‘Optohedron’ By Will Nash

How to get there

• Section: 2 – Guildford to Dorking
• Nearest postcode: GU4 8SE
• What 3 words: ///apron.tolls.short
• Where to start? Nearest Car Park is on Drove Road, Albury, GU4 8SE. Newlands Corner Car Park GU4 8SE
• What to expect: Epic views, woodland walks and open valleys

Full Route: This sculpture is on section 2 of the North Downs Way from Guildford to Dorking 13 miles (21km) for more details, visit the North Downs Way website.

Other routes: Silent Pool walk – A 6 mile scenic walk around the North Downs, Sherbourne Pond and Silent Pool, which are fed by springs.

In a hurry?

It’s just 2.8 miles from Gomshall or Chilworth station.

Take your time…

Soak up more of the Surrey Hills National Landscape and start the North Downs Way from Farnham, which is 15 miles away, there’s enough in this market town to keep you busy with its Georgian streets, historic buildings and craft heritage.  Also, nearby to the sculpture are the towns of Guildford and Dorking, both have plenty to experience whatever time of year you visit

Make a day of it

• Eat & drink: Check out the local food scene at Silent Pool Gin Distillery, Mandira’s Kitchen Albury Organic Vineyard and Norbury Park Cheese – it’s a real artisan hub with something for every appetite.
• Explore: Newlands Corner, an iconic park, the site of an Agatha Christie stunt in 1926, Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden, see the Martian and HG Wells sculptures in nearby Woking which pay homage to the H.G. Wells and his classic ‘The War of the Worlds.’
• Travelling with Mini-Explorers?​ Look through the Eye of the Sculpture and sketch the landscape beyond.

Photo Credit : John Miller

The Story Behind the Sculpture​

Located near Newlands Corner in Guildford and takes inspiration from the faceted structure of an insect’s eye. Constructed from weathered steel and locally sourced hazel, the spaces between the logs create homes for wildlife while the embedded kaleidoscopes allow visitors to view the landscape in new and beautiful ways. The name Optohedron is derived from the ancient Greek: optikos, “of seeing” and herd “raised seat.”

About the Artist

Artist and sculptor Will Nash was born in Bangor, North Wales, in 1973. He studied Multimedia Fine Art at Middlesex University and gained an MA in Design by Project from the University of Brighton. At the centre of Will’s practice is a concern with form, structure and quantity.

His sculptures and installations are the results of ongoing explorations of mathematical forms and the relationships they have with one another.

Other points of interest

• Chilworth Gunpowder Mills
• Aldous Huxley Grave, Watts Chapel, Puttenham