Woking Borough Council

Summer 2010

Out and about

This circular walk of about four miles is a nice and easy summer stroll, and includes part of the picturesque Wey Navigation. It offers a half-way stop for refreshments or sightseeing in Weybridge, one of Woking Borough's neighbouring towns.

Key facts

Start/finish: New Haw Lock car park, Off Byfleet road (A318), New Haw.

For public transport options, please see below*.

Distance: 7km (4 miles).

Time: 2-3 hours plus refreshment/sightseeing stop.

Type of walk: Suitable for walkers of all abilities.

The ground is flat, mainly following public footpaths and river towpaths, but can be muddy after rain. Bear in mind that some paths may also be overgrown at times.

*Trains from Woking to Byfleet and New Haw take eight minutes and there are three services an hour. Alternatively, buses from Woking Railway Station (number 426/446) take up to half an hour and are approximately hourly.

The route

  1. Leave the car park and cross the road with care to join the towpath, so that the Wey Navigation is on your left. Follow the path to Coxes Lock and Coxes Mills.

Coxes Lock opened in 1653 and is the deepest unmanned lock on the Wey. It is worth making a short detour (500m) by crossing over the lock and walking alongside the Mill Pond, to admire the view across this National Trust pond and its wildlife. Retrace your steps, noting the lily pond on the left by the mill stream.

  1. Follow the towpath as it goes under a railway bridge and past moored narrow boats. Eventually, the path crosses over to the opposite bank and continues as far as Weybridge Town Lock.

  2. At the lock, cross the road and turn left over the chequer-plated footbridge to admire the junction of the Wey Navigation and the River Wey.

The River Wey is quite unusual in that it has two sources, one in West Sussex and one in Hampshire. The two individual streams develop very quickly into fully fledged rivers both called the Wey but identified individually as the North Branch, flowing from Alton in Hampshire, and the South Branch running from Blackdown, just over the West Sussex border near Haslemere. The two rivers flow into Surrey joining at the picturesque village of Tilford and remain in the county until reaching the Thames at Weybridge.

  1. Retrace your steps and cross the first part of the road bridge to the traffic lights.

If you wish to take a break at this half-way point in the walk, cross the river bridge on Bridge Road to reach Church Street and the High Street within 500 metres. Weybridge library and museum can be found in Church Street and, further on in the town centre, you will find pubs, cafés and other shops.

  1. From the traffic lights at Weybridge Town Lock, turn right along the Wey Meadow and follow this lane to the Riverside Park Estate. Continue on the footpath, which is signposted through the estate and bears left at the post box.

  2. Keep bearing left and you will soon leave the estate. Just before some iron gates, the path turns right over a stile and railway line. Cross with care and keep a good look out for oncoming trains.

  3. Follow the lane past the gate marked `Wey Island Trust', and then walk beside the Wey Navigation again for a short distance. Turn left at the T-junction and pass under a height barrier.

  4. Turn right at the next T-junction and pass Wey Manor Farm (a modern mansion with fountain). Continue along the lane and turn right along footpath just before houses.

  5. Head across field towards metal gate, crossing the main road with car to return to the car park and the start of the walk.