Walk Directions Comments Map GPS Weather Photos Videos History Download Walk (pdf)

Warlingham Circular walk

Bluebell woods, fields, valleys and nature reserves on the London/Surrey border.

Circular South London Surrey

History

This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.

Date Option Post # Weather
Sat, 20-Apr-24 Tiptoe through the Bluebells - Warlingham Circular (Amendment)
Sun, 10-Dec-23 Sunday Walk: Warlingham Circular 4 drizzly
Sat, 04-Mar-23 a Saturday Walk - Warlingham Circular (Shorter version) 10 cloudy and chilly
Sat, 02-Jul-22 Saturday Walk Warlingham Circular 20 sunny
Sat, 14-Dec-19 Saturday Walk: Whyteleafe to Woldingham 17 Dry and sunny except for short hail shower
Sun, 16-Apr-17 Easter Day walk: Bluebells and wood anemones in Surrey's Green Belt 17 cloudy some sun no rain cool wind
Mon, 04-May-15 Bank holiday bluebell extravaganza
Sun, 12-Apr-15 Whyteleafe [Upper Warlingham] to Woldingham 15
Wed, 07-Jan-15 a Whyteleafe [UW] to Woldingham (short walk), with short cut
Wed, 05-Feb-14 ? Whyteleafe [UW] to Woldingham - withdrawn
Mon, 06-May-13 ? Whyteleafe to Woldingham (long walk) - withdrawn
Wed, 03-Oct-12 ? Whyteleafe [UW] to Woldingham - withdrawn
Mon, 07-May-12 a Whyteleafe [UW] to Woldingham (short walk)
Sun, 19-Feb-12 a Whyteleafe [UW] to Woldingham (short walk)
Sat, 12-Nov-11 a Whyteleafe [UW] to Woldingham (short walk)
Sun, 20-Mar-11 ? Whyteleafe Circular - withdrawn
Sun, 23-May-10 ? Whyteleafe to Warlingham - withdrawn
Sat, 23-Jan-10 a Whyteleafe [UW] to Woldingham (short walk)
Sat, 02-May-09 ? Warlingham Circular
Sun, 22-Feb-09 a Warlingham Circular
Sun, 12-Oct-08 ? Warlingham Circular
Sat, 17-May-08 ? Warlingham Circular
Wed, 20-Feb-08 ? Warlingham Circular
branchline


Difficulty 4/10

Main Walk 17 km (10.6 miles).

Today’s walk is the Warlingham Circular. On the walk document's web page you can scroll down and click Option ‘Main Walk 17km’ below the map to give you the route for today’s walk to print and bring along.

There are fine displays of bluebells throughout this walk. As witnessed last weekend, the bluebells are coming out in strength, so this weekend they are likely to be at their best.

This part of the London/Surrey border feels pretty rural, the woods, fields and isolated valleys having escaped suburban expansion. The walk starts with a climb to the top of Riddlesdown and the adjoining Sanderstead to Whyteleafe Countryside Area, (now part of the South London Downs National Nature Reserve). It then heads east via Hamsey Green for a short stretch through King's Wood, the best of the bluebell woods. After crossing an isolated valley the full walk continues with a meander through Selsdon Wood Nature Reserve, which also has good displays of wood anemones. A tiny 11thC church and more bluebell woods are then passed on the way to a lunch pub on the edge of Great Farleigh Green.

The return leg comes back across the valley to King's Wood, this time through its full length. The walk ends with a longer stretch through the Countryside Area, and a flight of steps takes you down to a café in Whyteleafe Recreation Ground and a choice of return stations.

Trains:

Either Victoria 10.20 arrives at Upper Warlingham at 10.52 calling at CJ 10.27; E Croydon 10.40;

Or train from London Bridge at 10.10 arriving at Whyteleafe at 10.47

These two stations are very close together. Travellers from London Bridge can walk to Upper Warlingham to meet the travellers from Victoria.

Tickets: Both stations are at the outer edge of TfL Zone 6 so a Travelcard or London Freedom Pass would suffice.

Return Trains:

From Upper Warlingham: xx02 and xx32 to Victoria

From Whyteleafe: xx01 and xx31 to LB

Lunch: The Harrow (01883-627565) on Great Farleigh Green. The suggested place for a picnic lunch is at Farleigh church, which has several benches in its churchyard.

Tea: The suggested place in Whyteleafe is the small Pavilion Café (01883-770666; open daily to around 4pm) in the Recreation Ground, a friendly place serving hot drinks and a selection of cakes. Stronger fare is available at the refurbished Whyteleafe Tavern (01883-624547) and the Radius Arms micro-pub (07514-916172), but neither do hot drinks. Both are on the A22 between the two stations.

T=swc.43

Walk directions: here



  • 18-Apr-24

    Thanks to branchline for posting this walk, at the best time of year for it. There are indeed good showings of bluebells in all the woods, and you won't be troubled by mud. However, the wood anemones in the northern part of Selsdon Wood are all but over, so you wouldn't miss much by taking the suggested short cut in para 14f. Or for a different short cut you could take the alternative route in para 15, since Puplet Wood also has plenty of bluebells.

  • 18-Apr-24

    I can concur about the wood anemones: they are all gone now. Frith Wood has been good for bluebells in the past, however, and a short detour into it would be worth the effort.

Mr M Tiger
Mr M Tiger

Difficulty 4/10
Short Walk, omitting Selsdon Wood: 13½ km (8.4 miles) (recommended).
Main Walk 17 km (10.6 miles).
This part of the London/Surrey border feels pretty rural, the woods, fields and isolated valleys having escaped suburban expansion.
The walk starts with a climb to the top of Riddlesdown and the adjoining Sanderstead to Whyteleafe Countryside Area, (now part of the South London Downs National Nature Reserve). A tiny 11th C church is then passed on the way to a lunch pub on the edge of Great Farleigh Green.
The return leg comes back across the valley to King's Wood, this time, through its full length. The walk ends with a longer stretch through the Countryside Area, and a flight of steps takes you down to a café in Whyteleafe Recreation Ground and a choice of return stations.
Trains: Get the East Grinstead train from Victoria at 10:21 (Clapham Jct 10:28), arriving Upper Warlingham 10:51.
Or... the 10:10 Caterham train from London Bridge to Whyteleafe station, arriving 10:47. (The stations are near each other - directions given from both).
Return from Upper Warlingham to Victoria at xx:08 and xx:38
Return from Whyteleafe to London Bridge at xx:40 and xx:10.
Both. stations are at the outer edge of TfL Zone 6 so a Travelcard or London Freedom Pass would suffice.

Lunch: The Harrow (01883-627565) on Great Fairleigh Green. The suggested place for a picnic lunch is at Farleigh church, which has several benches in its churchyard.
Tea: The suggested place in Whyteleafe is the small Pavilion Café (01883-770666; open daily to around 4pm) in the Recreation Ground, a friendly place serving hot drinks and a selection of cakes. Stronger fare is available at the refurbished Whyteleafe Tavern (01883-624547) and the Radius Arms micro-pub (07514-916172), but neither do hot drinks. Both are on the A22 between the two stations.
Walk directions: here
Given the hours of daylight, the shorter walk, omitting Selsdon Wood is recommended – but it’s up to you.
T=swc.43

  • 10-Dec-23

    4 of us left Upper Warlingham station, and only 3,as far as I know returned. It was good to get out on a drizzly day. There ought to be a score out of 10,slightly higher than the 4 out of ten, when the mud intervenes.

    It was an enjoyable walk though. 2 had a pub lunch in the Harrow by Farleigh Green. I can't remember going there before. The calamari I had, which was a starter was pretty good value, quite a lot and enjoyable. I had a cappochino to go with it, as I don't drink alcohol on the 2nd Sunday in December.

    I left the walk at Sanderstead and caught the 403 bus to catch some jazz in the Oval pub jazz venue in East Croydon, as it seemed an opportunity not to be missed.

  • 11-Dec-23

    4 drizzly

HollieB
Warlingham Circular (Short Walk omitting Selsdon Wood)
10.1 miles / 16.25 km
Although only a few miles from Croydon and well inside the M25, this part of London's border with Surrey feels anything but urban. Away from the main roads you are soon in woods, fields and isolated valleys which escaped the post-war expansion of south London's suburbs.

Trains: 10:20 London Victoria, (10:40 East Croydon), 10:52 Upper Warlingham. Return trains at xx:02/xx:32. Upper Warlingham is in Travelcard Zone 6.
Lunch: The Harrow, Great Farleigh Green (01883 627565) - large Vintage Inns pub. The Bull Inn is a little further on at Chelsham Common.
T=swc.43.a
  • 03-Mar-23

    An optional extension at the end of the walk, would be to carry on after tea in Whyteleafe/Upper Warlingham across Riddlesdown to the station there.

  • 05-Mar-23

    8 and a dog left the station, soon to be joined by a 9th. Off they went up the big hill with Mr Tiger leading the way. It was cloudy and chilly No-one got lost, not with the walk”s author in attendance, watching out for every foot put wrong. At the Harrow, there was discussion whether to have lunch there or go on to the Bull. Then we saw them. A monstrous phalanx of rival walkers coming our way fast!!! Panic ensued and we dived into the Harrow before it was too late. Here a 10 th walker, a newbie, caught us up from a later train. Most people had food. As usual, Mr Tiger just had cider. But he was fed chips and chocolate by a succession of kindly benefactors.

    After lunch it was more of the same. Fields woods, more fields. A buzzard circled overhead expectantly but it was to be disappointed. By now, poor Mr Tiger was faltering. Perhaps weighed down by all the chips, he lost sight of the others near Sanderstead and never saw them again. Don‘t worry readers, he reached Whyteleafe OK, thanks for asking. There, a quick visit to the Radius Arms where he consoled himself with a pint of porter before heading home.

PeteG
PeteG
Warlingham Circular
Length: 13.2 miles (21¼ km) 5 out of 10 T=swc.43
"Although only a few miles from Croydon and well inside the M25, this part of London's border with Surrey feels anything but urban. Away from the main roads you are soon in woods, fields and isolated valleys which escaped the post-war expansion of south London's suburbs. Now part of the Green Belt, the area is protected from large-scale development and remains a rural haven."
The walk consists of several loops, giving plenty of options for short cuts.
Trains: Get the 0920 East Grinstead train from Victoria (Clapham 0926, East Croydon 0939), arriving Upper Warlingham 0952. Return xx02 xx32. Note that Whyteleafe station (on a different line from London Bridge) is close by, and offers an alternative start/return point in the event of any disruption.
Lunch: The Harrow (01883-627565) after up to 11 km. Part of the Vintage Inns chain, this is a large pub/restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating, but is on a fairly busy main road.

The alternative is The Bull Inn (01883-627735) on Chelsham Common, which serves typical pub food and has a beer garden overlooking the common. It is just over halfway through the full Main Walk.


Tea: In Whyteleafe the suggested tea place is the small Pavilion Café (01883-770666; open daily to around 4.30pm) in the Recreation Ground, a friendly place serving hot drinks and a selection of home-made cakes.

On the A22 between the two stations is the Whyteleafe Tavern and a small micro-pub, the Radius Arms.

  • 03-Jul-22

    15 at Upper Warlingham. 2 from Whyteleafe, 2 late starters and 1 walk author makes 20

    A sunny day. An enjoyable day but not without issues.The big one being the tangled web of options.

    Early on a sizeable party failed to turn right in Kings Wood and continued all the way through despite some protestations. We were following the GPS route right? So we couldn't be wrong, right? Except we were wrong, we were following the GPS for another loop. Luckily someone texted us or we'd have reached the station a bit early. Not my fault you understand, I was merely following the others.Their fault.

    We got back on track and somehow reached the pub before most of the others. How I'll never know. They should do a programme on telly.

    This was partly explained by the sudden appearance by the walks author who knew a quick way. Not THE quickest way but a way. And partly by the others going adrift in Selsdon Wood.

    Lunch in the Harrow was OK I guess. Friendly enough. People seemed to like what they got and Iwas fed chips by a kindly benefactor. Some went on to the Bull.

    The group split after lunch, some opting for the long way back and some the shorter. I took the shorter and was soon left to my own devices. Or device, which I mainly followed. This seemed to differ slightly from the written word. I hate to use the L-word as you know, but I wasn't, anyway. Another trip along Riddlesdown and down the big steps into Whyteleafe.

    A visit to the tiny Radius Arms rounded things off nicely.

HollieB
HollieB
11.8 miles / 19km main walk
or 8.9 miles / 14.25km with shortcuts

A country walk just outside London

Trains: Take the 9:50 from London Victoria (10:10 East Croydon), arriving at Upper Warlingham station at 10:22. There are also trains to Whyteleafe station, which is just a few minutes away from Upper Warlingham station.
Return trains from Woldingham at xx:29, xx:59. Woldingham is just outside the Oyster zone, so a return to Woldingham is the most straightforward option.

Lunch: The Harrow Inn, Great Farleigh Green, 01883 627565.

The Dene Coffee Shop at Knights Garden Centre is near the end of the walk and should be open until 4:30pm.

T=swc.43
  • Anonymous
    13-Dec-19

    Hi. Estimated mud level on this one, please. Thanks.

  • 13-Dec-19

    It's winter and it's been raining. Mudlarks will not be disappointed. But not quite as gloopy as Wealden mud.

  • 15-Dec-19

    17 , Dry and sunny except for short hail shower . Mud was not too bad on the chalk downland but there were some patches in the woods. A small group could not resist the nearness to the lunch pub and cut off 4km of Selsdon woods (Bluebells in Spring nothing in Winter). The author and principal walk inspector had not anticipated this and was a little late joining us for lunch. The Harrow welcomes muddy boots and paws and provided good food and efficient service. Having got ahead, the same group gorged themselves on cream teas at Knight's garden centre. Those who did the proper walk seemed to manage without stopping for lunch or tea.

Chris L
SWC walk 43 - Whyteleafe to Woldingham
Length: 14.3km (8.9 miles) to 19km (11.8 miles)
Toughness: 4 out of 10

10:21 East Grinstead train from London Bridge (10.40 East Croydon) to Upper Warlingham, arriving 10.51
Don’t try starting from Victoria today, since there’s a lengthy rail replacement bus service to East Croydon.

Trains back from Woldingham are at xx:04 and xx:34.

For walk directions click here.

Ticket advice from the walk’s author: You can use Oyster or LT travelcards (zone six) to Upper Warlingham, but Woldingham is one stop outside the boundary. If you buy a single from there to Upper Warlingham you have the problem of how to tap in at Upper Warlingham if using Oyster. A six zone travelcard with a Network Card (£7.90) would save you a dash across the platform, or just buy a day return to Woldingham from your starting station of choice.

With today’s other walk involving a long journey and an early start, this one is definitely for those preferring a late start. It is just outside London, but very rural in character, traversing woods, fields and isolated valleys. It was previously a popular walk, regularly posted twice a year, but hasn’t been done for a couple of years now, so it’s overdue an outing. The walk offers a plethora of woods with wood anemones and bluebells, and the latter should be starting to make a nice show, though may not be quite at their best yet.

There are shorter and longer options - see walk directions. The recommended lunch pub is the Harrow Inn (01883 629031) about 11km into the walk.. For tea, the Dene Coffee Shop in Knights Garden Centre is ideal if you can get to it in time, but it closes at 4:00pm on Sundays. There are no other tea options in Woldingham.
T=swc.43
  • 12-Apr-17

    I can confirm Chris L's rather gloomy prognosis about the woodland flowers on this walk: the wood anemones are just past their best and the bluebells won't be fully out for another week or two. But look out for some unusual violet-coloured wood sorrel in Ledgers Wood.

  • 12-Apr-17

    Interested in coming! Do you think there will be room in the pubs (Easter Sunday) or do you recommend bringing packed lunches?

  • 12-Apr-17

    Hard to say, Celine. The Harrow Inn is not the sort of pub to turn people away and I've seen it cope with lots of people eating on the outside tables when it's warm enough, but if it's very busy it may take a long time to get served. The later lunch pub (now The Bull Colosseum) has changed hands again and I haven't tried it in its latest guise of an Italian restaurant.

    Judging by the Sunday walk reports there are always some who go for a pub lunch and others who bring sandwiches, so you'll have company whatever you decide to do.

  • Ian T
    17-Apr-17

    17 (including a fleeting visit from the walk's author). A sizeable proportion took the long walk. Lunch at the Harrow. Fast service, food well received. Bluebells were mostly still greenbells, though Kings Wood put on a good show. As did the stitchwort, dandelions, buttercups and some of the trees. Some unusual violet wood sorrel in Ledger Wood. Some walkers went to the Dene for tea. Some didn’t. cloudy some sun no rain cool wind

Walker
Walker
SWC walk 43 - Whyteleafe to Woldingham
Length: 14.3km (8.9 miles) to 18.5km (11.5 miles)
Toughness: 4 out of 10

9.53 train from Victoria (9.59 Clapham Junction, 10.11 East Croydon) to Upper Warlingham, arriving 10.23

Trains back from Woldingham are at 30 and 59 past the hour.

For walk directions click here.

You can use Oyster or LT travelcards (zone six) to Upper Warlingham, but Woldingham is one stop outside the boundary. If you buy a single from there to Upper Warlingham you have the problem of how to tap in at Upper Warlingham if using Oyster. A six zone travelcard with a Network Card (£7.90) would save you a dash across the platform, or just buy a day return to Woldingham from your starting station of choice.

Yes, I know this walk had a Sunday outing just three weeks ago, but with its plethora of bluebell woods just on the outskirts of London it makes the obvious bank holiday outing too. It also has a history of being posted just when its bluebell woods are going over, so I thought it might be nice to give it an outing when the flowers should be at their best.

There are shorter and longer options - see walk directions - and buses intersecting the route which may or may not be running on bank holidays. There are two lunch pubs, both likely to be busy, but hopefully both used to reasonably big throughputs. The Dene Coffee Shop is lovely if you can get to it in time, but it has a habit of closing rather early. Otherwise tea options are limited - bring a thermos!