Over the autumn and winter months, despite some awful weather, we have continued to improve our network of footpaths across the parish, with a focus on helping to make more of our footpaths accessible for all.
Following our work with the Tandridge Access Group over the summer to install two mobility gates at either end of the Glebe/Brook field footpath (launched in October 2023), we also helped secure funding by Cllr Cameron McIntosh, and contributed £500 from the Parish Council for the improvement of the very steep area of pathway between the two fields through the former cow gate.
This area was tricky for mobility vehicles and buggies, but is now a reduced gradient and much smoother to allow for a much easier journey from Oxted town centre to Limpsfield village by means of the Granville to Detillens pathway.
Glebe Meadow permissive pathway
One of our January projects was working with the Glebe Field’s tenants, the Skinners, to secure the fence and install a mobility gate (suitable for wheelchairs, mobility vehicles and buggies) between the Glebe Meadow and Glebe Field and stop the naughty steers escaping and having a party on the football pitch!
The fence between the two spaces had fallen to pieces over the years and the long-used permissive pathway (not an official footpath) had to be barricaded in an attempt to keep the steers in the field. The fence has now been repaired and gate in place to allow continued access for those connecting to the footpath across the Glebe Fields.
Thanks very much to the landowner /tenant, to the parish council and to Andy Wright, our trusty footpaths, fencing and gate expert, who continues to help us improve Limpsfield’s footpath connections all over the parish.
We would like to remind everyone walking their dogs in the Glebe / Brook fields (and any other areas of the countryside where there is livestock present) to stick to the designated footpath and keep your dogs on a lead.
For basic consideration of other users, environmental concerns and prevention of spreading disease, Dog walkers must pick up their dog poo and take it with them, disposing the bags in the many dog poo bins provided at the end of pathways (e.g. Granville Road, Detillens Lane and Glebe Meadow) at Grub Street and in all the National Trust carparks. If there is not an official dog poo bin in the vicinity, any general rubbish bin will do.
Safer, drier pathway at the golf course
As part of our footpaths programme and work on the Limpsfield Way, we have created a bit of a walker’s causeway alongside the area of Limpsfield Chart golf course near Ridlands Grove Ancient Woodland.
This area gets very wet in the winter months, and walkers tend to stray off the path onto the golf course to avoid the water, which is both unsafe and also damaging to the golf course.
On a suitably wet day in December, Andy Wright laid around 40m of aggregate alongside the course to create a raised pathway above the surface water.
The pathway, raised from the standing water, now allows easy access along the side of the course without the need to walk onto the fairway.
So please use the path and, as ever, be mindful of golfers on that stretch and on all areas of the golf course. Please wait for golfers to take their shot before continuing your walk, and keep dogs under control at all times.
We will continue with our footpaths programme over the next year and would like to encourage everyone to let us know when there are footpath / bridleway access issues. clerk@limpsfield.org.
Please remember, walkers have the right of way on footpaths, horseriders on bridleways. Cyclists may use bridleways but must give way to riders and walkers. Dogs must always be kept under control on bridleways.