New Walk in Old Surroundings

While Facebook Ads can be annoying (and just why would I want to buy something which I have only just bought?), sometimes interesting things pop up. Today it was an local paper article about a heritage site near Guildford which has been restored as a visitor's attraction with woodland walks and ruined buildings to investigate: Chilworth Gunpowder Mills.  So today I decided to explore.


As a visitor's attraction, I think there needs to be a bit of a rethink, as there is no obvious parking! I eventually found a spot on the road through the village near to one of the paths giving access to the site,. The path is built on the track bed of a post-1888 tramway which originally carried coal, and was one of the first examples of a metric gauge track in the UK.

Once into the main site, I found what on the face of it was a pleasant woodland walk along the River Tillingbourne using well marked tracks.  However, mostly hidden in the undergrowth, one kept coming across evidence of buildings and industry. 

This is one of the best preserved, the 1880's Steam Incorporating Mills complex where the constituents of gunpowder were mixed. The image is looking through the basement where the steam driven gears would be, with 3-ton millstones above. Only the gear rooms and blast-proof walls remain as all the other materials were lightweight, being designed to direct any accidental blasts away from the building and its machinery.  There has been industry on this site since the 1650's, which reached its peak in the late Victorian age before closing in 1920, and the site finally being abandoned in 1963.  It was a fascinating visit, and I will return in winter once some of the undergrowth has hopefully subsided to reveal more of the workings.