A short guide to visiting Box Hill, near London

Josh
Aug 20
5 min read

A view from Box Hill trail, with trees and brown, parched fields stretching far into the distance — The walking trails to the top of Box Hill are occasionally steep, but never for long

One of the first places that come to mind when Londoners think about where they can go to get out of the city for a countryside walk, Box Hill is a small, steep hill less than an hour’s train ride from London city centre.

Walking routes

There are two ways to start your walk. They both start the same way: leave the station and walk down Westhumble Street towards the A24. Don’t worry, there is plenty of room on the pavement next to this busy main road.

At the end of Westhumble Street, go through the passage which goes under the A24 and turn left. Then, you can take the first right (following the signs) into Burford Meadows – a large field with hills to your left – and follow the trail towards the stepping stones which cross the River Mole.

Stepping stones across the River Mole near Box Hill. Several people are paddling in the water — The Stepping Stones get quite busy in summer with visitors looking to cool off in the shallow water

Alternatively, you can follow the A24 further and cross the river before heading along Old London Road, which veers slightly to your right at the roundabout. Stay on the right-hand side of the road, walking past the Burford Bridge Hotel. You can follow this road to Zig Zag Road on your right-hand side about four minutes’ walk away. Then turn right again immediately to join the footpath and double-back up Box Hill Trail. Alternatively, there is a shorter, steeper path which eventually intersects with Box Hill Trail. This path is on your right, just after walking past Burford Bridge Hotel.

Whichever route you take, following the main paths will take you to the top of the hill. If you don’t stop for breath or to take pictures, you can get from the station to the top of the hill in around 45 minutes.

Things to see

Several groups of people admire the views from the top of Box Hill in Surrey, near London. The fields are brown because of the hot summer, but there are still many green trees spread across the surrounding area — The countryside around Box Hill is usually covered in green grass, but 2026 has been an exceptionally dry and hot summer in the UK

Other than the beautiful countryside views, just a few minutes’ walk from the top of the hill is an old fort constructed as a battery to be used in the event of a Napoleonic invasion of Britain. It hasn’t been well maintained, and it probably wasn’t very pretty to begin with, but if you want to see a small slice of 19^th-century history then it doesn’t require much effort to do so.

At the top of Box Hill is a small visitor centre, with a café, reasonably clean toilets, a place to refill your water bottle, an ice cream kiosk and a few picnic benches. There’s even a charming second-hand bookshop, which had some nice old leatherbound books when we visited. All profits from book sales go directly to conservation of the Box Hill area.

Once you’ve seen the views, you’ll probably want to follow whichever path you didn’t take up the hill to go back down the hill. There are some other trails you can follow, which take you further into the woodland around Box Hill. Liz and I explored some of these on our recent visit but we wouldn’t strongly recommend them unless you really want to stretch your legs for a while longer. Sections of these paths are quite overgrown and the views of the surrounding North Downs countryside are mostly obscured by trees.

Places to get a post-walk drink or snack

For the fancier, wine-drinking folk amongst you, there is a vineyard a short walk away from Box Hill, Denbies Wine Estate. I would love to tell you it’s a wonderful place to sit and relax over a cold glass of sparkling white wine… but we haven’t actually visited. All wine tastes the same though, right? (Liz has left me a note here to say that it definitely does not.).

If you visit Denbies Wine Estate and can recommend it to others, or if you visit and definitely can’t recommend it, we’d love it if you could share a short review in the comments below.

There is a perfectly nice pub, called the Stepping Stones, a very short walk from Box Hill and Westhumble station. The food is a bit more expensive than you might hope, but it’s still your best option for a roast dinner or a quick drink in the beer garden outside before taking the train back to London.

This summer (that's 2026, for those of you reading this in the future), JJ’s Gelato were serving ice creams from a small cart in front of the station. While I only tried one flavour - chocolate, as you’d expect from this 34-year-old man-child - it was pretty good! Liz tried the pistachio, which was also very tasty. Treat yourself to a scoop before setting off home.

How to get to Box Hill from London

A sign on the Box Hill walking trails showing a left arrow towards the stepping stones and a right arrow towards a footbridge — You won't get lost walking on Box Hill. All the paths are easy to follow

There are direct trains to Box Hill from London Waterloo and London Victoria stations. If you aren’t from London, it may help to know that Waterloo is on the Bakerloo, Northern and Jubilee underground lines, while London Victoria is on the Circle, District, and Victoria lines.

Trains from Victoria take 53 minutes, while those from Waterloo take just over 45 minutes.

While Box Hill and Westhumble is outside of the Oyster Card area, you can still use contactless bank cards or phone payments (Apple Pay and Google Pay) to tap in and out if you don’t want to queue for a ticket at the station.

If you want to drive to Box Hill, there is a small car park at the top of Box Hill by the Visitor Centre. It’s much more convenient and eco-friendlier to take the train, though.

How does Box Hill compare to other walks around London?

A wooden footbridge over the River Mole near Box Hill in Surrey — If you don't fancy walking over the stepping stones, take the footbridge across the River Mole instead

Box Hill is a nice, short, easy enough walk for most people. Its popularity is as much due to how easy it is to get there, as it is to the pleasant views of the surrounding countryside that you’ll find when you arrive.

To me and Liz, the views you'll see at Box Hill are not as lovely as those you'll find while walking in the Goring Gap in the Berkshire Downs. The coastal views while hiking Seven Sisters might appeal more to most people than those at Box Hill too, but the walk is much more strenuous.

Box Hill is best for Londoners who want a quick and convenient escape from the city, or for tourists who want to see some English countryside without having to go for a lengthy hike.

A forest trail on Box Hill in Surrey. A tree leans over the path, creating a natural arch — There are some pretty spots away from the busiest paths, but your views of the surrounding countryside will be partly obscured by trees and bushes

Box Hill is also great for any tourists with only a few days to spend in London, because you could quite easily travel to Box Hill early in the morning, finish your walk, have a traditional English lunch at The Stepping Stones Pub near the station, and be back in the centre of London by mid-afternoon with plenty of time left to do something else in the evening.

If you are staying in London for more than a few days and want more walking and hiking ideas, keep checking our London page for all our guides to visiting our hometown. You can also find some more places that we enjoy visiting for a bit of peace and quiet outside the centre of London in this guide.

Anything else you need to know before you close this tab?

Box Hill is close to the town of Dorking, which is a funny name. It’s derived from the Saxon word Dorchingas, which is also a funny name meaning… nobody knows for sure.

Fun to say though, isn’t it? Dorking.