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| Westow Park |
This is a short walk, just over four miles, and the fourth section of the fifteen Capital Ring walks. I made my way to Crystal Palace station via Clapham Junction, and then turning left from the station, headed along pavements, through part of an estate until I reached Belvedere Road. Most of this walk is on pavements, across parks and a wood. This early part of the walk is very much uphill, but worth it for the views across the north downs and Kent, and also across to central London.
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| View from Belvedere Road |
The first park I came to was Westow Park, and then it's not that far to Upper Norwood Recreation Ground. Sadly, both the cafe and toilets were shut and looked as if they were a due for a make-over. From there I was soon onto Beulah Hill, a busy main road. It's a bit of a walk along there. Turning left into Biggin Hill I walked downhill. Again there were great views from here over the allotments.
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| Upper Norwood Recreation Park |
Heading towards Biggin Wood, I came across two roads named after Charles Dickens. This is apparently where Dickens stayed while he was writing David Copperfield and where one scene is set. However, Havisham Place get its name from Great Expectations.
The book I was using as a guide warned me to look out for a pathway easy to miss. I missed it! Luckily, I hadn't gone too far. The path runs past tennis courts and into Biggin Wood. This is a nice tree lined path with dappled sunlight and one of the remnants of the Great North Wood. See photo of map.
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| Biggin Wood |
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| The piece marked in black is where I was |
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| View towards London |
Exiting the woods, it's a shortish walk to the next park. This one is Norwood Grove which has a house and gardens at the top of the hill where there are more great views across the area. It is said on a good day you can see Reigate one way and Windsor Castle in the other.
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| Norwood Grove |
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| Norwood Grove |
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| Views from the hill at Norwood Grove |
From here I knew I was almost at the end of my walk, for the last part took me to Streatham Common and The Rookery, beautiful gardens I had visited before. Here there is a cafe and loos. I took a little time to explore the gardens before having lunch. Then I headed towards the station across Streatham Common. There was a fair on the common. While I didn't want to pay to go in, I did manage to get a couple of photos over and through the fencing!
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| The Lodge, Streatham Common |
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| The Rookery |
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| Community Garden |
Last time I was here I didn't know about the memorial garden, so I crossed the road to take a look before heading off to Streatham Common station.
Depending where your are travelling from, this walk can be done in a half a day, though The Rookery is worth spending time in. The flowers are always so pretty and the bees make the most of them.
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| White Garden, The Rookery |
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| On Streatham Common |
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| The Fair on Streatham Common |
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