Heathland
The patchwork of landscape within the Surrey Hills includes heathland, once extensive over southern Britain, but now a rare and valuable habitat. Heathland supports a diverse range of animals, including birds and invertebrates. Headley Heath, 214 hectares of open heath to the north east of Dorking, is owned by the National Trust and managed to maintain this unique wilderness landscape. It is unusual because the acid conditions necessary for the survival of plants from the heather family, are located high on the North Downs where alkaline conditions are more usual.
Headley Heath is a large, wide open heathland, with ever-changing colours and mood - the dazzling yellow and coconut-sent of gorse in the spring, the vibrant purple carpet of heather in the summer, warm, rich russets and golds in the autumn, and the dramatic wilderness of winter.
The flat terrain makes the area accessible to the elderly and less-able visitor. The extensive network of paths is dry underfoot all year on the higher ground of the open heathland plains.
