Extra Walk 137 (in reverse) – Forest Hill to Crystal Palace
Length: 12½ km (7.8 miles). Toughness: 3/10
Meet in the booking hall of Forest Hill station (off the northbound platform) at 11:15. There are two southbound trains arriving just before then: the 10:54 Tattenham Corner train from London Bridge (New Cross Gate 11:00, etc) is due at 11:08, and a London Overground train from Highbury & Islington at 11:12. [South Londoners should be able to catch up if they take the 11:03 from West Croydon, arriving at 11:17.]
Trains back from Crystal Palace (Zones 3/4) go to London Victoria at 01 & 31 minutes past the hour, and there are London Overground trains to H&I at 01, 16, 31 & 46 minutes past.
This south London walk has been in limbo for a few years because its lunchtime pub was undergoing a major refurbishment, but the Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich Village has re-opened now. The written directions are from Crystal Palace to Forest Hill, but the walk notes rashly claim that it "works equally well in reverse" so I thought it was about time we put this to the test (and I see that my fellow walk poster has had the same idea for today's Amberley walk). As this one is a suburban walk with plenty of landmarks it should be fairly easy to find your way from the street maps in the document.
If you don't fancy a pub lunch there are restaurants such as Pizza Express nearby, or you could carry on to the café in Dulwich Park. There's another café for tea near the end of the walk, by the lake with the famous Crystal Palace Dinosaurs. If you want something stronger I'm sure you'll be able to find a pub in the neighbourhood.
NB. Footwear advice is tricky as much of the route is along tarmac paths and pavements, but there are also some potentially muddy stretches through Dulwich and Sydenham Hill Woods.
You'll need to print the maps (with directions, if you can work them out in reverse) from the Crystal Palace to Forest Hill Walk page. T=swc.137
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2 comments:
There is also a good if small cafe in Crystal Palace Station and some excellent independent cafes up the hill in Crystal Palace triangle.
TfL's weekly travel update says that London Overground trains from Crystal Palace are affected by Network Rail work on Sunday, but the service is still showing as running normally on its Journey Planner. If there is a problem on the day and you particularly want to return this way (rather than via Victoria) you could leave the park at the Penge gate and pick up a Southern or Overground train at Penge West.
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