Plenty of room for "Al Fresco" Cranleigh, Surrey, England.

Commentary.

 

Cranleigh has often been called “the largest village in England.”

Certainly, it feels more like a small town,

but has many features associated with a classic village.

It lies below the sandstone hills of Reynards Hill,

Winterfold Forest and Pitch Hill.

It has an extensive cricket green to the west of the High Street.

However, this area of green continues as a strip of wide grassland

on the north side of the High Street, bound on both sides by

a quarter of a mile of mature Norwegian Maple trees.

Towards the eastern end there is a War Memorial,

this roofed water-pump and paved areas outside cafés and restaurants providing an “Al Fresco” patio space for refreshments in good weather.

It used to be served by a railway connecting to Guildford and Shoreham.

The Beeching cuts of the 1960’s closed the line.

Fortunately, its course has been preserved in the form of

a footpath/bridleway/cycleway called the Downs Link, that enhances footfall in Cranleigh.

 

Done