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Walk 25 - From Brixton Tube Station, at the Southern End of the Victoria Line to Herne Hill via Brixton Windmill and Brockwell Park

Distance	6 kms (4 miles)
Underfoot	Paved or solid pathways throughout
Outward Journey	By Victoria Line to Brixton - about 10 minutes from Central London
Return	By train from Herne Hill to Victoria or bus back to Brixton
Points of Interest	Brixton Windmill, Brockwell Park
Refreshments	Cafes and pubs in Brixton, Cafe in Brockwell Park
Public Toilets	Brixton Library and Brockwell Park
Shortening the Walk	Bus stops en route to return to Brixton

 

What to Expect From This Walk  Tube lines in south london do not extend to open countryside.  So, this is a deeply urban walk but it has some enjoyable features, not least,  a surprising windmill and a lovely open stretch of land in the form of Brockwell Park.  Some of the connnecting roads are quiet and leafy, The park has lots of interesting features including gardens & lakes and a cafe where you can have refreshments.  On a sunny day it is full of people doing recreational things like cycling, playing football and even taking part in a a sack race.

Route Directions

1. Turn left when you come out of Brixton Station. Go straight over the major road junction with Coldharbour Lane (A2217) and arrive at Windrush Square. Turn right and cross Effra Road to reach St Matthew’s Gardens, a triangle of land formed by the junction of Effra Road and  Brixton Hill (the A23). Walk along the left-hand footway of Brixton Hill, keeping to the right of St Matthew’s church.

2. Pass Brixton Orchard and carry on walking through Rush Common, a green area which runs parallel to the road, separating you from the traffic for a few hundred metres. Where this green stretch finishes at Brixton Water Lane, you need to rejoin the footway on Brixton Hill. At the next set of pedestrian lights, cross to the other side of Brixton Hill. Continue in the same direction and then turn right into Blenheim Gardens. Walk to the end of this short road, past the Windmill music venue and pub, and enter Windmill Gardens to see Brixton Windmill. 

3. After your visit to the windmill, retrace your steps to Brixton Hill. Cross to the opposite side, turn right and walk up the left-hand foot-way. Turn left into Elm Park, the fourth road on the left, and walk down this quiet street for 400m. At the junction with Claverdale Road, turn left and go on to reach Tulse Hill (the A204). Cross over and enter the pathway between houses to the right of a petrol station. The path turns left, right, and then left and right again to reach Brockwell Park. You can follow almost any route to explore the park (see the plan on p.92). What follows here is therefore only one of the options.

4.  Go ahead across a grassy path and turn left around a hedge. Enjoy a visit to the walled garden ahead on your right and then walk past the pond on your left. Go right at the community greenhouses, pass between tennis courts and turn right again to reach an area of grass. Walk across the grass towards Brockwell Hall, which has a café with indoor and outdoor seating at the back of the building. To continue the walk, go back to the front of Brockwell Hall. With the imposing pillars of the  front entrance behind you, turn right and make your way downhill. You are aiming for the Herne Hill exit of the park. From here you can either get a bus back to Brixton or take a train to London from Herne Hill Station in Railton Road.

Information on Things You Will See

Brixton is a district of London, within the Borough of Lambeth. It is mainly residential with a substantial retail sector. It is a multiethnic community, with a large part of its population being of Caribbean descent. Brixton has a vibrant atmosphere with a busy street market and a thriving art scene.  The area is slowly moving up-market with many middle class families moving in to take advantage of its central location and good communications.   

Brixton Windmill is a Grade II listed building and is a significant reminder of Lambeth’s rural past. It is the only remaining windmill in central London.  It was built in 1816 on part of Stockwell Manor. Until the middle of the 19th century Brixton remained largely undeveloped and was agricultural in character.  The windmill is constructed from brick and wood but has been paint.ed with black tar, a traditional method of weather-proofing. It is 15 metres tall and at the top, there is a wooden cap which can be turned so that the sails always face the wind.The sails originally turned a series of cogs which powered a millstone on the second floor.  There is a record of a John Ashby of Brixton Hill obtaining a 99-year lease  in 1817 for two acres of land to the south of a new road to be called Cornwall Road (now Blenheim Gardens), together with a ‘brick corn mill’ and other buildings. The windmill was soon surrounded by outbuildings, which included a mill cottage and a bakehouse, where bread was baked and sold to local people. In 1957, the London County Council (LCC) bought the land, the windmill and the associated buildings and decided to turn the 2.5 acres of land into a public open space - Windmill Gardens. 

Brockwell Park consists of 125 acres of open land and commands views of the skyline of Central London. Brockwell Lido is a Grade II listed art deco building. It is an open air swimming pool with an attached café/restaurant. Other amenities in the park include gardens,  tennis courts, a bowling green, a BMX track and a miniature railway. The park is home to the Lambeth Country Show which usually takes place in July. Also, an annual fireworks display takes place around November 5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Walk 24 - From Walthamstow Central, at the Northern End of the Victoria Line to Tottenham Hale via Walthamstow Wetlands 

 

 

Distance	9.5 km (6 miles)
Underfoot	Paved or solid pathways. No mud
Outward Journey	By Victoria Line to Walthamstow Central - about 25 minutes from Central London
Return	By Victoria Line or train from Tottenham Hale
Points of Interest	Walthamstow High Street, Walthamstow Wetlands, River Lee
Refreshments	Cafes and pubs in Walthamstow, Wetlands Visitor Centre, Ferry Boat Inn
Public Toilets	Walthamstow Central Station,  Visitor Centre in Walthamstow Wetlands
Shortening the Walk	From the Visitor Centre walk directly to Tottenham Hale Station

 

PLEASE NOTE : Dogs are not permitted in Walthamstow Wetlands

What To Expect From This Walk

The walk starts by visiting one of the most colourful high streets in London.  Walthamstow High Street is home to a host of individually owned shops and market stalls with a wide ethnic mix.  Walking down this pedestrian area is a feast of sights and sounds.  After the High Street, the walk continues down Coppermill Lane which then becomes more scenic. However, it is not until roughly the 3Km mark that you enter Walthamstow Wetlands.  It is well worth the wait. The many reservoirs make walking an interesting project and there are wide views from horizon to horizon.   After a couple of kilometers you reach the visitor center which is housed in The Old Engine House with refreshments available.  After this you enter the second section of the Wetlands.  The reservoirs in this section are at two different levels and your walk takes you along the bank of the higher reservoir with more good views all around. Leaving the Wetlands, the walk goes north and then east to join up with the River Lea Navigation.  Turning south, a 2 Kilometer stretch of towpath walking brings you back to Tottenham Hale tube station.

Route Directions

1.  At the top of the escalator at Walthamstow Central Station, turn left up some steps, following the signs to Selborne Road. You come out into Walthamstow bus station. Turn left here and cross the road to an open green area. Turn half-right and walk across the green to Walthamstow High Street, which you can see ahead. Turn left and walk down the High Street. This is your direction of travel for the next 3 km.

2.  Cross Willow Walk and later cross St James Street to enter Coppermill Lane.  After another 1 km the road narrows and the view opens out on both sides. You can see a reservoir on your right and a Thames Water treatment plant on your  left. Continue ahead for another 850m. After a bend in the road, turn right to enter Walthamstow Wetlands. Follow the path right and go past the Coppermill Tower. Continue for another 150m and then turn sharply right over a concrete bridge. At the end of the bridge, turn back left into an open space and look for a pathway going to the right. Go through a gate and swing left on an attractive path with water on both sides. Continue between the reservoirs for over 1 km until you come to a green fence with a railway line and road beyond.

 

3. Turn left on a track. You soon reach the Wetlands Visitor Centre, which has a café. Exit the visitor centre from the side opposite to  the one you came in by. Walk through a car park to reach Forest Road. The Ferry Boat Inn is straight ahead. Cross the road, turn right for 50m and then turn left to enter a second area of wetlands. Swing left with the pathway and continue for about 250m until the embankment of a reservoir appears on your left. Turn left and climb the steps up to the level of the reservoir. Turn right and walk alongside the water with good views all around. After 750m you meet a fence which crosses the path and runs down the bank on your right. Leave the path here and  go carefully down the grass bank beside the fence. There are no steps but the descent is not difficult. 

4. At the bottom, go ahead on a path which turns left and then right to cross a bridge. This is where you leave the  Walthamstow Wetlands. Take a narrow pathway to the left and follow it with a watercourse on your left. When the path reaches a housing estate, follow a signpost ahead for the Lee Navigation.  At the next signpost, turn left towards Tottenham Marshes. After 200m you cross a bridge and arrive at a visitor information board welcoming you to the Lee Valley. Walk past the board and go slightly to the left on a path which crosses open grassland. Go over a green bridge and reach the towpath of the Lee Navigation. 

5. Turn left and walk to a set of locks. Stay on the towpath as it crosses to the  opposite bank and continue in the same direction down the river for another kilometre to reach Forest Road (A503) at Tottenham Hale. Turn right to reach Tottenham Hale Underground Station (Victoria Line) and the adjacent mainline station with trains to Liverpool Street.

Information On The Things You Will See

Walthamstow Wetlands  Is a nature reserve extending over 500 acres in north east London. It was created from the area known as Walthamstow Reservoirs managed and is owned and managed by Thames water.  It is particularly important for birds and wildfowl due to its position in the Lee Valley which is a green corridor through the heart of London.  It is one of the largest urban wetland nature reserves in Europe. Visitors can freely access the site’s natural, industrial and social heritage in one of the capital’s most densely populated urban areas. The project was made possible after the Heritage Lottery Fund provided £4 million in funding.

The Coppermill Tower or Building  is Grade II Listed and has undergone a number of alterations over the centuries, including the addition of an Italianate tower in 1864. The previous mill on the site has been mentioned several times throughout historical records. It was noted that in the 14th century, the mill was powered by the Coppermill Stream that diverted from the River Lee for use in grinding corn.

The River Lee (or Lea)    is a tributary of the River Thames which rises in the Chiltern Hills and runs for 90Km (56m) to enter the Thames at Bow Creek. The river is canalised for most of its length and historically has always been a major trading route. However, commercial traffic effectively ended in the 1980s and it is now recreational.

 

 

 

 

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Walk No 23 – from Harrow & Wealdstone, at the northern end of the Bakerloo Line, to Stanmore

 

 

Distance	14.5 Km  (9 miles)
Underfoot	Roads and country paths.  Muddy after rain
Outward Journey	Bakerloo Line to Harrow & Wealdstone (about 40 minutes from Central London)
Return	By Jubilee Line
Points of Interest	Harrow Museum, Bentley Priory Park, Stanmore Hill
Refreshments	Moat Visitor Centre Cafe, The Case is Altered PH at Old Redding
Public Toilets	Toilets at the Moat Visitor Centre
Shortening the Walk	From Bentley Priory Park (Point A) you can walk directly to Stanmore

 

 

What To Expect From This Walk

The first half of this walk involves a number of suburban roads but the second half is entirely "green" with a nice mixture of fields, woods and parkland culminating in a visit to one of he highest viewpoints in London.  Be prepared for mud underfoot especially in winter.  Harrow Museum and the Moat Visitor Centre is the first real point of interest but this is soon followed by a lovely long distance view of the route ahead.  At Old Redding the walk joins the London Loop and follows it to Bentley Priory and Stanmore Country Park.  Walking is mostly easy with a couple of steady climbs and a final ascent of Stanmore Hill. 

 

Route Directions

1. At Harrow & Wealdstone Station  take the exit at platform level from Platform 1. Walk across a car park, turn right, away from the town centre, and follow the road left into Kings Way. Walk to the end, turn left into Queens Walk and then right into Marlborough Hill. In 200m, just after Marlborough Primary School, turn right into a passageway between houses. Go across Walton Drive and continue along a passageway to Harley Crescent, where you turn left. At the next junction turn right onto Harrow View and then go immediately left onto Hide Road. 

2. Follow this road until it reaches a T-junction, with a church on your left. Turn right on Pinner Vale and walk downhill to a main road.  Cross at the pedestrian crossing and go straight ahead along the continuation of Pinner Vale to reach Harrow Museum and Heritage Centre. On your left is the Moat Café Visitor Centre (closed  Mondays). Walk past the visitor centre and enter a park. Turn right and follow a broad path out to the main road (Headstone Lane). Turn left, cross the road and walk for 400m to take the third road on the right, Elmcroft Crescent. Follow this as it turns left and arrives at George V Avenue. Cross over and enter a footpath signposted to Pinner Village. Follow the path for 250m to meet Wakehams Hill and go ahead for another 250m to find a path on your right, signed Footpath 53. As you join this footpath, there is a broad view of your route ahead, across the valley towards Stanmore Hill. The path then descends between fields for 550m and meets George V Avenue again.

3. Cross over and continue ahead on a bridleway past Pinner Park Farm. Walk for another 500m between fields to reach a narrow lane. Cross the lane into the small footpath opposite, between a gated drive and a metal fence. After 100m the path leads to a footbridge over a railway line.  Cross the bridge and turn into Letchford Terrace, the second road on the left. You reach a main road (Headstone Lane). Turn left here, take the first road on the right (Tillotson Road) and walk to the end to meet Courtenay Avenue, another main road. Turn left along the left-hand footway and walk to a roundabout. Your onward path starts from the opposite side. To reach it, go left to cross the A410 at the pedestrian lights, then cross Oxhey Lane (the A4008). Continue clockwise round the roundabout, but before reaching the next exit, turn left into an enclosed path and walk uphill.  After 550m you come to a wooden fence across the path. Go left for a few steps around the fence to enter a field and continue along the right-hand edge of the field for another 500m. You eventually come out onto an unsurfaced lane between houses. Turn left for 20m and then turn right to follow the lane out to a road beside a pub (The Case is Altered). Turn right, then after 50m go left to cross the road and follow a London Loop waymark into woods. 

4. Arrive at a junction of paths with houses ahead. Do not turn right here but continue ahead to reach a lane beside the houses. Turn right along the lane and where it finishes at the last house, go ahead on a footpath, with the edge of the wood on your left, and follow a series of yellow waymarks to Bentley Priory. Continue over a number of footbridges and boardwalks, looking out for a post indicating where your route turns right. Turn right, and follow the path for 200m to go up some steps and reach a road. Cross to a gate directly opposite and enter the  Bentley Priory Nature Reserve. 

5. Walk on for 300m and go through another gate. Turn left and walk along a paved footpath for 750m to a junction of paths, signposted Stanmore Hill to the left and Stanmore Church to the right. This is point A where you can shorten the walk – see directions at the end. 

6. To continue, turn left and go through a gate to leave the grounds of Bentley Priory. Follow a track out to a road lined with large houses and turn right. After 100m turn left along Priory Drive. Cross the A4140 to enter Warren Lane. Walk for about 100m until you see a car park on the left. Enter the car park and go to the far right-hand corner. Follow the London Loop signs into the woods, along a narrow path which twists and turns before joining Warren Lane again. Take the path opposite, following the London Loop signs, which lead you between several ponds. Turn left behind some houses, with a wooden fence on your right. Reach a grassy area in front of some cottages. Walk to the bottom left-hand corner of the grassy area and turn left into the woods towards a large pond with a low fence. Walk with the pond on your right and reach a road. Cross the road and turn right, walk for 100m and turn left onto Dennis Lane.

Information on Things You Will See

Harrow Museum known as Headstone Manor & Museum, is the local history museum for the Borough of Harrow.  It was established in 1986 and consists of four historic buildings.  The Manor House  is one of the earliest surviving timber framed building in London.  Built in 1310, it is surrounded by the only surviving filled moat in Middlesex.  The moat is as old as the oldest part of the building, and was probably constructed as a status symbol to reflect the wealth of the Manor’s owner. Other buildings on the site are The Great Barn, The Small Barn and The Granary.

Stanmore Hill is one the highest viewpoints in London rising to 152m (500feet) On a clear day you will see for 20 miles and the view easily takes in such landmarks as Canary Wharf, The Shard. The Gherkin and Wembley Stadium.

The London Loop is a 240Km (150mile) long distance circular path around London which runs mostly within the M25 Motorway.  Its 24 sections make maximum use of London’s open spaces and parks.