Brian got the rest of us to do the Box Hill Hike (plus a bit) with him in the pouring rain. It was raining when we started from Rykas car park, when climbing up the Stepping Stones Steps, and still raining at the first coffee stop on Lodge Hill, but it was easing off a bit by lunch in Mickleham church yard. It was not cold or windy so actually not unpleasant and there were a surprising number of people out. By the time we sat on a bench on Headley Heath for more coffee the rain had stopped, and blue sky appeared later in the afternoon.
Brian kept us together while Robert (who said he knew all the paths) and Dave (who said he had biked all the bridleways) got us lost a few times. Tony insisted on a coffee stop every 30 minutes (and never did finish his coffee) so we were out for nearly 6 hours, getting back to Rykas just before dusk. The route was 10 miles with 1900 ft of ascent – more than we expected.
Tony had noticed a pub in Mickleham that he fancied as we passed by after lunch, so he led our cars back there. We had to drive up a steep single-track road with no turning places to The King William IV. It was another climb up from the parked cars to the pub but the pub was cosy and the beer was good. We each have our own story about how we extricated our cars from that steep narrow lane.