Past Month
+ 64
Sydenham Hill Wood to Dulwich Village
Hiking Trail
Easy
4.16 mi
248 ft
A 4-mile trail with many different chapters: ramble through ancient woodlands, stroll along Victorian railroad tracks, and wander around grand palace gardens.
Start your walk with a delightful forest feel in Dulwich and Sydenham Wood Hill, the London Wildlife Trust’s oldest nature reserve. Spot the many kinds of woodland fauna, such as bats, woodpeckers, and tawny owls, as well as the curious Victorian relics left over from the woodland’s grand past. *Directions:* Exit Sydenham Hill Station via the College Road exit. Cross College Road through the gate opposite the station, and continue up the wide tarmac track for 140 metres. Before the track bends right, turn left through a gate to enter Dulwich Wood. Walk gently uphill in a northeasterly direction and in 280 metres, where the path levels out at a five-way path junction, bear right along the second right minor path. Follow this meandering path—ignoring all ways off—for 400 metres. You have now crossed the boundary over into Sydenham Hill Wood, home to over 200 species of trees and plants, as well as rare fungi, insects, birds, and woodland mammals. Walk up some steps and turn left onto the unused railway track, taking your time to peer into the closed up tunnel, which is now a registered bat roost. The track was once the Nunhead to Crystal Palace railway, but for many decades it has been taken over by nature. Follow the route of the old railway, and after 270 metres—where the way is blocked by a wooden fence—turn left to go up some steps and then go right, keeping the fence on your right. You will soon come to a metal kissing gate that you need to walk through, turning right to cross over the 18th Century ornamental Cox’s Walk footbridge. Once over the footbridge, veer left up some steps and turn left through a metal barrier. Walk along a path between fences for 100 metres to come out into the grounds of a block of flats. Turn left to follow the tarmac path past the flats, following Green Chain Walk signs, and you will eventually come out to the A205 South Circular Road. Turn right to cross Sydenham Hill and then left to cross the A205, which brings you to the southwest entrance of Horniman Gardens. After you have explored the wonders of the gorgeously intricate Horniman Gardens, head back through the southwest entrance, turning right down the South Circular Road. In 350 metres, at the road junction with Dulwich Common, turn left along Dulwich Common but cross over to the other side at the lights first (where the Green Chain Walk (Cox's Walk) joins on the left through a metal gate), to go along the north side of Dulwich Common. After 350 metres, turn right to go through the Rosebery Gate (southeastern) entrance to Dulwich Park. Head in a westerly direction across the park, emerging at the Old College gate of Dulwich Park, turn right onto College Road. Keep going for 100 metres, passing a mini-roundabout on your left, and then in another 400 metres you'll reach the entrance to Belair Park on your right. Amble around the park and stop off at the Belair House tea shop for a rest before the final leg of your journey. Exiting the park the way you came, head up College Road until you come to a T-junction with the South Circular Road. Turn right and carry on a couple of hundred metres to reach West Dulwich station on your left-hand side. For more information, visit: Written by FATMAP Official
Start your walk with a delightful forest feel in Dulwich and Sydenham Wood Hill, the London Wildlife Trust’s oldest nature reserve. Spot the many kinds of woodland fauna, such as bats, woodpeckers, and tawny owls, as well as the curious Victorian relics left over from the woodland’s grand past. *Directions:* Exit Sydenham Hill Station via the College Road exit. Cross College Road through the gate opposite the station, and continue up the wide tarmac track for 140 metres. Before the track bends right, turn left through a gate to enter Dulwich Wood. Walk gently uphill in a northeasterly direction and in 280 metres, where the path levels out at a five-way path junction, bear right along the second right minor path. Follow this meandering path—ignoring all ways off—for 400 metres. You have now crossed the boundary over into Sydenham Hill Wood, home to over 200 species of trees and plants, as well as rare fungi, insects, birds, and woodland mammals. Walk up some steps and turn left onto the unused railway track, taking your time to peer into the closed up tunnel, which is now a registered bat roost. The track was once the Nunhead to Crystal Palace railway, but for many decades it has been taken over by nature. Follow the route of the old railway, and after 270 metres—where the way is blocked by a wooden fence—turn left to go up some steps and then go right, keeping the fence on your right. You will soon come to a metal kissing gate that you need to walk through, turning right to cross over the 18th Century ornamental Cox’s Walk footbridge. Once over the footbridge, veer left up some steps and turn left through a metal barrier. Walk along a path between fences for 100 metres to come out into the grounds of a block of flats. Turn left to follow the tarmac path past the flats, following Green Chain Walk signs, and you will eventually come out to the A205 South Circular Road. Turn right to cross Sydenham Hill and then left to cross the A205, which brings you to the southwest entrance of Horniman Gardens. After you have explored the wonders of the gorgeously intricate Horniman Gardens, head back through the southwest entrance, turning right down the South Circular Road. In 350 metres, at the road junction with Dulwich Common, turn left along Dulwich Common but cross over to the other side at the lights first (where the Green Chain Walk (Cox's Walk) joins on the left through a metal gate), to go along the north side of Dulwich Common. After 350 metres, turn right to go through the Rosebery Gate (southeastern) entrance to Dulwich Park. Head in a westerly direction across the park, emerging at the Old College gate of Dulwich Park, turn right onto College Road. Keep going for 100 metres, passing a mini-roundabout on your left, and then in another 400 metres you'll reach the entrance to Belair Park on your right. Amble around the park and stop off at the Belair House tea shop for a rest before the final leg of your journey. Exiting the park the way you came, head up College Road until you come to a T-junction with the South Circular Road. Turn right and carry on a couple of hundred metres to reach West Dulwich station on your left-hand side. For more information, visit: Written by FATMAP Official
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