31st May 2026
Bored waiting for a parcel to arrive that DHL appear to have lost instead I returned to Balham (Gateway to the South) to complete Section 5 of the Capital Ring to Wimbledon Park and then start Section 6 towards Richmond.
Finishing Section 5
Leaving the railway station I passed under the bridge and back down Balham High Road to the large Art Deco block of flats, Du Cane Court where I turned right along Balham Park road. Balham Park Road was very long and straight and lined with large Victorian villas. Just after the postbox the road bent to the left and the Capital Ring turned left down an alleyway.
At the end of the alley I reached the first part of Wandsworth Common, a small wooded area alongside Wandsworth Common railway station called St James’ Triangle. A wide tarmac path led me alongside the railway and through the station ticket office to Bellevue Road which I crossed by The Hope pub to enter the second part of Wandsworth Common. Where the path turned towards the railway again I spotted a stinkpipe hiding in the trees so two points to me.
A bit further on I reached the ponds on the common, which don’t appear to have a name. They did have one bench seat that was in the shade though so here I sat to eat my picnic lunch. I opened a packet of crisps and looked up to see every waterfowl on the pond now on a direct course to my location. A female Mallard came and stood before me staring hopefully up between my knees but eventually realised that no cheese and onion crisps or crab paste sandwich was coming her way and waddled off.
After lunch I carried on, crossing the common by the sports pitches to arrive at Trinity Road opposite the County Arms pub. Here I had my first déjà vu moment of the day. I recognize this place, I’ve been here before. I crossed the road and continued along Alma Terrace where I found the reason I’d been here before, HM Prison Wandsworth. No, I haven’t been inside but I have visited their occasionally-open museum in a building just outside the walls, on an Open House London visit in September 2022.
Today I skirted the prison and headed down the long straight Magdalen Road, taking the more interesting alternative path through Wandsworth Cemetery for most of the three quarters of a mile to Earlsfield Station.
More déjà vu here too as I passed beneath the green painted bridge and left into Penwith Road to cross the River Wandle which I’d followed on a walk in 2019. The Capital Ring does not follow the river though, instead passing along now sun-baked residential streets to Durnsford Road Recreation Ground. Here behind Wimbledon Farmers’ Market I found the only bench that was in the shade and sat down gratefully. So much for the weather cooling down a bit, it was 28°C.
I came out of the park into Wellington Road and turned right by the Wellington Works down an alleyway which brought me out opposite Wimbledon Mosque where I turned right along Durnsford Road and right again into Arthur Road. Here I took full advantage of the shops, getting an iced coffee and a Calippo. At the top of Arthur Road I reached the end of Section 5 at Wimbledon Park Station on the District Line.
Capital Ring Section 5 Photos on Flickr (opens in a new page).
The sensible thing to do here would probably have been to get on a train, so…
Starting Section 6
Section 6 starts outside Wimbledon Park Station and runs for 7.3 miles to Richmond. It seemed like a good idea to do some of that and then find a suitable break point, although none are given in the walking directions. I finished my iced lolly and crossed over the railway, turning right to follow the curve of Home Park Road to reach the entrance to Wimbledon Park. Viewed from the top of the steps inside the entrance the park was a bustle of activity. Tennis (obviously, although The Wimbledon Club is actually the other side of the lake), cricket, a busy kids playground and mass picnicking.
I made my way down the steps and through the park to the lake (via the well-kept loos) and picked my way along the lakeside path trying to avoid the worst of the goose shit. I’ll bet it’s like a skating rink when wet. I reached the end of the path by the lake and realised that I’d missed the right turn by the water-sports centre buildings so did a dog-leg to regain the route alongside the fence around the athletics track. from the corner of the athletics track I cut straight across to exit the park through the large gates into Wimbledon Park Road.
At the bottom of the hill I turned right into Queensmere Road which climbed fairly steeply past very expensive houses and apartment blocks to reach the A219 Parkside.
Crossing at the lights a bit further to the right I entered Wimbledon Common. After a while the path seemed a little familiar and then I reached Wimbledon Windmill and yes I’ve definitely rambled this way before, in fact I would be retracing my steps for the rest of the walk.
I considered stopping for refreshments at the Windmill Tearoom. It had all the appearance of still operating under COVID restrictions, insisting on everyone ordering at an outside window covered by a sheet of Perspex with a small hole cut in it for contactless payment. The trouble was there was obviously nobody on the other side of the perspex actually taking orders. I have less patience with such nonsense than the two people already queuing so I gave up and moved on. Past the golf club the route turned right downhill along a straight and familiar track to reach the lake, Queensmere, currently all fenced off to prevent people or dogs taking a dip. Turning left up the steep hill I stopped to rest on a tree stump and was passed by a jogger heading up the hill. I say jogger, he wasn’t running any faster than I was walking and looked as if he might need an ambulance by the time he reached the top of the hill.
At the top of the hill I crossed the golf course (which reminded me of walking parts of the London Loop) and wombled on across Wimbledon Common, taking a very short detour to the War Memorial before carrying on along Stag Ride to meet the Beverley Brook by Richardson Evans Memorial Playing Fields. Now this was definitely familiar territory because in 2023 I walked along the Beverley Brook from West Wimbledon to its confluence with the Thames near Putney.
I crossed the Beverley Brook near the pavilion and crossed the next field to emerge from Wimbledon Common onto the busy A3 at Kingston Vale. It was five and twenty to six, still bloody hot, and I’d walked far enough (almost 7 miles as it happened). In case you're wondering no, I didn't see any Wombles.
I waited in the hot sunshine at the Vale Crescent/Robin Hood bus stop for a 265, trying to find shade behind the shelter but not wanting to miss seeing the bus come around the bend. Of course it was running several minutes late. At Shannon Corner I changed to the 131 which took me back to Wimbledon from where I had a train ticket home.
Not before I’d had a beer though. A pint of Guinness in The Hand & Racquet barely touched the sides so I ordered fish and chips which obviously needed another pint to aid the digestion. They were still in extra time when I left to get the train so I didn’t witness the undoubted dejection of the group of Gooners in the pub after the penalty shoot-out which ensured that the UEFA Champions League silverware remained in Paris.
Capital Ring Section 6 photos on Flickr (opens in a new page).
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