The Ultimate London Walk – Section 14: Addington Hill to New Addington  New Walk!

As you go past the gatehouse, down the steps, the pond in front of Heathfield House reveals itself, followed by the great country house itself. Great, except it belongs to a cash-strapped council. Its grounds, well worth exploring, have seen better days.

More steps connect with Bramley Bank, once part of Heathfield, now a nature reserve with woodland pond and a captivating view past fields of horses to New Addington. The reborn heathland links to Littleheath Woods, saved by locals a century ago. Follow on to an old bridleway cutting through streets from the 1970s. This had once been a Garden Village of smallholdings with poultry and pigs developed for World War 1 veterans.

The bridleway flows into Selsdon Wood, its layout recognizable from when it was bought for public use on the breakup of Selsdon Park estate  in the 1920s. The other side of the wood is Surrey, London is over.

The footpath follows the boundary with lovely Surrey views to the escarpment below New Addington. To finish though, make the steep climb up. At the top is another ‘Garden Village’, ‘New’ in the 1930s, which grew post-war – its isolation from London finally over when the tram arrived.

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING