--- Greensand Challenge ---


*** An Anytime Challenge ***

*** A BRAND NEW EVENT for 2021 ***

 


Event Details

The Greensand Challenge is a 20 mile, circular 'Anytime Challenge' around the footpaths and bridleways of Surrey. It was devised during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown of 2021 and offered as an anytime challenge open to walkers, joggers or runners wanting to challenge themselves on a varied route around the attractive Surrey Hills. The route nominally follows the Greensand Way across the sandstone hills of Reynards, Pitch, Holmbury and Leith before winding its way along lesser known footpaths and bridleways of the Weald south of the Greensand escarpment.

The Challenge

Unlike traditional LDWA challenge walks the Greensand Challenge has an added 'extra' - it has no detailed route description but is instead defined by a series of routepoints (grid references) which, when connected, form the 20 mile circuit. The challenge then is to navigate your way round your plotted route passing through these points. The routepoints have been selected to make the connecting paths and bridleways between them fairly obvious. Of course you do not have to use these 'obvious' paths, you may select others in order to increase the 'challenge' by extending the mileage!

The list of routepoints defining the route is shown here. A GPX file of these points can be downloaded here.  

The challenge is covered by Landranger sheets 186 & 187 and Explorer sheets 134, 145 & 146. If you use electronic mapping then this is the coverage you will need.

Start / Finish

You can start the challenge at any convenient point and go either way round. A list of suitable car parks can be found here. For those wishing to use public transport, Ockley railway station is a little over 1 mile from the line of the route and Ewhurst, through which you will pass, has a good bus service.

Certificate

Certain of the route points are defined as control points. In order to qualify for a certificate  you must verify that you have passed through ALL control points.

Verification takes the form of a photograph taken at each control point, the details of which are specified in the list of route points. Following your completion please email the following to the Event's Recorder.

  • 11 photographs. one taken at each of the specified routepoints
  • the date you completed the challenge
  • the time taken
  • your start/finish point
  • your name as you would like it to appear on your certificate

Your certificate will then be emailed to you in due course.

Organiser

Devised and managed by Tony Cartwright on behalf of the Surrey Group.