Warlingham Circular
Length: 13.2 miles (21¼ km) 5 out of 10 T=swc.43
"Although only a few miles from Croydon and well inside the M25, this part of London's border with Surrey feels anything but urban. Away from the main roads you are soon in woods, fields and isolated valleys which escaped the post-war expansion of south London's suburbs. Now part of the Green Belt, the area is protected from large-scale development and remains a rural haven."
The walk consists of several loops, giving plenty of options for short cuts.
Trains: Get the 0920 East Grinstead train from Victoria (Clapham 0926, East Croydon 0939), arriving Upper Warlingham 0952. Return xx02 xx32. Note that Whyteleafe station (on a different line from London Bridge) is close by, and offers an alternative start/return point in the event of any disruption.
Lunch: The Harrow (01883-627565) after up to 11 km. Part of the Vintage Inns chain, this is a large pub/restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating, but is on a fairly busy main road.
The alternative is The Bull Inn (01883-627735) on Chelsham Common, which serves typical pub food and has a beer garden overlooking the common. It is just over halfway through the full Main Walk.
Tea: In Whyteleafe the suggested tea place is the small Pavilion Café (01883-770666; open daily to around 4.30pm) in the Recreation Ground, a friendly place serving hot drinks and a selection of home-made cakes.
On the A22 between the two stations is the Whyteleafe Tavern and a small micro-pub, the Radius Arms.
1 comment:
15 at Upper Warlingham. 2 from Whyteleafe, 2 late starters and 1 walk author makes n=20
A w=sunny day. An enjoyable day but not without issues.The big one being the tangled web of options.
Early on a sizeable party failed to turn right in Kings Wood and continued all the way through despite some protestations. We were following the GPS route right? So we couldn't be wrong, right? Except we were wrong, we were following the GPS for another loop. Luckily someone texted us or we'd have reached the station a bit early. Not my fault you understand, I was merely following the others.Their fault.
We got back on track and somehow reached the pub before most of the others. How I'll never know. They should do a programme on telly.
This was partly explained by the sudden appearance by the walks author who knew a quick way. Not THE quickest way but a way. And partly by the others going adrift in Selsdon Wood.
Lunch in the Harrow was OK I guess. Friendly enough. People seemed to like what they got and Iwas fed chips by a kindly benefactor. Some went on to the Bull.
The group split after lunch, some opting for the long way back and some the shorter. I took the shorter and was soon left to my own devices. Or device, which I mainly followed. This seemed to differ slightly from the written word. I hate to use the L-word as you know, but I wasn't, anyway. Another trip along Riddlesdown and down the big steps into Whyteleafe.
A visit to the tiny Radius Arms rounded things off nicely.
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