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The road.cc team’s favourite routes on komoot: Dan’s ‘Avoiding Box Hill’ Surrey saunter

This month, Dan Alexander shares his favourite 50 miler around the Surrey Hills - with one rather famous ascent intentionally missing…

You all shared your routes with us for our mega competition with komoot to win a Garmin Edge 1030 (the winners have now been chosen, by the way!) and so now we’re sharing our favourite rides with you. This time it’s the turn of our live blog editor Dan - some might say there’s something missing, but according to the man himself who talks us through the ride below, it’s no biggie…

> Getting started with komoot
> The road.cc team's favourite rides on komoot: Liam's White Horse epic

“Starting out in Dorking at the gateway to the Surrey Hills you might expect this route to include the climb made popular by the 2012 Olympics road race, but I've decided to omit the famous hairpins to make a point - there's more to the area than Box Hill.

I've started this hilly 50-mile route at Dorking station, but if you're coming from London you could always tag on an extra 20 miles for a longer day out. Out the gate we've got my favourite climb in the area.

The dead-end road that winds up through Denbies Wine Estate vineyard will have you imagining you're somewhere far more picturesque than a stone's throw from the A25. Enjoy the views back over Box Hill and the rest of the Surrey Hills near the top and pray the gates are open to save you getting off twice. With no access to motor vehicles you can cruise up the smooth tarmac before cutting a right at the end along a short 100m bridleway to re-join the road. Just imagine the chalk stones are cobbles!

> Explore the road.cc ride collection on komoot

There’s a fast descent back to Dorking then you’ve got Coldharbour Lane, one of the longest climbs in the area. The next part of the route is the best riding you can do in the area, in my humble opinion. Skirt along the top of the ridge for eight miles from Coldharbour to Peaslake ( a popular spot for mountain bikers) before another climb and fast descent to Ewhurst.

If you can get up Barhatch Lane, you can climb anything in Surrey. Save some energy for the last 500m where the climb is steepest, peaking at 25% in the cruel final 200m. More quiet lanes follow, with opportunities to fill the bottles and fuel up on cake in Chilworth, Albury or Shere.

The final part of the ride crosses over to the other range of hills for a triple-header of climbs to finish. First up is Coombe Lane, with its silly steep hairpin at the top. Then it’s the gloriously quiet Shere Road, and the final sting in the tail up Crocknorth Road. Aim for the bridge in the distance and keep pushing to the top, as this will be your final climb of the day. After Barhatch Lane and those three brutes, you'll be wondering why anyone bothers with Box Hill! All that's left is to spin the legs across the rolling road atop Ranmore Common and descend back into Dorking.”

Want to share your favourite rides? Upload to your komoot profile and tell us about them in the comments. 

This content has been added by a member of the road.cc staff

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7 comments

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Steve K | 3 years ago
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I'm going to stick up for Box Hill.  No, it's not particularly challenging; but it's a nice climb and you don't always want to go for absolute killers; the road surface is lovely and it's nice to have proper hairpins on a climb; and the views at the top are stunning.

I've never done the Denbies climb, but I did get quite drunk there on the day of the 2017 General Election.  (That's just an irrelevant aside!)

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Dnnnnnn replied to Steve K | 3 years ago
1 like

Denbies climb is lovely - good surface after the first concrete section, great views as you climb above the vines. Best done uphill and at quiet times though, as pedestrians aren't expecting cyclists. Good connection to Ranmore Common too, avoiding conflict with traffic on the public road up from Westhumble.

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Hirsute replied to Dnnnnnn | 3 years ago
1 like

Do you do a lot of downhill climbs then?

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Nicktp | 3 years ago
0 likes

Dan 

" gloriously quiet Shere Road " there is a very good reason for this and that's because it has two right angle blind bends on 15% descents. It's very dangerous especially in the wrong conditions, something that a lot of people do t take into account. I live at the top ( yes I am a cyclist )  and have had numerous people disappear into the undergrowth when they come round the corners too quickly. 
 

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CAnstead | 3 years ago
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Being a Surrey resident, most of us avoid Box Hill as being one of the most ridden and least challenging hills around. In general the south facing slopes that lead up to Ranmore ridge (like Whitedown) or the south side of the Pitch Hill/Leith Hill ridge are far better. My favourites: Pitch Hill, Coombe Lane, Crocknorth, Radnor Road and Holmbury Road. Have at it!

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wycombewheeler replied to CAnstead | 3 years ago
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CAnstead wrote:

Being a Surrey resident, most of us avoid Box Hill as being one of the most ridden and least challenging hills around. In general the south facing slopes that lead up to Ranmore ridge (like Whitedown) or the south side of the Pitch Hill/Leith Hill ridge are far better. My favourites: Pitch Hill, Coombe Lane, Crocknorth, Radnor Road and Holmbury Road. Have at it!

Because box Hill is all about the view, rather than the challenge, the cafe at the top makes it a good destination for cyclists from further afield, but not so relevant to locals.

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Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
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More importantly it also appears to avoid Leith Hill.  Not sure I like the sounds of the 25% one though. 

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