13¼ km (8.2 miles). Difficulty 3/10
Your day starts near a small museum (free admission) where, if you want, you can learn the history of the Crystal Palace. Then you’re off, past the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs – modelled as Victorians saw them. They may look cute but don’t try feeding them - they’ll have your arm off. The walk continues through the last remnants of the ancient North Wood, past the Dulwich Picture Gallery with its collection of old masters (entry £15, these days) and, near the end, passes the Horniman Museum with its unusual collections (open to 5.30pm, free admission). If you venture in, don’t, whatever you do, touch the walrus or sit on the iceberg. Just don’t.
Trains Get to Crystal Palace Station for 11:00 a.m.
Your best bet is either the 10:28 from London Bridge (destination Victoria) arriving Crystal Palace at 10:51. Or the 10:20 from Victoria ( Clapham Jct 1028) (destination London Bridge) also arriving Crystal Palace at 10:51. It is also on the Overground. The 9:54 from Highbury & Islington arrives Crystal Palace 10:47.
There are frequent Overground trains returning from Forest Hill as well as proper trains to London Bridge or Victoria.
Crystal Palace is in TfL Zones 3/4, and Forest Hill in Zone 3.
Lunch
On the Main Walk the suggested lunchtime pub is the Crown and Greyhound (020-8299 4976) at 73 Dulwich Village, after 8 km.
An earlier option (and the only convenient pub on the Short Walk) is the Wood House (020-8693 5666) at 39 Sydenham Hill Road.
Tea
There is a good café at the Horniman Museum, plus several places on London Road as you approach Forest Hill station. A delicatessen, The Teapot, at #56, open to 4pm and a Wetherspoon's pub The Capitol at #11-21.
Directions here
If you tire of our company, the walk can be curtailed at various points with directions to nearby stations. If you want a very short 7 km (4.3 miles) walk, you could cut out the entire loop through Dulwich.
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The number waiting at the station rose and fell as the toilet sign grew more enticing(it’s back down the stairs on platform 1). As more arrived, more were enticed - and so on. “Like Waiting for Boggo” someone said. Still, mustn’t grumble. After about half an hour, 10 of us ventured out into a w=foggy-frozen world.
First stop, the little museum. This proved more interesting for some than others.
We left eventually, off into the fog. Soon, the dinosaurs hove into view, looking all mysterious in their icy lake. I nearly jumped when one said “Hello” but it was just walker number n=11 joining us.
There was a Xmas fair near the boating lake, administered by elves. We had a quick look and lost two here, thinking they’d gone ahead. But, readers, it was OK, they caught us up at the Wood House where we stopped for lunch. They were full but but they’d had a cancellation in their restaurant, next to a table of screaming infants. Mr Tiger enjoyed a pint of Winter Warmer. Others enjoyed food.
What would you expect to find on a freezing cold day in the Great North Wood? Would you, for instance, expect to find a circle of spoon carvers sat round a fire? We did. Tried to get us to join them but we made our excuses and pressed on. Claimed to be ‘Wildlife Trust’ or something. That’s Sarf London for you. Spoon carvers.
Snow had just started to fall when we reached the Hornimans Museum. Some wanted tea but others rushed inside to find the walrus. It’s still there but, sadly, we weren’t allowed to touch it or sit on the iceberg.
A heady day was rounded off with a visit to Wetherspoons, where you can get a half of Abbot for just one guinea. Most settled for tea.See
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