Thank you. Not so flat up Ferry Lane from by the spring to the top of St Catherine's Hill, but you know that now. Lol. This was a favourite day out for my father and I during the sixties, when he was raising me. At that time there were far fewer cars and it was OK to park on the bridge at the top but obviously not in front of houses. There was a metal sign opposite the spring which explained about the Pilgrims. I don't know why the council haven't replaced it. Well done for your research. A couple of decades ago the old boy who lived in the cottage opposite the spring told us (my then partner and I) that he only drank and cooked with that water. We met him when he was filling the kettle. On the gold sand there used to be what might now be called a large niche near the top. Large enough for an adult to stand up in, and I used to sometimes sit inside. It went about 4ft back. I personally doubt it was a deliberately carved niche for religious purposes at first as archaeologists always seem to think when they find such things. It may have been a natural cave at one time but being of soft gold sand stone with solid actual iron (there used to be iron slabs and rocks of up to about 8in long and maybe 3 - 4in wide, about half an inch thick to perhaps 3in thick). A lot of the sand was a deeper gold colour and as much as a third was between that and dark orange. Very beautiful. There was less flora growing through it. Also there was a well trod more or less flat footpath of a good couple of feet wide, formed by many feet. it seemed wider too so it was more like a day at the coast. The sand stains clothes though so an old towel and clothing that doesn't matter if sitting there while the kids or dogs run around. I mean it really stains. I have my own theory about the caves and 'niches'. That they didn't start out as religious. I would think that possibly they were much longer, and natural - or at least some were and people from possibly the iron age used them. If not that far back then at least from the bronze age. An ideal area to cave dwell either temporarily while travelling or permanently. Fresh water, a river, fish, local hunting and having a cave to retreat to and build a night fire outside of to deter unwanted wild animals. Not to mention the caves would be in a good position to spot strangers, maybe invaders, moving around. The Wey went all the way to the sea so it really was prime real estate. When I was a child, the spring water was naturally a little sweet but not distastefully. It tasted very clean and refreshed much more than tap water did even then. There have been many times I wished I lived in that old cottage so I could fill my kettle and cooking pans with it. The last time I drank it the taste wasn't sweet and as clean and refreshing. No idea what chemtrails do to rainwater that goes into the earth down the the water table. sad. Further along on the right going to St Catherine's lock, you may have seen - or smelt - what seems a bit like a smallish pond that is boggy looking. A local told me online that it could be leakage from nearby silage (the only unpleasant thing I ever found in the area). As a younger mum we used to take the boys and my dog, Sheba, there. The first time we took her when she was still very young, she saw that filthy stinky pond and leapt straight in to roll around and have a dirt bath! Ugh. My o/h managed to get her out eventually and we headed back to the car instead of carrying on, and as soon as we reached a stretch where she could get out easily he picked her up and put her in the river to wash off. He has to remove his filthy t shirt and when we reached the car at the top he had to slip off his tracksuit bottoms and trainers too for the drive home. They stunk so much we put them all in the boot. lol. After that, Sheba stayed on the lead before we reached that stinking mess and for a good few minutes after we passed it. St Catherine's lock itself. I am not sure now if I misremember but I have a faint recollection of a lock keeper's house there when I was very young, and a lock keeper but maybe it was a different lock as there were no foundations left ewhen I last went there around a decade and a half ago. Perhaps if you go there again you can show the stone bridge and stone seat which reportedly was built by pilgrims. The brick and metal bridge by the gold sand replaced the wooden and more attractive bridge across the river. I recall when the old ruins at the top were open and not railed in. Unfortunately, louts kept causing damage during the late sixties to early seventies. To think it stood so many hundreds of years without being deliberately vandalised then when drugs became a bit more commonplace the vandalism began. It seems society has deteriorated non stop since. That said, if course stones were taken from the building to be re-used in a worthwhile way such as house building or repairs but that was many centuries ago and it wasn't intended vandalism. more reclamation and recycling. I don't think there is more I can add as I have never lived in the area. You would find Selborne, the zig zag pathway, the beech hanger at the too and the oak hanger down below the rear of the churchyard. Greensand, chalk, hard ragstone - "what my paternal maternal Belgae ancestors were clearing to make workable and habitable when the Romans invaded, then after they left the y syc sons, their angels, ju tes and later nor(th)man cousins. I have quite a bit of generational history and particularly from my paternal G'mother. Most tribal people were far from the primitive oiks than invaders and their still too powerful descendants have portrayed. records were kept by indenting on thin metal sheets. Gold for the most important. Some of the villas in the warmer SE were pre Roman but they took them over and changed them to their own taste. Recently found Bersted Man shows how magnificent leading tribesmen could be around the iron age. Truly spectacular. That is another subject though. Blackmore very interesting as well, along with Abinger in Surrey and various still quite small and quaint villages around the Surrey Hills. Well worth a visit to shire (pronounced Sheer) and Gomshall. Much history. The artist is David Shepherd.
Thanks, chaps ... I lived at 3 St Catherine's Hill in the late 90s for a little while, so this was a lovely walk down memory lane. Waking up and looking out the bedroom window to see that chapel never got old (extra delicious in snow) and even after 10 years in England, it felt very exotic (I'm Australian). I quite often walked the towpath into town to get the train to work in the big smoke, and it was always a great start to the day. I slid down the golden sands hill on my bum a few times and certainly made the most of the proximity to the Olde Ship Inn. I would often buy a pint and carry it home (45-second walk) to enjoy in the living room.
haha - unfortunately our short 3 mile loop from Guildford didn't make much of a dent into that route. However, maybe it'll be a challenge video that we'll feature in the future!
Thanks for your comment, we're glad you've found them helpful. Winchester is an excellent suggestion, it's also a place that has been on our radar. We may just bump that up our list ;)
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Could you imagine Tap-up Sunday if they continued the tradition! What other Guildford legends have you heard of? Let us know below!
Thank you.
Not so flat up Ferry Lane from by the spring to the top of St Catherine's Hill, but you know that now. Lol.
This was a favourite day out for my father and I during the sixties, when he was raising me. At that time there were far fewer cars and it was OK to park on the bridge at the top but obviously not in front of houses.
There was a metal sign opposite the spring which explained about the Pilgrims. I don't know why the council haven't replaced it. Well done for your research.
A couple of decades ago the old boy who lived in the cottage opposite the spring told us (my then partner and I) that he only drank and cooked with that water. We met him when he was filling the kettle.
On the gold sand there used to be what might now be called a large niche near the top. Large enough for an adult to stand up in, and I used to sometimes sit inside. It went about 4ft back. I personally doubt it was a deliberately carved niche for religious purposes at first as archaeologists always seem to think when they find such things. It may have been a natural cave at one time but being of soft gold sand stone with solid actual iron (there used to be iron slabs and rocks of up to about 8in long and maybe 3 - 4in wide, about half an inch thick to perhaps 3in thick). A lot of the sand was a deeper gold colour and as much as a third was between that and dark orange. Very beautiful. There was less flora growing through it. Also there was a well trod more or less flat footpath of a good couple of feet wide, formed by many feet. it seemed wider too so it was more like a day at the coast. The sand stains clothes though so an old towel and clothing that doesn't matter if sitting there while the kids or dogs run around. I mean it really stains.
I have my own theory about the caves and 'niches'. That they didn't start out as religious. I would think that possibly they were much longer, and natural - or at least some were and people from possibly the iron age used them. If not that far back then at least from the bronze age.
An ideal area to cave dwell either temporarily while travelling or permanently. Fresh water, a river, fish, local hunting and having a cave to retreat to and build a night fire outside of to deter unwanted wild animals. Not to mention the caves would be in a good position to spot strangers, maybe invaders, moving around. The Wey went all the way to the sea so it really was prime real estate.
When I was a child, the spring water was naturally a little sweet but not distastefully. It tasted very clean and refreshed much more than tap water did even then. There have been many times I wished I lived in that old cottage so I could fill my kettle and cooking pans with it. The last time I drank it the taste wasn't sweet and as clean and refreshing. No idea what chemtrails do to rainwater that goes into the earth down the the water table. sad.
Further along on the right going to St Catherine's lock, you may have seen - or smelt - what seems a bit like a smallish pond that is boggy looking. A local told me online that it could be leakage from nearby silage (the only unpleasant thing I ever found in the area). As a younger mum we used to take the boys and my dog, Sheba, there. The first time we took her when she was still very young, she saw that filthy stinky pond and leapt straight in to roll around and have a dirt bath! Ugh. My o/h managed to get her out eventually and we headed back to the car instead of carrying on, and as soon as we reached a stretch where she could get out easily he picked her up and put her in the river to wash off. He has to remove his filthy t shirt and when we reached the car at the top he had to slip off his tracksuit bottoms and trainers too for the drive home. They stunk so much we put them all in the boot. lol.
After that, Sheba stayed on the lead before we reached that stinking mess and for a good few minutes after we passed it.
St Catherine's lock itself. I am not sure now if I misremember but I have a faint recollection of a lock keeper's house there when I was very young, and a lock keeper but maybe it was a different lock as there were no foundations left ewhen I last went there around a decade and a half ago.
Perhaps if you go there again you can show the stone bridge and stone seat which reportedly was built by pilgrims.
The brick and metal bridge by the gold sand replaced the wooden and more attractive bridge across the river.
I recall when the old ruins at the top were open and not railed in. Unfortunately, louts kept causing damage during the late sixties to early seventies. To think it stood so many hundreds of years without being deliberately vandalised then when drugs became a bit more commonplace the vandalism began. It seems society has deteriorated non stop since. That said, if course stones were taken from the building to be re-used in a worthwhile way such as house building or repairs but that was many centuries ago and it wasn't intended vandalism. more reclamation and recycling.
I don't think there is more I can add as I have never lived in the area.
You would find Selborne, the zig zag pathway, the beech hanger at the too and the oak hanger down below the rear of the churchyard. Greensand, chalk, hard ragstone - "what my paternal maternal Belgae ancestors were clearing to make workable and habitable when the Romans invaded, then after they left the y syc sons, their angels, ju tes and later nor(th)man cousins. I have quite a bit of generational history and particularly from my paternal G'mother. Most tribal people were far from the primitive oiks than invaders and their still too powerful descendants have portrayed. records were kept by indenting on thin metal sheets. Gold for the most important. Some of the villas in the warmer SE were pre Roman but they took them over and changed them to their own taste.
Recently found Bersted Man shows how magnificent leading tribesmen could be around the iron age. Truly spectacular. That is another subject though.
Blackmore very interesting as well, along with Abinger in Surrey and various still quite small and quaint villages around the Surrey Hills. Well worth a visit to shire (pronounced Sheer) and Gomshall. Much history.
The artist is David Shepherd.
When I was a child,1(940s and 50s), the ferry was still in operation and there was a tea garden (café) overlooking it.
I saw this video on Film Booth!
same
Thanks, chaps ... I lived at 3 St Catherine's Hill in the late 90s for a little while, so this was a lovely walk down memory lane. Waking up and looking out the bedroom window to see that chapel never got old (extra delicious in snow) and even after 10 years in England, it felt very exotic (I'm Australian). I quite often walked the towpath into town to get the train to work in the big smoke, and it was always a great start to the day. I slid down the golden sands hill on my bum a few times and certainly made the most of the proximity to the Olde Ship Inn. I would often buy a pint and carry it home (45-second walk) to enjoy in the living room.
Another awesome video guys 👌👌👌.
Cheers, Angelo! 🤗
Another awesome and informative video guys! Thanks for sharing some amazing local history with us. 😎🤘🏻
Thanks, Ben!! Glad you enjoyed it. We were surprised to learn about some of the histories too, fascinating!
You made it sound like you walked all the 153 miles ! :-)
haha - unfortunately our short 3 mile loop from Guildford didn't make much of a dent into that route. However, maybe it'll be a challenge video that we'll feature in the future!
These videos are very helpful! We’re looking to move to Surrey/Hampshire soon. Any chance you could do Winchester soon?
Thanks for your comment, we're glad you've found them helpful. Winchester is an excellent suggestion, it's also a place that has been on our radar. We may just bump that up our list ;)