pic-nic spots in Surrey

[hatwoman]

I'm all Richmond Park-ed out. does anyone know any spots within say 45 mins drive of Kingston that feel like proper country-side. no swings and preferably no other children (might be a lot to ask...). Paddling would be good (probably with wellies)

probably too late now, but what about the devils punchbowl in hindhead?

no water tho (i dont think)

hi again, yes I;ve driven past the Devil's punchbowl and have promised myself to take a proper look one day. We went to Box Hill in the end - and had a lovely day - pic-niced, walked, ate ice cream. The girl;s were both very taken with it - I was too. doesn;t quite match my home turf (went there over the Easter weekend and am pining for wide open spaces) but really not bad. for the south

glad you had a nice time

When I worked in Rowledge, enjoyed a picnic in a field, which was near a walk we routinely did which involved crossing a river (at a ford), thus could either take bridge, or splash through it.

Map - with instructions ... been playing with Google Maps and created this from memory, so may not be perfectly accurate but should be reasonable.

Lightwater Country Park can be a good place, though there will be other people there.

You used to be able to paddle at Frensham Great Pond, but it is no longer permitted. Beach area is nice, but can get very busy at times and has little to no shade.

Box Hill is also good in the summer if you forget the picnic - have tea at the Burford Bridge Hotel instead and they'll let you use the outdoor pool.

Can someone remind me where the Silent Pool is?

Slightly further afield is the Ashdown Forest - forget the Winnie-the-Pooh connections there are thousands of acres of it with streams, ponds and lakes hidden away. Lots of parking but no facilities (ie. no hoards of visitors which is good as I live there!).

thanks nannynick - did you do that for me?? wow if so. I'll put that on my to do list - I've made a resolution to explore Surrey much more. we've been in Kingston for nearly 12 years now and we've only really got as far as the commons - Claygate, Oxshot etc - still inside the M25. Box Hill was lovely today - dd1 is showing clear signs of liking countryside -which I'm most chuffed about - she likes walking, loves going to my mums in the Peak District - to the extent that she asks why we can;t live somewhere like it. Ashdown Forest sounds good too - the less people the better as far as I'm concerned! The Silent Pool is near Shere - kind of inbetween Guildford and Dorking

Yes, but now having done it, will have to repeat it with the children I nanny, taking GPS with us, so that I can make it more accurate and check that there is still public access to the Orchard (think it is an old orchard). Also handy to have idea of how long it takes as well - as I can't remember that from memory, it would have been Summer term 2005 when I took the then 3 year old for picnic.

Another place I like is Leith Hill tower. The tower is National Trust . It is to the South West of Dorking. Various small carparks in surounding area. One I usually park at (can not remember it's location alas - have it on GPS in car) has steps going up the hill, so quite a direct route but sufficiently challenging for little ones, so they wear off some energy.