The Surrey Hills

Box hill in the background with a large chasm between this hill and Box Hill

The Surrey hills are a series of hills (quite tall hills but still hills) to the south of London. In general the northern flanks of these hills rise sharply but steadily and the southern flanks are much more marked and steep. The diesel-only Guildford to Three Bridges train line runs just to the south of these hills, on much flatter ground. And there are a few lines running through the hills north to south, including the Brighton main line and the Leatherhead to Horsham line. These lines have to be specially designed to account for the terrain and have sections of tunnel which navigate the tracks through the hills.

Box Hill

Box Hill has a really steep southern flank with a train line just visible
Box Hill

Box Hill is the most famous of the Surrey hills, known for being on Ride London and part of the 2012 Olympics cycling route. In addition to being famous for its difficulty to cycle up, Box Hill is also known for its views and walking routes. These include routes passing the abandoned Box Hill fort and the stepping stones across the river Mole. Box Hill also has a view of London (not the best, that is given to Leith Hill) from the top of its north flank called Juniper Top. Partly because of Box Hill and partly because of Dorking the London bus number 465 (which also goes through the southern part of Kingston upon Thames) runs around the base of Box Hill providing a useful link for those without a car.

Junpiper Top is on the northern flank of Box Hill with a veiw of London just visible
Juniper Top

Leith Hill

Leith Hill is the highest hill in southeast England so has some outstanding views; which are made better by the tower you can climb up (for a fee). At the top of Leith Hill there is a small counter where you can buy food from, at Box Hill there is a much larger establishment with toilets. This shows how despite being the tallest hill in southeast England it really isn't a challenging climb and civilisation is always nearby.

Leith Hill looking towards the flat ground with the distance partially obscured by fog
Leith Hill with the view obscured by fog

Other Hills

Leith Hill and Box Hill are the most famous of the Surrey Hills but there are others with only slightly subordinate views. Some of these hills have great views of the southeast including Gatwick Airport and others amazing views of Central London.

Holmbury Hill is one of the Surrey Hills and there are other hills also visible
Holmbury Hill with Leith Hill in the background

The Impact of Rivers

The River Mole, a tributary of the Thames, runs through the Surrey Hills carving out, over many hundreds of years, a relatively flat path through the hills. This supports the A24 dual carriageway and villages like Mickleham and Westhumble. Also carving out flat ground is the River Tillingbourne with this relatively flat land now used by the railway line between Guildford and Dorking.

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