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Mariners Hill
Mariners Hill is held by the Trust for value in the local landscape, but the site is managed to conserve its wildlife and for recreational purposes. The hill offers fine views of the Weald which lie to the south. The wildlife in the area includes many native birds and an array of dead wood invertebrates.
Although the hill has no definitive public rights of way running over the land, there are permissive paths which form small circular walks.
The hill is enjoyed by local people and dog walkers, who value the tranquil walks and excellent panoramic views of the Weald. The long distance Greensand Ridge Way which links Haslemere in Surrey to Ham Street near Dover, Kent, runs along the property's northern boundary.
The character of the woods was changed by the storm of 1987. Damaged areas were left to recover naturally and these are now developing into maturing semi-natural woodlands. This has resulted in the area being open to the elements, giving a feeling of wilderness.
Mariners Hill has been owned by the National Trust since 1904. It was one of the first properties to benefit from the protection conferred by the 1907 National Trust Act.
The donor was Catherine Southwood Hill, who was one of Octavia Hills' sisters and one of the founder members of the Trust. There is a stone plinth in the middle of the property which reads: "The preservation of Mariners Hill as an open space property was due to the efforts of Octavia Hill".
Mariners Hill is 10.7 hectares (26.5 acres) and is at grid ref: TQ449513. The property rises to a height of between 160-200m above sea level and lies ½ mile to the west of the National Trust property of Chartwell and two miles north of Crockham Hill Farm.
The area lies within the North Downs AONB and is split into two distinctive parts. The first is semi-natural woodland that covers 2.4 hectares (6 acres) and is covered in a mass of bluebells in the spring, with the rest is used as arable fields. The woodland floor shows evidence of quarrying in its history.
Facilities
- Parking for four cars
- View point
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