest operations, you will pay the price in terms of the mud. Suffice to say the heavy machinery has chewed up the ground to a borderline comical extent, so expect to have to focus on every single step until you’re safely through.
It isn’t actually long though before the mud is a thing of the past, and you come to a beautiful field clearing. This is just the first of many idyllic areas you’ll stumble across as you follow this route.
Friday Street & Broadmoor
After the field, you’ll walk for a while in a more open woodland setting. It won’t be long before you feel fully immersed in the natural environment, with the only sound likely to be the trickle of running water as narrow streams accompany you on your travels.
As the path comes to an end, you’ll pop out close to Friday Street, a quaint Hamlet with a beautiful pond you’ll need to cross over.
Once through, you’ll also get to enjoy Broadmoor, before joining a scenic path that heads towards Coldharbour.
Coldharbour & the final stretch
After staying on practically the same path for a while, you’ll close in on Coldharbour. Ensuring that this walk delivers stunning scenery right to the very end, you’ll soon be greeted with some of the best trails you’re likely to find in the Surrey Hills. The terrain is great even in Winter, and the colourful canopy of trees provides a view that gently and subtly changes with every twist and turn of the path ahead.
It’s at this point you’ll stumble across a fork in the track. While the official route opts for the right hand fork, I simply couldn’t resist taking a slight detour. By bearing left, you get to walk on a magnificent hilltop path, with far reaching views the entire way. A quick look at the map suggests you only need to take a couple of right hand turns to get back to the planned route, making it more than worthwhile in my view.
With the slight detour now complete, it’s not long at all before you’re back on the path you originally set out on. From there, it’s a short stroll downhill back to the car.
Getting started
The walk starts at Redlands Parking. It’s a slightly odd car park that seems to appear out of nowhere from the roadside. However, for being so close to the summit of Leith Hill, it’s actually very accessible, and not too busy. Whether you opt to follow this route or not, it’s worth keeping this place in mind.
Spread the word
The purpose of Surrey Walks is all about getting more people outside and enjoying the natural beauty of Surrey. With restrictions still in place across the UK, going for a walk is one of the few things you can actually do.
If you enjoy walking, please consider sharing this route, or this website, with a friend or family member who perhaps doesn’t walk as much. It’s well documented that walking is great for our health and our happiness, so the more people that can experience those benefits, the better.
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