Surrey Hills · Silent Pool
There are several Silent Pool walks, depending on how much of the day you want to give it. They all share one sensible ending.
From the Silent Pool car park you can do a short, mostly flat loop taking in both Silent Pool and Sherbourne Pond, the second pool dug in the 1600s to power fountains and water the old Albury vineyard. For something longer, the path climbs the chalk of the North Downs to meet the North Downs Way, then on towards Newlands Corner and St Martha's Hill, around nine kilometres if you do the full circuit. The climb can be slippery after rain, so decent boots.
Whichever version you choose, it starts and finishes by the pool, and Mandira's Kitchen is on the track right there, a 400-year-old converted cowshed serving hot chai, Indian lunch and cake seven days a week. The long walk earns the long lunch.
What you actually eat here
Lunch, seven days a week
Lunch is Indian street food, the kind Mandira grew up eating, not a curry-house menu. Samosa chaat with tamarind drizzle, papri chaat, biryani, kathi rolls, keema pav, the forbidden chilli cheese toast, all handmade with our own chutneys. Gluten-free options. Eat in the barn or out on the patio over the pool.
The weekend thali
At weekends we make a limited number of thalis: a round platter of small dishes that changes every week, with a Bollywood playlist, a film recommendation and a quiz, because a thali should be an afternoon, not a plate. Must be pre-booked.
Freezer meals to take home
The same food, cooked by hand in small batches in the barn and frozen the same day. Take a stack home from the cafe after lunch, or have them delivered anywhere in the UK in insulated boxes, free over £100.
A barn above one of England's strangest pools
Silent Pool is a spring-fed former chalk quarry on the Albury Estate, so still and so clear it looks lit from below. Tennyson came here to think. Agatha Christie's car was found just up the hill at Newlands Corner in 1926. There is a legend about a girl called Emma and a king on a horse, which may be Victorian invention but is told anyway. Our barn sits on the track just above all of it, where the smell of ground cardamom now drifts across the hills by mid-morning.
Good questions, briefly answered
How long is the Silent Pool circular walk?
It varies. A short loop around Silent Pool and Sherbourne Pond is gentle and mostly flat. The fuller circuit up to the North Downs Way, Newlands Corner and St Martha's Hill is around nine kilometres.
Where do I park for the Silent Pool walk?
There is a free car park off the A25 at Silent Pool, Shere Road, Albury, GU5 9BW. Register at Mandira's Kitchen for complimentary parking when you visit the cafe.
Is the walk suitable for all abilities?
The short pool-and-pond loop suits most abilities and has a viewing platform. The longer North Downs sections involve a steady chalk climb that can be slippery after rain.
Is there anywhere to eat on the walk?
Yes. Mandira's Kitchen sits on the track right by the Silent Pool car park, serving chai, Indian lunch, cake and Afternoon Tea seven days a week.
Book lunch at the end of the walk
Open seven days a week, on the track above Silent Pool.
Book lunch at the end of the walk →