Limpsfield Common

Limpsfield Common is an ancient common on the Greensand Ridge near Oxted, where commoners once grazed their animals and gathered stone and firewood. Today a network of footpaths and bridleways crosses patches of open heath and large woods, with beech trees around 200 years old, bluebells in spring and an old Roman road. Look for the bank of a 400-acre deer park created in 1616 for Sir Thomas Gresham, Lord of the Manor of Titsey, and for the Second World War air raid shelter built for pupils of Limpsfield School, restored to its wartime condition and opened by the Friends of Limpsfield Common on selected days. A Trust survey counted 28 breeding bird species on the common. Reviewers single out the quiet woodland paths, and families hunt for the little animal houses built into logs among the trees. One tip: paths get muddy, so wear boots. Dogs are welcome across the common. Three waymarked trails include a short bluebell loop at Ridlands Grove.