Deceptive Bends – a population with a broad spectrum –

3 – 1800 - 1900

​

The Mole Valley also played its part in national defence.

For centuries, troops and sailors passed through on their way from London to the south coast. Coaching inns along the route, such as Running Horses, served these travellers.

 

Nearby, at Burford Bridge Hotel, Horatio Nelson is said in 1805 to have spent his final night in England  with Emma Hamilton before sailing to the Battle of Trafalgar.

​

The arrival of the railway in 1867 transformed access. The line from Leatherhead to Dorking—passing through the tunnel beneath Norbury Park—included a station at Box Hill & Westhumble railway station by agreement with the landowner. It opened the valley to Londoners seeking fresh air, views, and escape from industrial life.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​