Horsebox Parking for riding over Surrey Hills?!

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Sophstar

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I did the Surrey Hills sponsored ride last Sunday and am curious to know if anyone knows the areas that horseboxes can be parked so I can take my boy out on another day of fun?! Obviously Stilemans doesn't allow horsebox parking on their land every weekend unless you hired it out and as I'm not familiar with the area, I don't know where you can park up and go! Now the Candover sponsored ride is cancelled, I shall have to think of other exciting routes for us to venture!
 
Our bridleways committee has arranged about 14 different parking places (not in Surrey!) so members can park their lorry and then go round the local bridlepaths. It is a mixture of farms, livery yards, or private homes. Members have a card to leave in the windscreen and mostly have to ring to see if it OK a couple of days before. There is no payment but the club gives a bottle of wine/biscuits every Christmas.

I so admire the person who originally went and knocked on people's doors to ask, but there were very few refusals.
 
I wish they arranged that kind of thing around me, would make life a whole lot easier! There's lots of nice places to ride but i haven't got a clue where to park the horsebox!
 
Well, it is just a case of asking people if they would mind. We had a very brave Chairman who didn't mind asking and was prepared to drive up and just ask. She choose places where she knew there was a good bridleway network. The membership card means that the landowner knows who is parking on their yard.
 
Slightly further over there is Newlands Corner (very busy at the weekend), Roman Temple Farley Heath (there is a huge log pile in there at the moment), Holmbury Hill by the old LifeTrain Trust, Walking Bottom, Peaslake (Holmbury/Pitch Hill). Lots of cyclists Holmbury/Peaslake way but they are horse friendly.

In Bramley there is a good car park next to St Catherine's school - you can do a bit of roadwork then you are heading towards Stilemans way.
 
You need to get incontact with the National Trust- they own the majority of the North Downs from The Devils Punch Bowel all the way to Outwood Village (the other side of Redhill and Reigate!). (I used to help manage the North Down properties in Surrey!)
Call the South East Regional Office at Polesden Lacey and ask to be put forward to Robin Satow- or call the Box Hill Office and ask to speak to Rose Pite- Ask if you can be put through to Andy and Paul the East and West Countryside Managers. They will try to help you, and lots of the carparks have access for large vehicles for their forestry works!!
 
we also did the surrey hills sponsored ride! amazing hacking! we also wondered where we could park up a trailer and go out there again, i wonder if the arboretum next door would let you?
 
There are car parks directly on Leith Hill that will take a trailer or a lorry. A few do have height barriers, but plenty do not. I would suggest getting there early and parking in a way that means you can't get boxed in though. By the afternoon (at weekends) they are getting busy with walkers and cyclists.
 
Newlands Corner is great for parking during the week but at the weekend the parking is a nightmare - the hacking is ok but it is very chalky. Rode over there today and it was very hard. The Surrey Wildlife Trust are being very strict about where horses can and cant go at the moment too.

Albury Cricket pitch - also allows horsebox parking - its busy at the weekends with various football clubs - but the hacking is SUPERB ! I'm lucky enough to live and have my horses in the area.

Shout if you need any directions.
 
Could someone please help me with some directions to the rides around Albury cricket pitch? (understand i can park my trailer near there).. And where I could park my trailer to ride around holmbury hill? Unfortunately I struggle to ride anywhere as my horse not good in traffic due to a near miss with a van when he was a youngster!!! I would be really grateful of any ideas. :)
 
OMG that is soo kind of you!! I really would be very very grateful! I struggle with hacking out as the traffic isn't good where I am. I also have a rubbish sense of direction so am a bit dubious venturing off to places I don't really know or where i would be unsure of where to park! I will PM you with my phone number and if you do the same I will call you.. Thank you once again :)
 
I kept ponies/horses that way for years (Bookham/Horsley/Shere/Bramley) and it really is lovely hacking all around there. I think there might be accessible parking up by St Martha's, but never actually parked that way myself. Also there was parking at Blackheath definitely up until a couple of years ago at least. As both those places are sandy they tend to be good all year round.

And a shameless little plug if you are looking for people to hack with - maybe you could 'like' and then enter your details on the Riding Buddies facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/RidingBuddies We've got almost 500 followers in the 5 weeks it has been going.

Thanks. :)
 
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