Deep in the Surrey countryside between Guildford and Shere there is a spot known both for its spectacular view and for its “eerie stillness”. Silent Pool is said to be a site of “mystery and ancient legend” and would not look out of place if you came across it along the Amazon River.
Tourism board Explore Surrey described Silent Pool as “nestling in a hollow at the foot of the North Downs”. It said: “Sherbourne Pond and Silent Pool are fed by springs and are known for the eerie blue hue to the water. It is a site of mystery and ancient legend.”
Visitors can stand at one end of the pool and, as they look down the length of the waterway, feel transported for a moment onto a tributary of the Amazon, surrounded by trees and with a green-tinted reflection of the sky laid out in front of them. Unfortunately, however, the perspective at Silent Pool can change and the pond could be walked around in minutes, unlike the Amazon itself.
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Atlas Obscura claimed Silent Pool’s “peaceful and kaleidoscopic waters” have attracted visitors for centuries. In recent years, the adjoining Silent Pool Distillery and Pool Bar was awarded a Traveller’s Choice Award for 2022.
It was named among the best things to do in the area, along with Albury Organic Vineyard which also has a Traveller’s Choice award for 2022. The vineyard itself offers the ultimate destination for a romantic date while Chai On The Patio at Mandira’s Kitchen has been described as a “hidden gem”.
Numerous reviews have described a visit to Silent Pool as “excellent” – though entering the water is off-limits. Some though, may say that is for good reason if you have heard the legend of a woodcutter’s daughter who bathed in the pool.
Explore Surrey tells the fateful tale of this legend and has said: “Many feel an eerie stillness looking over the still water surrounded by the evergreen box trees. Legend has it that this is due to the fate of a woodcutter’s daughter who was surprised by a nobleman on a horse as she bathed in the pool.
“Having failed to lure her to the bank, he rode his horse into the water and caused the girl to move into deeper water where she drowned. When the woodcutter returned and found her body, he also found the nobleman’s hat floating on the water.” Silent Pool has a nearby car park that also offers a base to start a six-mile walk that takes in Newlands Corner and a stretch of the North Downs Way.
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