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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Thursday, 30 March 2023

Evening Walk - Spring Flowers and City Views: Brockwell Park (Herne Hill Circular)

Length: 3.8 km (2.4 mi)
Ascent: 70m
Net Walking Time: 1 hour
 
Meet at Herne Hill station (Railton Road side) at 18.22.
 
From Central London, either take the 18.12 Orpington train from Victoria (18.19 Brixton), arriving Herne Hill at 18.21, or the Thameslink service to Sutton (17.57 St. Pancras via stations to Blackfriars (18.06), then Elephant 18.10 and Loughborough Junction 18.16), arriving 18.19. 
From Outer London: either take the 17.54 train from Orpington (arrives 18.22) or the 17.46 from Sutton (arrives 18.11).  
Return trains: 4 per hour in every direction.
 
This is a short meandering route through a small but well-kept urban park in Southeast London on raised ground within the valleys shaped by one of London’s Hidden Rivers, The Effra, and a couple of its tributaries. Created from the purchase of the existing private gardens of the Brockwell Hall estate and some smaller neighbouring properties, it is noted for its 19th century layout as a gracious public park, a clocktower, water garden, and walled garden, as much as for the Art Deco Brockwell Lido. Brockwell Hall has served as a café since the opening of the park in 1892 (but will be shut for the evening).  
 
The Park ought to be open to “…15 minutes before sunset.”, i.e.: to 19.15 hours at least…
 
Tea: Bullfinch Brewery Tap Room Arch 886-887, Rosendale Road. Open to 22.00 hours.
Plus, plenty of options near the station, see the walk directions for details.
 
For walk directions, map, height profile, and gpx/kml files click here. T=short.39

2 comments:

Thomas G said...

n=6 in w=dry weather, initially warm while the sun was out, then chilly when the cold wind took over. The early start proved to be unecessary, as the park was open until 20.00 hours anyway, despite what Lambeth's own website says.
Plenty of flowers out in bloom in the park, which one of the walkers talked us through, and even more of them in the splendid walled garden. Some birdsong as well, but almost all drowned out by the hundreds of parakeets (who were seen picking trees' buds off and tossing them down, just to get to some nectare).
A drink for 5 of us at the end at The Commercial (The Florence is closed for a refurb).

Thomas G said...

Oh, and the nesting swans were back in situ...