Length: 17.3km (10.2 miles), with longer Epsom finish of 18.3km (11.3 miles) and shorter Tadworth one of 11.8km (7.3 miles)
10.00 Thameslink train** from London Bridge (9.38 Finsbury Park, 9.45 St Pancras International, 10.16 East Croydon), arriving Merstham 10.28
** Some train cancellations on Thameslink due to Covid-induced staff shortages are possible: if the 10.00 is not running, get the 10.30. If both are cancelled, we could meet by the ticket office at London Bridge at 10.15 and pick another place to walk...
Best ticket: Tattenham Corner and Tadworth are in zone six: Merstham and Epsom one stop outside it (and on completely different lines from each other). Oyster pay-as-you-go can be used at all four stations. It is a bank holiday today, so you get full discount on Network Cards (ie no £13 minimum).
For walk directions* click here (* click on the section headings for a brief summary of the route - quite useful with a map), for GPX click here, for a map of the route click here.
Lunch pubs, if such things are still allowed, are available after 5 miles in Mogador (which sounds like a location in Lord of the Rings...) or 35 minutes later in Walton-on-the-Hill (which sounds like a folksy 1970s US sitcom): the latter also has a cafe, which may or may not be open. Not mentioned in the walk directions, as far as I can see, there is a rather superior tea kiosk next to the car park on Reigate Hill, about 2 miles into the walk, that has some nice food options (and outside tables) - if it is open today. Colley Hill is a stunning place for a picnic.
You can end the walk either in Tadworth (after 7.3 miles) Tattenham Corner (after 10.2 miles) or Epsom (11.3 miles): see below for train details. See the walk home page for the various tea/drinks options of these endings. There is sometimes a tea van (or is it a kiosk?) by the Epsom Racecourse at the Tattenham Corner end.
Trains back from Tattenham Corner are at 14 and 44 past, but seem to require a change in Purley today due to engineering works. Tadworth is served by the same train at 18 and 48 past.
Trains back from Epsom are at 19 and 49 past to Waterloo or 24 and 53 past to London Bridge. T=swc.4
3 comments:
If The Sportsman is covid closed, The Blue Ball in Walton on the Hill (and on the route) may be open. Under new management these days after a long closure.
In the unlucky scenario where both 10.00 and 10.30 trains to Merstham fall victim to the pingdemic, one option would be to do the walk in reverse - trains are scheduled from London Bridge tomorrow to both Epsom and Tattenham Corner.
I'm planning to meet the group at Merstham rather than go into London Bridge so I will keep an eye on the walk comments for any updates.
The train was not cancelled and n=20 gathered at the start of this walk. We set off at a brisk pace, leaving behind some newbies who had gone to the loo (sorry about that)
It was a bit rainy to start, but soon stopped. The M25 made its pleasing Niagara Falls sound. The tea kiosk on Reigate Hill was swiftly passed (though I later heard that two behind us stopped there for food). Everyone ignored the fine view from Colley Hill and hurried on to Mogador (take two, three times a day….)
A table for eight was secured in the cosy pub, while five sat at outside tables to have sandwiches. I hesitated between these two worlds, but in the end the lure of my Waitrose tuna and sweetcorn on granary proved irresistible. Halfway though lunch I noticed there was a tea kiosk, cunningly hid behind a tree, so I got a cup of tea from there. The newbies caught us up and had sandwiches.
I went into the pub to find eight dining there at a socially distanced table. The food looked very nice. Alarmingly all the talk was of Tadworth endings. I pleaded. I wept. I cajoled. Finally another proposed reversing the circular walk route to Tattenham Corner and this plan was adopted by us all.
This route proved very pretty - nicer, dare I say it?, than the main walk route. It did, however, bypass Walton, which is why we never picked up the two sandwichers who had stopped in the pub there to await us (sorry again: my bad, as the young say).
W=The-sun-came-out-in-the-afternoon, which was an unexpected treat. Not clear blue skies, but shafts of glorious gold. Quite a lift to the spirit.
At Tattenham Corner most went straight to the train even though it was only 3.15 and still sort-of sunny. Two of us carried on (via the tea hut in my case) to see the view from Epsom Downs and then walk down the pleasant lane to Epsom town. On the station, awaiting the 16.24 to London Bridge, we saw (but did not speak to) the three newbies, so at least five of us completed that route.
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