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
Simon Hargrave –
Starting on Addington Hill, we learned about the story behind the 19th C outbreak of typhoid. Then a long, scenic walk the hill, finishing with a steep walk to the New Addington estate. I thought I knew Addington well until I came on this walk. A fascinating mixture of social and architectural history, and surprising green spaces.
Mara Clarke –
I was lucky enough to catch the last in Charlie’s series of Ultimate London Walks (Section 14: Addington Hill to New Addington). While I am somewhat familiar with Croyden, I had never seen or even heard of most of the places Charlie took us to – a windmill! An ecology centre! One of the best views of London I’ve ever seen bar from a plane!
Please, please, please Charlie do these walks again next year? I would love to join.
Zoe –
As ever, I can’t recommend London Walks highly enough. Thank you, Charlie, for two superb walks today. Despite living in the area all my life, there wasn’t a pathway or trail on the route that I’d walked before and it made me appreciate just how green and tranquil London can be if you know where to look. My only disappointment was not joining you until the end of the series. The hours of walking from North to South and the research you must have put in to cover 14 unique walks is incredible. The celebratory chocolate at the end was a lovely touch too.
I will definitely be joining you for more when the series is run again.