19km (11.8 miles) if ending at Upper Warlingham
21.6km (13.4 miles) for the full walk to Riddlesdown T=swc.367
9.50 train from Victoria (9.57 Clapham Junction, 10.10 East Croydon) to Hurst Green, arriving 10.34
OR
10.07 train from London Bridge (10.22 East Croydon) to Hurst Green, arriving 10.38
Buy a day return to Hurst Green, though if extending from zone 6 you only need a single, as both the return stations are in zone six.
This walk last had an airing in January 2024, when it worked well as a winter outing. In (hopefully) more cheerful March conditions it might be even better. It is basically a walk across Limpsfield Common and a climb up over the North Downs.
Lunch is at the Old Ship in Tatsfield after 5.4 miles, described as walker-friendly but turning out to be a bit smarter than that implies on our last outing. Still, it served us well on that occasion.
The 10.7 mile version of the walk ends up in Warlingham Green, which has two pubs for tea. Also two cafes but one closes at 3pm and the other at 4.30pm.
From Warlingham Green there are 403 buses every fifteen minutes or so to Sanderstead station (12 minutes). These are TFL-operated, so passes or Oyster are allowed on them.
Otherwise, you can pop down to Upper Warlingham station in 1.1 miles or carry on for another 2.7 miles to end at Riddlesdown station. There are a couple of alcohol-only pubs near Upper Warlingham station, and you might just get to the park cafe before it closes at 4pm. There are no refreshment options at Riddlesdown.
Trains back from Upper Warlingham are at 02 and 32 past, and from Riddlesdown at 06 and 36 past.
1 comment:
N=17 on this walk, split between the two trains, on a w=gorgeous-sunny-day, the kind of warm spring day you dream about all winter. Almost no mud.
This made a nice outing, with plenty of views across the valley and some stiff climbs to get the pulses racing. Also the walk author’s trademark inclusion of a motorway, but we barely noticed that. On the climb up to the North Downs ridge we had to pass through a huge herd of dairy cows. They looked in desperate need of milking and one or two approached us in the hope that we might be able to help with that. But we all got through unscathed.
A fairly blistering pace had been set in the morning, which meant I and two companions arrived at the pub somewhat later than my fellow walkers. I was horrified to discover most of them, on a lovely warm summer day, in a pub with a large garden, sitting at a gloomy table inside. I reluctantly joined them. Three other walkers did sit outside. Lucky them.
About twelve of us ate at the pub, and there seemed to be no other customers in the place. It was a menu of pub classics. Ordering and the delivery of the food seemed efficient to me, though maybe it helped that I arrived after the main lunchtime rush.
In the afternoon two of us again got comprehensively left behind by the group. We trekked over immense green valleys with no other walkers in sight, looking at nature. Unfortunately we looked too closely to notice that we had wandered off the route at one point. On the edge of Warlingham we then made a cunning short cut to catch up and got even more lost.
We ended up yomping along the main road trying to get to one of the cafes in the village before closing time, which we did by the skin of our teeth, having got a walker already there to place an advance order for us. Two also went to a cafe across the road, making nine having tea in all. We had a pleasant cuppa, not in the least disturbed by local motorcyclists roaring up and down in front of us.
Some got the bus from here. Others, I hear, carried straight on past the village heading either for Riddlesdown or Upper Warlingham station. After tea six of us also walked to Riddlesdown, suffering a diversion en route due to a closed footpath, but finally ending up on the downs in the declining sunshine. We got the 17.36 train, timing our arrival at the station perfectly.
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