Difficulty 4/10
An undulating walk through a varied landscape of ancient woodland, open downs and farmland, just outside London.
Transport:
The simplest journey is the 9.54 Tattenham Corner train from London Bridge, arriving Chipstead 10:53.
Or ... get the Thameslink Redhill train (St Pancras 9:56, London Bridge 10:11) and change onto the above train at Purley (arr 10:34, dep 10:42).
You could also get the 9:51 East Grinstead train from Victoria (Clapham Jct 9:57) and change at East Croydon onto the Tattenham Corner train (platform 6, 10:27).
Return from Chipstead to London Bridge at xx:33 and xx:03.
Lunch: The Well House Inn (01737-830640) in Mugswell.
Tea: The Ramblers Rest (01737-552661) on Outwood Lane. It is 1 km from Chipstead station so allow 15-20 minutes.
Directions here. We are doing option (a).
t=swc.177.a
4 comments:
Did anyone do this walk today? I got to London Bridge a little early and discovered that the Tattenham Corner part of the 09.54 had been cancelled because of a staff shortage. I ended up catching the 09.41 Thameslink train to Purley, which overtook the 09.24 Tattenham Corner service. I was the only person (walker or otherwise) to get off at Chipstead. Rather than wait an hour to see if anyone was coming on the later train, I decided to do the walk on my own. It was very nice weather for walking, and the directions were clear, apart from not being sure which Surrey Downs fairway to cross. I managed to work it out and was back at Chipstead station in plenty of time for the 2.03 train back to London Bridge. I await news from other walkers with interest.
If David had peeked inside the tea stop on his way to the station he would have spotted four regulars enjoying lunch. A group of three had set off after a train had finally turned up at Chipstead, intending to stick to the prescribed route. But whereas David had found his way round with the written directions, following the convoluted maze of lines for this multi-option walk on a phone app is a good deal more demanding. At any rate the challenge was not completely solved, since after exploring every possible route in Banstead Woods the group ended up back at the car park near the start. Meanwhile the walk author (on a solitary stroll searching in vain for fellow-walkers) had been fielding phone calls giving vague clues as to what was occurring. Somehow everyone met up in the Ramblers Rest at around 1pm.
After a reviving lunch the intrepid three set off in an attempt to reach the next base, but by 2pm a steady drizzle had set in. The walk author wished them luck, switched off his phone and headed back. I guess we can just about claim n=5 on a w=cold-windy-drizzly day.
I can sympathise ... this is a walk I got lost on a few years ago.....it's all coming back to me now ....the nightmares..... Glad to know its not just me. Banstead Woods must be some sort of Sargasso Sea for walkers. There's probably some of our group been in there for years.
I thought about going to the Ramblers Rest, but as it was just starting to rain, I went straight back to the station and ate my sandwiches on the platform. Well, if anyone wants to do this walk another time, I'd be happy to guide you through Banstead Woods (perhaps there was an element of luck as well as judgement). it would be nice to do the walk later in the year to appreciate all the different trees the author mentions.
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