Commons
There are lots of Commons in the Dorking area accessible to visitors. Perhaps the most well-known is Ranmore Common, which lies atop the Downs north-west of Dorking. With its fine church, Ranmore Common is a popular site for visitors, offering views across the Tillingbourne Valley and Greensand Hills, and lovely walks in woodland.
Commons have evolved from areas of 'rough grazing', many associated with Manorial Waste. Much present day open grassland or heathland was formerly covered in forest, cleared in earlier centuries to provide food and shelter.
Local commons are particularly associated with the Wealden Greensand (i.e. Abinger Common) and The Low Weald (Holmwood Common). Holmwood Common is a wild unspoilt area, yet within walking distance of Dorking town centre. It is 650 acres of tranquil, timeless common land, made of dappled woodland on heavy weald clay, with sunny grassy clearings, traditional village greens and a scattering of small ponds and streams. Footpaths lead from the car parks into the common itself. The viewpoint from the centre of the Common gives an impressive panorama across to the North Downs.
Commons have complex mixes of grasses, herbaceous plants, scrub, heath and woodland. The remaining open spaces of grassland owe their existence to sustained grazing, mowing or physical clearance (i.e. by fire), without which they would soon be colonised by scrub or woodland. Examples of commons affected in this way can be seen locally.
