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Colliers Wood to Putney Bridge (Wandle Trail) Short Walk

River Wandle Trail and the Thames Path

Easy London Short

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
Sun, 09-Mar-25 Morden to Putney (rescheduled) 13 sunny
Sun, 23-Feb-25 <S>Morden to Putney</S>: POSTPONED
Thu, 20-Jul-23 Evening Walk - The Wandle Trail and the Thames Path (Colliers Wood to Putney or Hammersmith) 8
Thu, 18-Aug-22 Evening Walk - The Wandle Trail (Colliers Wood to Putney or Hammersmith) 10 pleasantly warm
Wed, 02-Dec-20 Colliers Wood to Putney
Sat, 01-Sep-18 [New!] [Weekend Short Walk] Colliers Wood to Putney : Wandle Trail, Thames Path, Bishops Palace 3 Sunny
Thu, 09-Aug-18 Evening Walk - The Wandle Trail: Colliers Wood to Putney Bridge, Putney or Hammersmith 10 overcast but dry

Sunday 09-Mar-25

Sean
Short Walks 13+25 – Morden to Putney


The stretch of the River Wandle on this walk doesn't seem to have been as badly affected by the diesel spill as the nature reserves upstream so I'll risk rescheduling this walk, postponed from February 23rd. Let's hope the clean-up operation prevents too much harm to the wildlife on this fast-flowing chalk stream through south London.

Length: About 13 km (8 miles). Toughness: 1/10

Take a Northern line tube to arrive at Morden (TfL Zone 4) by 11:15. It's a 30 minute journey from central London; if necessary, use the TfL Journey Planner from your local station. Meet upstairs in the ticket hall.

You can return from either Putney Bridge (District line) or Putney (six trains an hour to Clapham Jct & Waterloo, but this is on the same line as Twickenham so these trains will be very crowded after the England–Italy match ends at 5pm). There are also several drop-out points on or close to the walk route: Colliers Wood on the Northern line plus Earlsfield and Wandsworth Town for trains to Waterloo. All these stations are in Zones 2 or 3.

Wetland Boardwalk, Morden Hall Park I've decided to combine two short walks which together cover the final stretch of the Wandle Trail through south London, with a short extension along the Thames Path to finish. They're normally posted separately as evening walks but this combination should make a reasonable day walk. The notes admit that this final stretch of the Wandle Trail “isn't the prettiest of walks” but there are parks at both ends, and as much of the route is on firm paths there should be little or no mud to contend with.

If you want a mid-walk refreshment break the notes mention the Louis Earlsfield restaurant just before you have to divert away from the river into Earlsfield. A little further on you'll pass two or three pubs on its High Street, including The Halfway House and The Wandle. There are plenty more places in Wandsworth and Putney too, with The Boathouse and The Rocket by Putney Bridge competing for your custom at the end of the walk.

As usual there's no walk leader so please download the GPS files and/or the directions from the Morden Hall Park and the Colliers Wood to Putney Bridge walk pages. NB. If you're running late you'll see from the route maps that there are some obvious short cuts you could take in Morden Hall Park.

T=short.25
  • Sun, 09-Mar-25

    13 on another sunny day. Several first-timers. The walk went well, the first half maybe a little greener than the second.

    Not much sign of the recent pollution (although the reeds in the first wetland seemed a bit worse for wear and a local said there’d been less birdlife since).

    Al this changed past Merton, where apparently the Wandle had been spared the diesel leak by a blockage. We encountered a local naturalist there who told us loads of stuff. Like how they’d just had the first brown ringed whatever in London (dragonfly, I think).and pointed out an egret, just sitting there bold as brass, unperturbed by our presence. Although the kingfishers are supposed to be equally unperturbed they must have been having a day off. But we did learn how to tell who the fish in their beaks was for.

    Lunch was partaken in Earlsfield in the Halfway inn. A kindly benefactor accidentally ordered a king sized baked Camembert and chips and had to share it with the group. No prizes for guessing who was first in the queue. One or two finished here. The rest continued along the Wandle to the Thames, saying Hi to some horses on the way...

    5 rounded off the day in the Rocket with drinkies. A few others went for tea and cake in the church.

    it wasn’t all green and-pleasant - the stretch through Wandsworth sticks out as a bit that wasn’t - but, all in all, a grand day out.

Sunday 23-Feb-25

Sean
Short Walks 13+25 – Morden to Putney

POSTPONED: This walk will be badly affected by Wednesday's major diesel spill in the River Wandle and in any case the public are being advised to avoid the area. I'll reschedule this on another date.

If you want to do a shorter walk on Sunday than Stargazer's Guildford–Farnham, join that one but loop back from Compton to Guildford, a version of the Short Circular walk.

Length: About 13 km (8 miles). Toughness: 1/10

Take a Northern line tube to arrive at Morden (TfL Zone 4) by 11:15. It's a 30 minute journey from central London; if necessary, use the TfL Journey Planner from your local station. Meet upstairs in the ticket hall.

You can return from either Putney Bridge (District line) or Putney (six trains an hour to Clapham Jct & Waterloo). There are also several drop-out points on or close to the walk route: Colliers Wood on the Northern line plus Earlsfield and Wandsworth Town for trains to Waterloo. All these stations are in Zones 2 or 3.

Wetland Boardwalk, Morden Hall Park I've decided to combine two short walks which together cover the final stretch of the Wandle Trail through south London, with a short extension along the Thames Path to finish. They're normally posted separately as evening walks but this combination should make a reasonable winter's day walk. The notes admit that this final stretch of the Wandle Trail “isn't the prettiest of walks” but there are parks at both ends, and as much of the route is on firm paths there should be little or no mud to contend with.

If you want a mid-walk refreshment break the notes mention the Louis Earlsfield restaurant just before you have to divert away from the river into Earlsfield. A little further on you'll pass two or three pubs on its High Street, including The Halfway House and The Wandle. There are plenty more places in Wandsworth and Putney too, with The Boathouse and The Rocket by Putney Bridge competing for your custom at the end of the walk.

As usual there's no walk leader so please download the GPS files and/or the directions from the Morden Hall Park and the Colliers Wood to Putney Bridge walk pages. NB. If you're running late you'll see from the route maps that there are some obvious short cuts you could take in Morden Hall Park.

T=short.25
  • Fri, 21-Feb-25

    So This Walk is Postponed. Is that due to the Tube Strike i take it?

  • Fri, 21-Feb-25

    No Marc, there has been a serious pollution incident on the river Wandle - see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8vdl1986no

    Even if we weren't being advised to avoid the area, I expect paths will be closed to allow for cleanup work. It's a bit of a disaster

Thursday 20-Jul-23

Thomas G
Length: 8.8 km (5.5 mi) [longer to Hammersmith]
Net Walking Time: 2 hrs
Meet: Colliers Wood Station at 18.45 hours. Colliers Wood is on the Northern line in Zone 3, and a 26-minute journey from Bank.
Finish : either at Putney Bridge station (District Line) or at Putney Mainline (trains to Waterloo). You can also walk on to Hammersmith (Piccadilly, District and Hammersmith & City lines).
Drop-Outs: Haydens Road station, Earlsfield station, Wandsworth station.

This walk follows the last 6 km of the River Wandle Trail in south west London to the River Thames, then follows a pretty stretch of the Thames Path through Wandsworth Park to Putney. The walk finishes at a large riverside pub, with options to continue along the Thames Path or explore 2 more riverside parks. The Wandle Trail section is a mix of paths alongside a narrow river, small urban parks and open spaces (some nice, some unkempt) passing back gardens and some industrial areas. The Trail is waymarked, but mainly for cyclists (blue signs with a water wheel for cyclists, green signs with a water wheel for walkers). The route is being improved over time as former industrial areas are gentrified. The river has an interesting industrial heritage, it has a very steep gradient, so it was channelled to drive water wheels, now the route's symbol.


Eat/Drink: By Putney Bridge there are two riverside pubs, with a terrace - a Wetherspoon’s and a Young’s.

For walk directions , map, photos, and gpx/kml files click here. T=short.25

  • Thu, 10-Aug-23

    8 walkers on this one apparently. as told on today's evening walk by one who was there.

Thursday 18-Aug-22

Thomas G

Length: 8.8 km (5.5 mi) [longer to H’smith]

Net Walking Time: 2 hrs

Meet: Colliers Wood Station at 18.30 hours. Colliers Wood is on the Northern line in Zone 3, and a 26-minute journey from Bank.
Finish : either at Putney Bridge station (District Line) or at Putney Mainline (trains to Waterloo). You can also walk on to Hammersmith (Piccadilly, District and Hammersmith & City lines).
Drop-Outs: Haydens Road station, Earlsfield station, Wandsworth station.
This walk follows the last 6 km of the River Wandle Trail in south west London to the River Thames, then follows a pretty stretch of the Thames Path through Wandsworth Park to Putney. The walk finishes at a large riverside pub, with options to continue along the Thames Path or explore 2 more riverside parks. The Wandle Trail section is a mix of paths alongside a narrow river, small urban parks and open spaces (some nice, some unkempt) passing back gardens and some industrial areas. The Trail is waymarked, but mainly for cyclists (blue signs with a water wheel for cyclists, green signs with a water wheel for walkers).


Eat/Drink: By Putney Bridge - a Wetherspoon’s and a Young’s.

For walk directions , map, photos, and gpx/kml files click here. T=short.25

  • Mon, 15-Aug-22

    I'm working til 7.15 pm, so although I live nr Coll Wood, I'll try and find you. The Bricklayers Arms in Putney is the key pub selling pizzas i understand.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=putney+bricklayers+arms&oq=putney+brick&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0i22i30i457j0i22i30j0i10i22i30j0i390l3.5859j0j7&client=ms-android-huawei-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#wptab=si:AC1wQDDDdL41DEgjGyPOBigrwOqEtAfVPK6SpxezkPo4ljNSZnHfV2tOCFDoPiqbbG6fI61wrTN1ytSQ5ND2_fweIVRohVn9fqWYVc5fanS9A7pzgOaBX4aL2_RIx19DcXN18QWPSy_gHWtXSxupZM-SCzvZw6DaNw%3D%3D

  • Thu, 18-Aug-22

    About10 after some late comers caught up on a pleasantly warm evening. Most enjoyed the end of the Wandle trail then a short stretch of Thames Path which was new to many . The riverside Wethies was very crowded with teenagers comemmerating A level results day. Most left soon after eating as nearby Putney Bridge tube was closed due to the strike. The late evening bus rides were surprisingly quick. No route changes, but new riverside developments look promising

Wednesday 02-Dec-20

Andrew

Easy, about 5 miles
Meet outside Colliers Wood tube @11am
Drivers: park near Dean City Farm, there is a bus back to nearby Tooting Walk along the Wandle Trail to the Thames, then follow it to Putney Bridge
Lunch or a coffee at the Rocket (Wethies). You MUST sit (or stand) outside. Alcohol can only be served with food (bring a hip flask to fortify that coffee)
Cross the bridge with churches at either end to Bishops Park
Finish there, or optionally, continue along the Thames to Hammersmith, Richmond, Kingston or Oxford
L=short.25

Saturday 01-Sep-18

Andrew
Meet at Colliers Wood tube station (zone 3) at 12:00

5.5 miles, no ascent

This is an easy short walk along the Wandle Trail to the Thames, then along the Thames Path to Putney, with a choice of riverside pubs (Wetherspoons, and Youngs), churches (at either end of the bridge) and Bishop's Palace (tea room, free entry).

For a longer walk, you could carry on along the Thames Path to Hammersmith

This is an experiment to see if there is a demand for short walks on a weekend

l=short.25
  • Sat, 01-Sep-18

    3 walkers enjoyed this rather urban walk. Enhanced by a stop at Earlsfield for iced chocolate frappé, croissant and pastéis de Nata.

    Consensus was that it's not a real replacement for a proper country walk but a reasonable alternative if you had a pint too many on Friday Eve.

  • Anonymous
    Sat, 01-Sep-18

    3 Sunny

Thursday 09-Aug-18

Thomas G
Length: 8.8 km (5.5 mi) [longer to H’smith]
Net Walking Time: 2 hrs
Meet: Colliers Wood Station at 18.45 hours. Colliers Wood is on the Northern line in Zone 3, and a 26 minute journey from Bank.
Finish : either at Putney Bridge station (District Line) or at Putney Mainline (trains to Waterloo). You can also walk on to Hammersmith (Piccadilly, District and Hammersmith & City lines).
Drop-Outs: Haydens Road station, Earlsfield station, Wandsworth station.
This walk follows the last 6 km of the River Wandle Trail in south west London to the River Thames, then follows a pretty stretch of the Thames Path through Wandsworth Park to Putney. The walk finishes at a large riverside pub, with options to continue along the Thames Path or explore 2 more riverside parks. The Wandle Trail section is a mix of paths alongside a narrow river, small urban parks and open spaces (some nice, some unkempt) passing back gardens and some industrial areas. The Trail is waymarked, but mainly for cyclists (blue signs with a water wheel for cyclists, green signs with a water wheel for walkers).

Eat/Drink: The Rocket , by Putney Bridge (Wetherspoon’s).
For walk directions , map, photos, and gpx/kml files click here . T=short.25
  • Thu, 09-Aug-18

    10 walkers (incl. one arriving a little late) in overcast but dry weather, something of a result, as it had been raining all day. Mixed bag of a walk, as the writeup promised: a bit of everything from pretty parks to industrial backlands. Entirely on tarmac as well. Quite interesting though we thought.

    Having had some problems finding our way through the first park, for the remainder route finding was relatively straight forward, although - due to plenty of house building - one has to keep on top of directions and map at all times.

    One left the walk at Earlsfield station, the rest reached Putney Bridge at 1/4 to 9, just as some rain set in. We eschewed the Wetherspoon's and the neighbouring Boathouse, and made our way to the Duke's Head, a wise choice it turned out. Most had a meal. Everyone (I think) left from Putney mainline station towards Clapham J./Waterloo.