The London LOOP crossing banstead Downs Golf Course

Image: © Marathon Taken: 16 Apr 2014

Travelling out of London on the Sutton By-pass, one reaches the old Brighton Road at Belmont, and beyond is what appears to be the start of the countryside. This is Banstead Downs. The total area of Downs remaining is only a tiny fragment of an enormous tract of mostly unenclosed downland which formerly stretched from Carshalton in the north to the scarp slope of the North Downs near Reigate in the south. This was one of the last large remaining areas of the ancient Royal Forest which covered the entire County of Surrey in medieval times. Banstead Downs was popular as a venue for horse riding and hunting during the 17th and 18th Centuries, but the main use of this area throughout the centuries has been for grazing sheep. The Downs once boasted several race courses, but these were gradually superseded by Epsom Downs. Enclosure of the Downs started in the 18th century and accelerated during the next 100 years, but there was still much open country in the mid-19th century. In 1865, the Lord of the Manor, responding to local feeling, decided to dedicate the remaining downland as public open space, but on his death his successor wished to sell off the land for housing. A long legal battle ensued which was finally decided in 1889 in favour of preservation of the Banstead Commons. The judgement was later confirmed by an Act of Parliament in 1893 which granted Banstead Downs to the Corporation of London, to be managed for the enjoyment of the people of London. A Board of Conservators of Banstead Downs now manage the Downs. Since the Second World War, when the vegetation on the Downs was burnt off, and particularly since the arrival of myxomatosis in the 1950s, which reduced grazing by rabbits, much of the downland has been invaded by scrub and woodland. Little open grassland now remains, and what is left is largely the manicured lawns of the Banstead Downs Golf Course seen here. Banstead Downs Golf Club is an 18 hole private golf course which was established in 1890. The golf course lies to the west of the railway line between Belmont and Banstead and is bisected by the A217. To the east of the railway is Banstead Common which is much more wooded. The London LOOP crosses the golf course here and this is one part of the woodland where the path is kept clear as it crosses the fairways and then passes through the woodland strips. The LOOP goes across this fairway and then enters the woodland ahead, to the left of where a post can just be seen. Banstead Downs is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is home to the rare Small Blue Butterfly, which may be spotted in the summer months.

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