Difficulty 4/10
Main Walk 17 km (10.6 miles).
Today’s walk is the
Warlingham Circular. On the walk document's web page you can scroll down and click Option ‘Main
Walk 17km’ below the map to give you the route for today’s
walk to print and bring along.
There are fine displays of bluebells throughout this walk. As witnessed last weekend, the bluebells are coming out in strength, so this weekend they are likely to be at their best.
This part of the London/Surrey border feels pretty rural, the woods, fields and isolated valleys having escaped suburban expansion. The walk starts with a climb to the top of Riddlesdown and the adjoining Sanderstead to Whyteleafe Countryside Area, (now part of the South London Downs National Nature Reserve). It then heads east via Hamsey Green for a short stretch through King's Wood, the best of the bluebell woods. After crossing an isolated valley the full walk continues with a meander through Selsdon Wood Nature Reserve, which also has good displays of wood anemones. A tiny 11thC church and more bluebell woods are then passed on the way to a lunch pub on the edge of Great Farleigh Green.
The return leg comes back
across the valley to King's Wood, this time through its full length. The walk
ends with a longer stretch through the Countryside Area, and a flight of steps
takes you down to a café in Whyteleafe Recreation Ground and a choice of return
stations.
Trains:
Either Victoria
10.20 arrives at Upper Warlingham at 10.52 calling at CJ 10.27;
E Croydon 10.40;
Or train from London
Bridge at 10.10 arriving at Whyteleafe at 10.47
These two stations are very close
together. Travellers from London Bridge can walk to Upper Warlingham to meet
the travellers from Victoria.
Tickets: Both stations are at
the outer edge of TfL Zone 6 so a Travelcard or London Freedom Pass would
suffice.
Return Trains:
From Upper Warlingham: xx02 and xx32 to Victoria
From Whyteleafe: xx01 and
xx31 to LB
Lunch: The Harrow (01883-627565)
on Great Farleigh Green. The suggested place for a picnic lunch is at Farleigh
church, which has several benches in its churchyard.
Tea: The suggested place in Whyteleafe is the small Pavilion Café
(01883-770666; open daily to around 4pm) in the Recreation Ground, a friendly
place serving hot drinks and a selection of cakes. Stronger fare is available
at the refurbished Whyteleafe Tavern (01883-624547) and the Radius Arms
micro-pub (07514-916172), but neither do hot drinks. Both are on the A22
between the two stations.
T=swc.43
Walk directions: here
4 comments:
Thanks to branchline for posting this walk, at the best time of year for it. There are indeed good showings of bluebells in all the woods, and you won't be troubled by mud. However, the wood anemones in the northern part of Selsdon Wood are all but over, so you wouldn't miss much by taking the suggested short cut in para 14f. Or for a different short cut you could take the alternative route in para 15, since Puplet Wood also has plenty of bluebells.
I can concur about the wood anemones: they are all gone now. Frith Wood has been good for bluebells in the past, however, and a short detour into it would be worth the effort.
I was going to say 19 on this walk - 8 on the London Bridge train, 11 on the Victoria. But late in the day I heard of two others who claimed to have done the walk unseen by anyone I was with. So n=21. Maybe also others.
The 8 and 11 met up on neutral ground near the two stations and formed a reasonably coherent group until we got to the woods, where among other things the walk author led some of us off route to take in extra bluebells. There were certainly lots of them. Maybe not full out, if one wants to be extra picky, but certainly out in force widely.
Once in Selsdon Wood all sorts of short cuts and variant routes were followed, causing the group to fragment further. A plan I had to divert the group I was with into Frith Wood for more of the blue things fell apart when the sun came out. It was so nice in it that most of us stayed on the track alongside the golf course. Some gorgeous displays of cowslips on the latter.
In general it was w=fairly-cloudy-with-some-sun. When the latter was out, you could fool yourself that spring was here. Under the cloud it felt distinctly chilly. This meant romantic ideas of eating lunch in the garden had to be abandoned by the pub lunchers. Instead some 10-12 ate on two tables inside. Nice food once we worked out how to get the meat off the skewers.
Everyone left lunch at different times, so the group was now even more fragmented, not to say splintered. Despite dawdling over our meal, my mini sub-group got to the park at 4.40pm to find the cafe still open. Greater joy hath no man than an unexpected Bakewell tart and mug of tea. Two of us then went to the Whtyleafe Arms, a knowingly retro recreation of a blokey 1970s boozer. Still it knows its clientele, as it was pretty busy.
I made it n=22 including a local resident. A sizeable number (8) ended the day in the Radius Arms. A staggering array (no pun intended) of beers and ciders , some quite strong. And if you’re not sure if you want a pint or a half, they will sell you a two thirds.
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