About
Holmwood Common is 650 acres of ancient common just off the A24 a mile south of Dorking, once owned by King Harold and then William the Conqueror. Fairly flat and often wet underfoot, it mixes dappled oak woodland with sunny clearings and ponds where dragonflies hover in summer, a viewpoint 360 feet up with views across to Ranmore Common and the spire of St Barnabas church, and a rich crop of fungi in autumn; rare hazel dormice live here too. Children can build dens, roll down the viewpoint hill and picnic in King's Meadow by the Blackbrook Road car park. Reviewers praise the autumn colour, the many benches and the free car parks, while noting no toilets, road noise beside the A24 and dog mess on the circular trail. The family activity trail is a signposted 3.1 or 4 mile loop on an all-weather path from Blackbrook Road car park. Dogs are welcome under close control to protect wildlife.
Check today’s timesSee all times
- CountrysideDawn – Dusk
Opening times may change at short notice.
The National Trust calendar shows the countryside open dawn to dusk every day to 31 December 2026; the common is open access land with free car parks between dawn and dusk.
Overnight parking and camping are not allowed, and the Trust asks visitors not to light fires or barbecues. No toilets at Holmwood Common.
The all-weather hard core path on the family activity trail and the path around Fourwents Pond to the Scamells car park are the more accessible routes for wheelchair users, with benches along the way; other paths can be wet and muddy.
Dogs are welcome under close control to protect wildlife; please clean up after your dog.
Photo: Viewpoint on Holmwood Common, bench and waymark post at the high point of the common. Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Viewpoint_on_Holmwood_Common_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2386086.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
Dogs at the location: Allowed. Dogs are welcome on the common under close control to protect wildlife.
Dog walks in the grounds: Allowed. Dogs may walk the whole common and the family activity trail under close control; owners are asked to clean up after them. Free access, no ticket needed.
Leads: Close control to protect wildlife; no lead rule stated. Clean up after your dog.
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Walking routes1 route
Holmwood Common family activity trail(opens the full route on the National Trust site)
WalkeasyDog friendly6.4 km
