13.5 km (8.4 miles) or 17 km/10.6 miles with Selsdon Wood loop, 3 or 4/10
After this week's transport problems I make no apology for posting a walk within Zone 6. Although 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. The main walk includes a long section through Selsdon Wood, notable for bluebells but potentially muddy, so we could probably skip that at this time of year.
Travel: London Bridge 1010 (East Croydon 1028) to Whyteleafe 1047. Return at 01/31 to London Bridge or 02/32 from the nearby Upper Warlingham station to Victoria. Whyteleafe and Upper Warlingham are both in travelcard Zone 6.
Lunch: The Harrow (01883-627565) on Great Farleigh Green, after around 7¼ km/ 4 ½ miles on the Short Walk (11 km if you do the longest route through Selsdon Wood). This is a large and popular pub / restaurant with a wide range of food options and plenty of outdoor seating, but is on a fairly busy road. There is a churchyard with benches about 1 km before the pub.
Tea: the recommended tea place is the small Pavilion Café (01883-770666; open daily to around 4pm) in the Recreation Ground just before Upper Warlingham station, a friendly place serving hot drinks and a selection of cakes. There are also two pubs, the Whyteleafe Tavern (01883-624547) and the Radius Arms micro-pub (07514-916172), on the main road which you cross in between Upper Warlngham and Whyteleafe; the latter had an enthusiastic mention on the last SWC visit.
Walk options: as well as the Selsdon Wood option, several other alternatives are explained in the walk notes including a 2 km shorter route to Woldingham station.
For walk directions, map and GPX click here.
T=swc.43
1 comment:
More public transport mishaps meant we ended up in three groups. Just two of us set off from Whyteleafe at the appointed time, not knowing that several walkers were in the other half of the train when it divided at Purley and were somewhere on the other branch of the line. The locally-resident walk author soon joined us, by which time I had news that five were starting from Coulsdon. Seven more delayed walkers started half an hour later making #15 in all.
It was a #dull-grey day but I thought the wooded sections in particular were still very attractive. It wasn't too muddy except for one section around the golf course. The advance party did the posted route, stopping in the Harrow where one ate. He assessed his pie as adequate and sufficient. One missed out the Kings Wood section to head for some well-earned rest after last night's celebrations, and the other two returned in time for the 1532 train.
Meanwhile the Coulsdon group had got to Whyteleafe at lunchtime and did most of the walk except the loop to Farleigh, finishing half an hour behind us. I hear that the remaining 7 later starters did the Chelsham loop and ended up in the Radius Arms about 4. I hope everyone enjoyed the walk despite the fragmentation!
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