Butlers Copse

Byway between Coldharbour and Wotton.

This information board is at The Landslip car park in Abinger Road RH5 6HG, east of Leith Hill. It has the following wording: Mosses Wood Arboretum and Frank's Wood Covering 69 acres Left column Welcome to Mosses Wood. As you stand here you are surrounded by some spectacular specimen trees which form part of an arboretum. The arboretum is full of an array of interesting pines towering high above. The older of these trees were planted in the mid 1800s, some of which form an avenue created by Alexander Hargreaves Brown leading to his family home at Broome Hall. More recently, in 1995, the National Trust planted 100 trees to celebrate the centenary of the National Trust. Mosses Wood was donated to the National Trust by Lady Edith Ivy Pigott Brown in memory of her son Capt Sir John Pigott Brown who was killed in action in Tunisia on Christmas Day 1942. Lady Pigott Brown also lost her husband Capt Hargreaves Brown during the First World War at the first battle of Ypres on 29 October 1914. Both her husband and her son were in the Coldstream Guards. At the southern edge of Mosses Wood you will find a gate built in memory of Capt Pigott Brown, TQ1442 refers. Capt Hargreaves Brown After attending Sandhurst, Capt Brown was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards in 1900 and served in South Africa between 1901-1902. He married Lady Pigott Brown on 18 October 1910 at the Guards Chapel in Wellington Barracks, London. At the outbreak of The First World War, Capt Brown was part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and deployed to France with the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards. The BEF was a small professional army (not much larger than today's modern British Army) and by the end of November 1914 they had all but destroyed while halting the continuous mass attacks by the much larger conscripted German army. Capt Brown was killed in action during the 1st Battle of Ypres on 29 October 1914. The exact account of what happened will never been known due to the losses sustained by the 1st Battalion and therefore no accounts exist. What is known is the Coldstream Guards were attacked at 05:30am under the cover of fog by the Bavarian Reserve Division. At this stage the BEF frontline was not much more than isolated outposts and the disaster was owned, in part, to the supporting machine guns failing to work due to the wrong calibre of rounds being supplied. Capt Brown's body was never recovered and is remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. Middle and right column Image of Capt Sir John Pigott Brown Capt Sir John Pigott Brown Capt Pigott Brown followed his father's footsteps and was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards. Like his father in 1914, he was also deployed to France under the BEF to halt the German Blitzkrieg in the summer of 1940. He received a gunshot wound to his head in Belgium and was sent back to the UK shortly before the evacuation of Dunkirk. After recovering from his wounds in November 1942, as part of Operation Torch, he deployed to North Africa. He was killed in action on Christmas Day 1942 during the first battle of Longstop Hill, a strategic high point overlooking Tunis. On Christmas Day morning he was Officer Commanding of the reserve company but was tasked with taking over command of Number 3 Company. Shortly after his arrival at Longstop Hill, the Coldstream Guards were attacked by 1 Company of the 69 Panzer Grenadier regiment. The attack was started by a heavy artillery barrage and Captain Pigott Brown's position took a direct hit. It also killed Sgt Noble and WO2 (CSM) Callaghan. Like his father in 1914, his final resting place is unknown and he is remembered at The Medjez-El-Bab memorial in Tunisia. The pink walk follows a footpath through Frank's Wood, named after National Trust woodsman Frank Longhurst who planted the oak trees in 1949. This walk is particularly beautiful in spring when the bluebells are in flower. The woodland floor is transformed into a sea of purple, a really spectacular display. This area is particularly prone to landslips due to its geology: the first of which is believed to have occurred when Elizabeth I was on the throne. More recently in 2000, the land slipped again causing damage to the road. There is still evidence today of the landslip. There is more information about the geology of Leith Hill on the noticeboard at the Tower. Map of the Leith Hill area with photos of the memorial gate and inscription beside it. Images of the following trees from left to right: a) Sweet Gum or Liquidambar styraciflua b) Monkey Puzzle or Araucaria c) Pond Cypress or Taxodium ascendens d) Bosnian Pine or Pinus Heldreichii c)

This NT sign is in Abinger Road RH5 6HG and is by a footpath leading to Leith Hill. Coldharbour Common, which comprises of 104 acres (42.1 hectares) of woodland and open space, was acquired by the National Trust in 1986 through the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

This photo shows the inside of the telephone box with an advertisement for Park Tools which is an American firm that manufactures bicycle tools. Above the advertisement is a notice that says: FLAT TYRE? BROKEN CHAIN? WE SELL BIKE SPARES AT THE SHOP The shop in question is based at the Plough Inn nearby in Coldharbour.

This telephone box is located in Coldharbour village, its postcode being RH5 6HE. It no longer has a payphone, but an advertisement instead for an American firm which manufactures bicycle tools, Link refers.

Looking towards Horsham.

Looking from the Old Horsham Road bridge to the A24 Horsham Road bridge. Milepost 27 on the right - the datum seems to be Waterloo, although no trains are routed from there now.

Presumably this once had assorted skips lined up. The sign asks people not to leave bottles etc. here, remarkably it has been complied with.

Holmwood footpath 525 goes straight on along the drive to Redlands, footpath 266 goes right.

A private road but public footpath 525, Holmwood.

From Betchets Green to Warwick Road, South Holmwood.

From Betchets Green to Warwick Road, South Holmwood.

At Warwick Close.

A fairly new waymarker beside Coldharbour Cricket Club's pitch on Leith Hill shows the way for off road cyclists.

A newish waymarker in Coldharbour points towards Wolvens Lane, a Byway Open to All Traffic (BOAT). Note the accompanying signs showing restrictions and a warning to would be off road motorcyclists from the Surrey Police.

This country inn offers accommodation, food, drink, microbrewery and shop in the hilltop village of Coldharbour. It is a welcome sight after a walk up neighbouring Leith Hill. Link

This country inn offers accommodation, food, drink, microbrewery and shop in the hilltop village of Coldharbour. It is a welcome sight after a walk up neighbouring Leith Hill. Link

This dates from before the A24 roundabout and Capel bypass were built. It seems to have been retained as a path, as the pavement is missing on the deviation route.