Sections 6 and 7 Caulsdon South to Banstead Down /Banstead Downs to Ewell

 

The yellow line for parts 6 and 7.

What a beautiful day for a walk.  So I decided to go for it and do two sections in one day.  The information on the website is a bit dodgy when it comes to  distance covered but as I got lost in Nonsuch park for a good 45 minutes and ended up doing about 20 mins walking around Waterloo, literally looking for a loo, I ended up doing 13 miles. (They said it would be about 9.)  Anyway, it was great and due to having new insoles my feet didn't hurt! My achilles and arches have been causing me grief lately but fingers crossed, I think I have fixed it. (The new green soles on my boots are very hard and flat and needed more cushioning.)

Train in was great. Not busy at all.  Weird considering it was a Sunday.  Maybe 8.30am was a bit  too early for most  London tourists,  as shops and stuff don't open until 11am. Getting to Coulsdon South was  a bit of an arse. Nothing really stops there on a Sunday and I had to hang around Victoria Station for ages.  Yes, I have finally had to say goodbye to London Bridge. Victoria Train Station is a general dump in comparison. I finally set off from Coulsdon at 11.45am.  Honestly, I spend a ridiculous amount of time travelling to do this walk but  I love planning the routes out.  My favourite way now is with the FasterRoute app. What a geeky joy.   

I walked up through Coulsdon into Clockhouse.  A council estate built in the 1930s, vastly cratered in the war (As the bombers flew directly in over this area.) and then finally rebuilt.  It reminded me of Highfield estate in Bicester. It had a similar look. This estate though was right on the edge of the Greenbelt.  Surrounded on three sides by fields and bridleways. 

Heading off along the edge of Clockhouse Estate. I had now entered the borough of Sutton. 

Suddenly paths change to this.

I was now kind of funnelled into the path on the edge of fields. As all the grasses and weeds are so long at the moment I could not see any of the fabulous views of the city to my right.  But weirdly I could see Wembley Stadium arch in the distance. I was now directly south of it. After about 20 mins of this funnel rat run path I was beginning to get a tad claustrophobic.  It's annoying that so many paths are just contained and hidden away in the corners of farmers' private fields.  Anyway, perseverance through the weeds and stingers paid off as suddenly it opened up into the Carshalton Road Pastures.  

Just me, a board and a massive pasture. (The whole of London right next door)

Carshalton Pastures

Then suddenly I was in the Mayfield Lavender Fields.  What a surprise!  How great this will be in July and August when it all turns purple.https://www.mayfieldlavender.com/

It was still really beautiful this early in the season. 

I then crossed the road and over into Oaks Park.  Another beautiful find.  I wish I could have stayed here longer and investigated but I knew I still had lots of walking ahead. A shame really.

Would have stayed longer if I had time.

Petts Wood is the  beginning of section 3 so I have walked over 40 miles from the start.  

I then entered woodland and scrub.  I was right next to the enclosure wall of High Down Prison. A Cat C and Youth Offenders. A little bit creepy, I can't lie.   Then suddenly the whole vibe changed and I popped out through a bush into a typical Surrey Golf Course.  This golf course was rammed with middle aged men in shorts pushing buggies around and swinging.  Suddenly lots of hands were up and waving and pointing.  No one was too keen on killing me with their balls and I was directed around to the path.  Yes, it all was a bit surreal. Prison walls to golf clubs in  a few steps. I hope that wall is high enough. The perfectly hewn golf course held no interest for me so off I scarpered over the rather scary dual carriage way to find myself in yet another golf course. Another mad dash across and the end of section 6 was in sight.  There was the  sign to Banstead station.  It was 2.30pm.  I ignored the sign to the station and pulled the part 7 section out of my bag.

Banstead Downs

End of section 6. Start of section 7.

So off I continued. This section is the shortest of the entire LOOP and unfortunately lots of it was along street paths.  OK, many of the houses were million pound mansions but it all felt a bit soulless.  I did not see or hear a sound.  These gated houses were as silent as death.  All a bit strange. (They were all probably in their villas in France for the Bank Holiday.) I didn't like the spooky , super protected environment at all. I felt like there were cameras on me at all times.  Hence no photos.  I couldn't wait to get away. 

Luckily I was soon in Warren Farm, a Woodlands Trust Wood. Lots of paths off into the shrubs.  There were a few more people about too.  Then I had to cross over two ghost roads.  Two long parallel roads which nobody seems to know the origin of. Was it the surface for a never built 19th century railway?  Was it roads for a never built 1930s housing estate?  Was it access for World War 2 bunkers and shelters and an emergency landing strip?  Nobody seems to know anymore!

Warren Farm paths

The Ghost Road

After crossing the ghost roads I was in Nonsuch Park.  I remember this name from reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.  Henry VIII was always escaping to Nonsuch Park to do some hunting and fornicate in his palace here. He loved the place  and the weird name has stayed even if the palace was destroyed by the 1600s. There is now an ugly mansion, built in the 1800s.  I know this because I ended up sitting in the cafe outside this mansion having a cuppa.  I needed a break by this point.  After my well deserved rest I thought I had just over an hour left, but in true Jane style I got lost in the park getting back on the LOOP path.  I hadn't paid enough attention when going to the cafe and all the paths confused the hell out of me on the way back!  Oh well I got to have a good wander around Nonsuch.  It was fun.  Lots of kids learning to ride bikes.  Lots of families having fun.  Wonder what Henry would think about his favourite hunting ground now  being the perfect spot for learning to ride a bike? 

Getting lost on the Nonsuch paths

Site of the palace, they say.

Another scary crossing of a bypass and I was on my way to Ewell.  Behind houses , path along the backs of gardens and I came out at the disused cemetery and tower of Ewell.  All opposite a private school, which looked like a castle. The disused cemetery was great.  

Ewell over grown cemetery

disused tower

Ewell looked very pretty. I turned into the High Street and section 7 ended within Bourne Hall Park.  Another lovely park with loads of ducks in the pond. The Hall itself was really modern.  A strange building (Kind of a cross between a mini o2 building and Turkish Mosque.) 

A beer in a Ewell pub , a slow wander to Ewell West train station,  and soon I was in Waterloo station.  The whole walk had taken me just over 6 hours. IN the end it was 13 miles.

Futuristic Bourne Hall

Duck paradise

I'm now on South Western trains in and out of London.

Once back in Waterloo I had to wander for ages to find a toilet.  The station has all changed since my last visit. (Probably added another mile to the walk!)  I  then ended up in a Korean supermarket stocking up on kimchi and goodies and then had a great meal in a Thai restaurant. It's inspired me to find green papaya and make my own Thai SomTam salad.  It was really good!

I easily caught the 9pm train back to Bicester Village and by 10.15pm I was home, after a detour to the pub to walk home with Dean.  A great day.  I love my London Loop adventures. 

Section 5: Hamsey Green to Caulsdon South

 

The most southernly section around the South London Downs.  

Wow.  What an amazing day.  I left Bicester at 9am and was at London Bridge by 10.30am.  I had a particularly shite coffee from a bloody trendy 'select your blend and pay your hourly wage' kind of shop.  I complained that it was total crap and got some insane Columbian coffee injection as compensation.  This wonderful drug set me up for the day!! Result. (God knows if this coffee was legal or not.) 

I got a few pictures afterwards from outside the station.

First mile is always important

London Bridge views never get dull.

I met Tanya inside the station a little later and it was great to do another section with her.  We chatted all the way to Whyteleafe on the train so I was unsure which stations we went through but hey we were nearly on our way, or so we thought.  The only arse ache of the day was trying to interpret the written directions from the website.  They were all printed off and all at hand,  but they were so bad right from the start and we ended up getting completely kurfuffled right from the get go!

The only bonus is that we did wind back to exactly the same spot I ended in Hamsey Green (even though we were meant to be far more along the loop than this)  Oh well, the weather was fab and it was great to chat with Tanya.

 I had bad hayfever and the walking wasn't easy to begin with.   This truly was one of the worst signposted sections so far! But hey, there were lots of bluebells in the commons along with a great Robin.  Plus the bird song was so loud and there were so many butterflies.  It was crazy knowing we were inside the M25.  London was alive with nature!

In my happy place with my maps!

Then we got to this weird observatory and we couldn't help but laugh.  It was the tiniest observatory in a really dilapidated farmer's field. (I thought it was a toilet.)  All very odd but I've googled this place and every Saturday it is open for free for the public to come and have a look through the telescopes.  There are no amenities, you have to walk through the fields in the dark with your torch to find it,  but it is there for you if want to look at the stars!

https://www.timeout.com/london/attractions/kenley-observatory

We then went past Kenley airfield, one of the best preserved airfields from the second world war. It played a vital role in defending London from attacks. There were gliders close by and dog walkers all over the site. 

We then had to rest.  We had been out for nearly 2 hours. The  crap instructions said the whole walk was only 6 miles long.  This was bull...even with going wrong we had covered about 4 miles and weren't even half way!  Plus the walk was deceptively up and down hill.  I don't think there had been even half a mile of flat walking.

Anyway, after a break, off we went again and entered the most beautiful part of the London LOOP so far...

We had finally entered into the area of the South London Downs.  This is a National Nature Reserve, one of three in London, the biggest is Richmond Park.  It was like entering into the New Forest along with the rolling hills of the Cotswolds.  A totally beautiful surprise.  We walked first through Caulsdon Common with all the amazing bluebells, whilst getting more and more confused by the waymarkers,  and then finally we arrived in Happy Valley.  Now this place was fabulous.  The sun was out and so were the rare Greater Yellow Rattles.  (They look like Cowslips but their latin names are completely different.) 

Tanya and I sat down on the ridge and just took it all in!

I made this photo straight.  The flowers were on a slope.

I then clambered up.  By this point my calves and back of my heels were a bit buggered. I was one of those hobbling walkers! I thought it was the beginning of arthritis but I think I have done my achilles tendon in.  Too much wonky up and down walking in one day. (Plus I don't think I had fastened my boots tight enough.)

Anyway, off I lumbered into Farthing Downs.  This was just like the New Forest and was great too.  A high  ridge with fab views on either side and hardly anyone around.  We could also see the city ahead.  It was a completely different angle from my previous walk.  I had hit the most southernly point of the walk and was now walking North.   There was an overload of information boards around here.  Lots about the importance of the biodiversity here and also on the ancient burial chambers from over 12000 years ago.  A great little find , just a few miles away from Purley.   We then wandered down into South Caulsdon and got to the train station through the back of a housing estate.  

Tanya and I then went for a celebration drink in a sport boozer. (Liverpool vs Tottenham was on about 30 screens. ) and then we walked back to the station.  In true fashion of the day we got lost again getting back to the station. We'd only had one pint each!!  Was great to spend the day with you Tanya!
Once I got back to Marylebone I checked my phone and I had walked nearly 12 miles.  This was insane, the walk said it was 6 miles long!  I think either they hadn't taken the incline into consideration or we had spent the day getting really off track!   I think it was a mixture.