Dougal's Dog Blog. Entry 4: Alderstead Heath, Surrey

Think of London and you generally think of Abbey Wood or Crystal Palace. At least that's what the Human that I own reckons. Me, I've got my paw on the page of Crystal Palace... next to a huge park and near a dog-friendly pub? Sounds like my kind of site.

But last week we went to Alderstead Heath. Human tells me that this entry goes out to all the dogs who take their owners away in cool classic motorhomes, as unlike the other two capital sites mentioned it falls outside the LEZ. I thought that Lez was the name of a 'rad' pit bull from Hackney, but the Human mumbles something about 'Boris's anti-motorhome tax'. He speaks in riddles sometimes and is best ignored.

So, whether your dog is called Lez or your camper van is called Boris, it seems that Alderstead Heath is the site to go for.

Great news for 2012 is that Alderstead Heath is now on the bus route. So motor caravanners (and anyone else not wishing to brave the army of Surrey 4x4s charging around the country lanes) can now access Caterham, Merstham, and Redhill railway stations by bus. The downsides are that it's only every two hours, Monday to Friday at the moment. But it's a start.

Access was a bit interesting, as it seems that you have to overshoot a junction on the M25 then head back on yourself. It seemed straightforward enough from the comfort of my travel cage, but the Human kept whining on about the Highways Authority needing to get their finger out and put in the much-promised roundabout on the A23 that would allow a far simpler transition from the M23 Northbound to the A23 Southbound and the Shepherd's Hill access road. Well, the Human didn't actually call it Shepherd's Hill. He called it something else that questioned its parenthood... apparently it acquired this new, colourful name the day he decided to cycle up it from nearby Merstham station. As ever, I did my nodding dog impersonation and ignored him.

What a lovely site! It's really green and leafy with loads of trees around and plenty of green space. It's the biggest Club site I have ever seen (although I'm still new at this caravanning lark) and I have to say, one of the prettiest, even in February.

What impressed me more than anything though was the dog walk. The Club has got its priorities right here and arranged for a public footpath through the woods to start right next to the entry barrier.

These woods, according to the wittering Human, were used during the war for something or other, and as a result there are concrete paths forming walks from the site. So even if it's been teeming down with rain, you won't get bogged down. There's a great 'circuit' which you can do in about 15 minutes (or far longer if, like me, you like playing ball) but you can also join up with a network of footpaths and go as far as you like. There's a free guide to walks in the site info centre, or you can get your Human to buy a little booklet detailing some longer local walks from the lovely lovely warden in the site reception.

We took off in the direction of 'Happy Valley'. Crossing the farm fields to get there made my undercarriage a little muddy, but Happy I was when we arrived. It was very, very hard to believe that we could be in such a rural idyll yet still be inside (and within sniffing distance) of the M25. LOTS of space to play ball off the lead, in a choice of woodland or meadow. I was hooked (well, unhooked, but you see what I mean)... I can't wait to go there again.

There's one downside though, canine pals. One of the Human's favourite treats at Alderstead is to pay a visit to the wonderfully eccentric Fanny's Farm Shop for a cream tea. Given Fanny's eccentricity (the whole place isn't even connected to mains electricity) it came as a surprise to us all that I was not welcome on the premises. I had to sit in the car while His Majesty filled his face with tea, scone and jam.

I'm not going to let him forget that in a hurry.