It has been a Sunday morning gathering place for motorcyclists in the south of England for many years. Dumpies Rusty Nuts (a cult UK "rock" band) even recorded a song "Box Hill or Bust".
I can remember seeing members of the 59 club on their regular run out of London in the seventies. At first the meetings were up the top of the hill, in what is now the Natural Trust car park. Some would race up and down the very twisty road from the bottom car park (where we now meet) to the top and visa versa. After several fatalites speed humps (sleeping policemen) were placed in the road and the National Trust started charging for the car parks and discouraging motorcyclists. Shame really, they must have lost out on the profits from the Cafe.
In the bottom car park, a caravan (US trailer) started selling coffee and burgers under the name "Rykers". Over the years they expanded this until it caught fire in the early eighties. Fortunatly they were able to persuade the local council to let them build a permenant Cafe next to the bottom car park.
As the road leading up the hill from Mickleham became less usable (it is now one way) more and motorcyclists started using the main road from Dorking to Leatherhead that runs underneath the hill. This is a fast road with two lanes each way, and several wide sweeping bends suitable for very high speeds. Unfortunalty the footpath crosses the road several times, at least twice round the blind side of a bend! This has lead to several pedestrians being run down. Also a sharp dip in the road combined with an adverse camber after the second southbound bend has lead to a number of accedents - mostly cars flipping over! Due to this, the south bound carrageway is now single lane with a 40mph speed limit.
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For anyone who has not been to Boxhill, it is very easy to find. Head out of town on the A24 (junction 9 on the M25) heading for Dorking.
After the Leatherhead bypass (which is not particularly noticable as such) the road becomes single lane - the spoilsports have striped off one lane to slow the traffic through the "deceptives". Shortly after this finishes there is a car park on the left, just before the Boxhill roundabout. Unless you're blind or it's raining, you can't miss the huge number of bikes. Sometimes you can go straight into the car park, sometimes that entry is closed and you have to go in the back way by turning left at the roundabout. Watch out for the officious git in the white coat telling you where you can't park. Ryka's is right next to the car park and cannot be missed.
If you find yourself in Dorking, you've gone too far.
From the A25, you need to go into Dorking, and take a right at the first roundabout, A24 signposted Leatherhead. You are then approaching Boxhill from the other side. Do a right at the second roundabout (I think). Should be pretty obvious.
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However, unless you can recognise someone from a picture you have found on the net, you have the 'fun' task of going round the tables and asking.
"Hi, I'm looking for some friends - known them for years - don't know what they look like, never met them....."
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