Pyrford and the River Wey

You could hardly imagine a more romantic hideaway than this Elizabethan summerhouse. This mellow, red-brick building stands two storeys high, with a first-floor entrance and a curious, ogee-pitched roof to keep off the rain. At just 14ft square, you wouldn’t hold a party here, but it’s a cosy enough little spot for two. You’ll see it on the river bank in the grounds of Pyrford Place, half a mile (800m) south of Pyrford Lock. A blue plaque on the wall records that the poet and clergyman John Donne lived here in the early years of the 17th century – but that’s only part of the story.

Forbidden love

John Donne was born into a wealthy London family in 1572. He was educated at Oxford and Cambridge, and went on to study law and theology at the Inns of Court in London. Donne was a deeply religious young man, yet he was also passionate by nature; he had inherited a considerable fortune and he spent his money on womanising, on books, and on all the pleasures that London could offer. After his studies, Donne passed a couple of years in naval adventures to Spain and the Azores, before returning to London in 1598 to begin a promising career as secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton, Keeper of the Great Seal. In the same year he met the love of his life, Egerton’s 14-year-old niece, Anne More. The couple married secretly in 1601, when Anne was just 17.

Lock up

John was in trouble – big time. Anne’s father, Sir George More, had him thrown into the Fleet Prison, together with two friends who had helped to conceal the affair. Although Sir George later relented and allowed the marriage to stand, the episode had cost John his job; his own money had gone and, with a growing family to support, things were looking bleak. Luckily for the two lovers, not all of Anne’s family were so prickly. Her cousin offered them shelter at Pyrford Place, where they spent the early years of their married life.

John began to earn a small income from legal work; Anne’s father was reconciled and paid his daughter’s dowry; and John entered the church, becoming Royal Chaplain in 1615. But just as things were improving, tragedy struck. In 1617, Anne died after giving birth to the couple’s twelfth child, which was stillborn. She was only 33. John was devastated. He continued to write poetry, but sermons now took the place of love songs. In 1621, James I appointed him Dean of St Paul’s, and he held the post until his death in 1631.

Walk through the car park, cross the bridge at the traffic lights and follow the roadside pavement towards Pyrford Village. The pavement begins on the right-hand side, and crosses the water meadows on several small bridges. There are good views of Newark Priory from this part of the walk, and in wet weather the flooded fields attract swans and other waterfowl. The pavement now switches to the left-hand side, and you cross The Bourne stream bridge; then, as the road swings hard right at Church Hill, keep straight on up the steep woodland path to St Nicholas Church.

Bear right past the church, cross the road and take the slab path through the new churchyard. Cross the two stiles at the far side and then go through the field to a stile on the left. Go over the stile and follow a sandy track through the farmyard and towards the line of pylons. Bear left under the first set of power lines, following the field edge on your right. Carry straight on past the footpath turnings, right and left, and when directly under the wires turn right on a waymarked path and head towards the corner of a garden that juts out into the field. Bear slightly left here, keeping the fence on your left-hand side. Continue through a metal kissing gate at Pyrford Green House and down the gravelled drive to Pyrford Road.

Zig-zag right and left across the road, then take the signposted footpath through a gate and up the left-hand side of an open field. Carry on through a gate and over the small footbridge straight ahead and follow the waymarked route across Pyrford Golf Course. You’ll come out on Lock Lane, just by Pyrford Lock. Turn right here and walk across the bridge by The Anchor pub.

Turn right to join the River Wey towpath. Just past Walsham Lock, the towpath zig-zags left and right across the weir, and you continue walking with the river on your right. Cross the little footbridge at Newark Lock, where you’ll get the best views of the remains of Newark Priory. From here, continue along the towpath, with the river on your left. Beyond the lock, you’ll come to Newark Lane; turn left here and cross over Newark Bridge to return to the car park.