5th May
Capital Ring Section 4
At twenty past one I arrived at Crystal Palace station after a journey which had very much not gone as intended, ready to walk the 4.4 miles of Capital Ring Section 4. The guide describes this shorter section as a ‘rollercoaster’ among the ridges and valleys of the former Great North Wood. That sounds more bucolic than the reality but it does have its moments. First stop after leaving the station was Tesco Express to grab a cheeky meal deal then up Anerley Hill and along Playdell Avenue to Palace Square. Palace Square does not look like you would imagine from the name. Unless you are imagining two large rectangular blocks of late 20th century flats one behind the other on the side of a steep hill. I imagine that they have a very good view of Croydon from the upper storeys although whether that’s a good or bad thing I leave up to you. A steep zig zag path led from the square to a pocket park on Belvedere Road where I made a picnic of the meal deal on a bench facing some large Victorian houses and an octagonal Victorian pillar box, the latter is something you don’t see often, the former would be a major feature of today’s walk.
Climbing further up Belvedere Road I passed the former home of Benjamin Waterhouse-Hawkins, creator of the famous Crystal Palace dinosaurs and paused at the top to turn around and admire the view over Kent - and not just to get my breath back honestly. A couple more streets of big houses brought me to the A212 Church Road over which I crossed into Westow Park, the first piece of greenery of any size so far.
Having walked the length of Westow Park and exited at the west end it was only another couple of minutes before I got to the wide open space of Upper Norwood Recreation Ground. The Ring first follows the north side of the open space adjacent to Chevening road before cutting straight across and then turning right to follow Eversley Road along the south side. Which was also downwind so benefited from a strong scent of weed on the breeze. This brought me to Hermitage Road where I ascended what whoever wrote the guide refers to as a “gentle rise” and I assume that is an attempt at humour since it’s steeper than that term would suggest. That it brings you out on top of Beulah Hill is a bit of a clue. There’s a stinkpipe opposite on Beulah Hill so I claim my two points then turn left and walk along Beulah Hill which is a typical South London suburbia main road.
I turn down a road called Biggin Hill which drops steeply, with views all the way across the North Downs before it loses height and the Ring turns right down a footpath to Biggin Woods. Biggin Woods (or Biggin Wood depending on which map you look at) is a remnant of the Great North Wood, an ancient oak woodland which once covered a huge area between the Thames at Deptford and Croydon. I bet that it didn’t have large numbers of Ring Necked Parakeets back then though.
I followed the undulating Covington Way across a couple of ridges to find the gate at the bottom corner of Norwood Grove. Norwood Grove is probably the highlight of section 4, which climbs up the hill through the parkland to the white painted Grade II listed mansion, built in the 1840s for Arthur Anderson, joint founder of the P&O steam Navigation Company.
Approaching the house the Ring actually passes through a metal rose arch, already carrying a lot of large yellow blooms. This does give you the feeling that you’re walking through someone’s garden though the house is now owned by Croydon Council and used as an education centre. As I passed around the house a group of small children were being asked to pronounce “precipitation” with varying amounts of success. I was just glad that there wasn’t any. A blue plaque on the wall records that it was from 1878 to 1913 the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Nettlefold, Frederick being the chairman of the fixings maker Guest, Keen, and Nettlefolds. Which is the former name of the automotive and aerospace components business GKN Ltd. Nope, I had to look him up 😀
Leaving the house along Copgate Path I passed from the London Borough of Croydon to the London Borough of Lambeth and into the eastern end of Streatham Common. I took a short detour around the Rookery Gardens, which is a maze of small paths through formal gardens. Returning to the Ring I headed west around Streatham Common South (having gratefully taken advantage of the “facilities” behind the Rookery Cafe) and then across the common to Streatham High Road.
Crossing the High Road in front of the War Memorial I walked down the long, straight, villa lined Lewin Road to arrive at the end of Section 4 at a nondescript road junction in front of the railway.
It was half past three.
45 Photos on Flickr from Capital Ring section 4 (opens in a new page)
But wait, there’s more...
Capital Ring Section 5
It was only half past three.
So plenty of time to continue on the Ring for another two and a half miles to Balham. And why wouldn’t you? It is famously The Gateway to the South! 😃
I turned right alongside the railway and then left along Potter’s Lane, a narrow alleyway through an arched tunnel underneath the railway. Where this met Conyer’s Road I turned left past the Streatham Pumping Station, a late nineteenth century waterworks building which could at first glance be mistaken for a mosque with its domes, minarets and fancy windows.
From the pumping station it was a straight walk north along residential streets parallel to the Brighton Main Line railway, crossing Mitcham Lane and continuing north on Riggindale Road to reach Tooting Bec Road, turning left to cross the railway and then crossing the busy road to reach Tooting Bec Common near the entrance to the Lido.
The Ring cuts across the eastern half of Tooting Bec Common between the sports pitches and the pond - though that’s hidden in the trees - on a tarmac path lined with mature trees and pink-flowering Hawthorn. Just before the path reached Bedford Hill I spotted the cafe and threaded my way through the dog walkers and yummy mummies for a coffee break and a sit down at a table outside.
Re-caffeinated I carried on across Bedford Hill onto a path along the edge of the northern part of the common but only for two hundred yards before the Ring took me left down an alley to rejoin leafy suburbia in Fontenoy Road. This was a classic Capital Ring pointless loop to avoid a short stretch of main road and soon I was back at Bedford Hill only half the distance away that I’d actually walked from the point I’d crossed it. Still, nice Wisteria.
After crossing Bedford Hill I walked a dog leg route along streets of large Victorian villas to Elmfield Road. On the corner of Cheriton Square I spotted a tall round steel column standing in the footway with a conical cap. I reckon that’s a modern stinkpipe so I’m claiming another two points.
Elmfield Road emerged onto the very busy Balham High Road opposite Du Cane Court, a 1937 Art Deco apartment block the rather plain exterior of which hides some of the most elegant flats in South London. When built it was the largest privately owned block of flats in Europe, has been home to many celebrities including the comedian and Fulham FC supporter Tommy Trinder and was allegedly planned to be used by high ranking Nazi officers in the event of a successful German invasion. It’s said that because of this it was spared bombing by the Luftwaffe but given the (lack of) accuracy of 1940s aerial bombing that’s probably bollocks and the residents were indeed just ‘lucky people’.
I continued up Balham High Road but where the Ring turned left onto Balham Park Road I carried on to the centre of Balham, the rest of Section 5 will wait for another day, I needed beer which I found at the Regent, a pub in Chestnut Grove. Having refreshed myself with Hobgoblin and my phone with a handy socket outlet I decided to avoid the rush hour tube and instead took a gentle stroll up the High Road to Clapham Common, saw some cute chicks by the Long Pond, and then got the tube from Clapham Common Station instead.
20 Photos (so far) from Capital Ring Section 5 on Flickr (opens in a new page)
Slideshow for section 4 if your viewer supports it.
Slideshow for section 5 if your viewer supports it.
