Morden Hall Park (NT) and Abbey Mills Short Walk

NT parkland, streams, watermills, and Abbey Mills heritage site

Start	Morden underground station
Finish	Colliers Wood underground station
Length	4.6 km
Time	1 hour 30 minutes.
Travel	The bottom of the Northern Line in zones 3 (Colliers Wood) and 4 (Morden). Phipps Bridge (Croydon Tram between East Croydon and Wimbledon) station is adjacent to Morden Hall Park. By car: There are CPZ around the tube stations till 6:30 Mon-Fri (Mon-Sat Mordon). Mordon Park NT has a free car park that closes at 6:30, or there's free on-street parking in the middle of the walk around SW19 2RR. Mordon (not to be confused with Mordor) and Colliers Wood are on the same tube line.
Walk Notes	This walk does a loop around the NT's Morden Hall Park (free entry) with rose garden, waterways, reed beds, and parkland. The route uses an entrance near the car park that closes at 6pm, year round, so there is an alternate public footpath route open at all times. After passing Deen City (children's) Farm (Tue-Sun 10.00-16.30), it passes Merton Abbey Mills, a collection of heritage industrial buildings associated with William Morris around a riverside piazza which are now cafes.
Options	To extend the walk, you can follow the waymarked Wandle Trail: south from Morden hall Park into the adjacent Ravensbury Park or even further - see #swc273 north from Colliers Wood to Wandsworth and the Thames, see #short25
Notes	Merton Priory The Augustine Priory was founded during Henry I's time in 1114. During Henry III's time, the first English Parliament was held here, and first Act of Parliament passed, in 1236. The Priory was demolished in 1538 following Henry VIII's Dissolution of the monasteries, and in Elizabeth II's time became a Sainsburys (adjacent to Abbey Mills). There is a small rarely open museum under the Sainsbury's entrance roundabout. Morden Hall Park NT (wikipedia). Formerly the Priory's land, it was brought by the Garth family in 1553. By the 18^th century, it had become an estate with a deer park, a water cress farm, and industrial watermills. The last owner of the estate, Gilliat Hatfeild, refused large offer for the estate during the 1920's Morden land boom (following the opening of the tube line), but instead moved into the rose garden cottage and funded a convalescent home for the London Hospital in the Hall. During the 1930's, he held large film star fairs in the park. Without heirs, he left the estate to the National Trust in 1941 with the condition that 'a fee shall not be charged so that my Morden estate shall be open to the public'. Merton Council had other ideas, and used much of it for the Phipps Bridge housing estate, and paved the walled garden for use as a staff car park. The picturesque Hall itself (few heritage features remain inside) is wedding venue not open to the public. There is still a large area of parkland, with the river Wandle flowing through it, a wetlands boardwalk (free, always open) and rose garden. The rose garden, free car park, garden centre, and pleasant cafe with fine views of the car park, are open 09.00-18.00 daily. The (substantial) rose garden cottage is let out as a nursery school. There is another cafe in the eco-renovated stables (in summer open to 16.30). Don't confuse with the similarly named Morden Park. Merton Abbey Mills (wikipedia) A collection of heritage buildings, was a former 'arts and crafts' factory with links to William Morris. It is adjacent to the River Wandle with a water mill. It experienced a renaissance during covid, and is a now a popular summer venue, especially at weekends, with several bars and cafes around the riverside piazza, but quiet in winter. It's free summer live soul and jazz music in the piazza had to close due to alcohol related trouble, and opposition to the noise from the newly built flats in the area. Free parking for 2 hours in the adjacent 'KFC' car park, or 3 hours in Sainsburys. Dean City Farm On the route, just after Morden Park, is a children's zoo. Free entry, free parking, cafe. SW19 2RR
Eat	Abbey Mills (about 5 mins from Colliers Wood tube) The William Morris Pub has lovely riverside and rooftop terraces. Open all day. Half price happy hour from 6-7pm (Mon-Thur). 'Gastro' food. It shares the terrace with the adjacent MED Coffee Shop (same ownership). It's a little noisy inside when busy (low ceilings, hard surfaces). Around the piazza, The Merton Apprentice (no food, 4pm to 10/11pm, all day summer weekends), is a micro pub with nice outside seating in the riverside piazza in nice weather. The adjacent pub / cafe is open all day - a lovely spot for breakfast or a tea by the river. The Green Room (weekends and summer weekday evenings), with inside and riverside seating, has a 5pm-7pm 2-4-1 happy hour every day. There are several other micro restaurant (Belgian, Afro-Caribbean, Brazilian, Vegan, etc.) with similar weekend and summer evening style hours. Colliers Wood tube station The Charles Holden opposite Colliers Wood tube has a beer garden, and gastro menu. The Standard, just past the tube, is a traditional (i.e. old fashioned, no food, cheaper than the Charles Holden) local's pub. Next to the tube is Venus which I've never got on with. By Burger King is the Kiss Me Hardy (Hungry Horse chain, food orientated, think Big Plates with Chips popular with families). It has house wine for £5 a bottle on Wednesdays. Sadly, not the astounding bargain it sounds - the candied rose is the least bad option. For food, Istanbul Meze Mangal, a Turkish Restaurant (open till late, opposite Burger King, near the tube Station) is always popular. Gourmet Express, a Lebanese Kebab cafe with limited seating (opposite Sainsbury's entrance) is recommended, as is nearby Aya (a BYO alcohol Lebanese restaurant). Thai Town (200m along the road past the tube station), and Canedo (Portuguese cafe opposite it, closes 9pm) are both recommended. The 2 chippies next to the tube station are very cheap. If very drunk, the cognoscenti get 2 pieces (of chicken) and chips for ~ £2.50 from the one nearest the tube station. Not far away, is The Sultan, SW19 1BT, a back street community orientated pub, which won Time Out Most Loved Pub of the Year back in 2018. Note it has changed management since this happened.

Profile
Help Us!	After the walk, please leave a comment, it really helps. Thanks! You can also upload photos to the SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are: swcwalks short13
By Car	Start Map Directions Finish Map Directions
Amazon	Shop now
Help	🚧 🌤 🌧 UK SE Start walking Using GPS data Large print National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234
Version	Dec-22 Andrew
Copyright	© Saturday Walkers Club. All Rights Reserved. No commercial use. No copying. No derivatives. Free with attribution for one time non-commercial use only. www.walkingclub.org.uk/site/license.shtml

Walk Directions

The directions for this walk are also in a PDF (link above) which you can download on to a Kindle, tablet, or smartphone. OpenStreetMap (not OS) mapping is used in the PDF for licence reasons.

Leaving Morden tube station, cross the road in front of you at a set of lights to the left, and walk down Aberconway Road (past Lidl).
At the end of the road, cross Morden Hall Road at the lights, and enter Morden Hall Park a lttle to the right.
Out of hours (after 18.00 in summer) the gate will be locked: turn left (from the previous direction) along Morden Hall Road, with the park on your right, past the pedestrian lights. In 120m pass the high wrought iron gate to Morden Hall on your right and then a bus stop. Pass a roundabout and veer right with the road past another bus stop and in 170m turn right into Morden Hall Park. You pass an info panel with a map and turn right immediately along a wide gravel path, with a stream on your right. In 60m pass a signpost where another path joins from the left and turn right over a bridge across the stream. In 90m ignore a left turning path (signed 'Wetlands Boardwalk') and in 20m cross a set of railed bridges over the outflow channels from Morden Hall's moat. In 75m ignore a right turn towards the fenced (and locked after hours) area of the park and cross the River Wandle on a metal-railed bridge and continue along a wide gravel path, ignoring a left fork. In 100m ignore another right turn towards the fenced (and locked after hours) area of the park and cross a water channel on a bridge. Turn right directly after the bridge along a tarmac path and in 10m [!] fork left off the tarmac path along a clear well-trampled path through the grass. You now broadly follow the metal fence around the Rose Garden on your right: in 50m fork right along a faint path to stay close to the fence and in 125m fork right towards the metal fence and in another 20m enter some trees. In 60m reach a tarmac path at a T-junction by a gate in the metal fence around the Rose Garden on your right and with an arm of the Wandle on the other side of the path. Turn left along the path.
The water channel on your left is river-fed and supplies the moat around Morden Hall.
You pass the National Trust-run Potting Shed Cafe, an NT-shop and a plant nursery on your right.
Further along pass The Stable Yard (Cafe and Bookshop) on your left, by The Snuff Mill on your right.
Cross the River Wandle and pass Morden Cottage on your right. The Rose Garden is on your right hand side.
Walk anti-clockwise around the park (through the Rose Garden, along a stream, (see next note), into open parkland, past Phipps Bridge tram stop, and back towards the Rose Garden.
(At the end of the stream there is a park exit. There is an optional extension here into Ravensbury Park (wikipedia), another river Wandle park, again once a grand house, now just the faded grandeur park remains - recommended if you have the time - see map)
Pick up the signposted Wandle Trail by a footbridge and turn right over the Wandle, and in 120m turn right with a signpost through the reed beds towards Colliers Wood (leaving the Wandle Trail). This soon goes over newly laid wooden boardwalks with some viewpoints and terraces along the way.
Pick up the Wandle Trail again and cross the tram line. In 400m pass Deen City Farm (cafe & shop) on your left and continue in the same direction along its drive/car park.
Cross Windsor Avenue, a small road, and continue towards Merton Abbey Mills.
In 150m turn right to cross the bridge into Merton Abbey Mills. The William Morris pub has a roof terrace. The Merton Apprentice is a craft beer pub with a large outdoor seating area. There are also some cafes. The small Chinese, and next to it, the Brazilian, are recommended.
Walk through the buildings and leave the area to the left by re-crossing the Wandle over another bridge and turn right along the Wandle Trail.
Cross Station Road and veer right with the Wandle Trail, with the river on the right.
In 260m, as you meet Merton High Street, turn right over a footbridge across the river and turn left along a new riverside path (with a large Sainbury's to the right).
In 140m cross the Pickle Ditch on a footbridge and turn left around a pub to the High Street.
Turn right along the road and in 220m reach Colliers Wood Underground.

Walk Map

Ravensbury Park Option

Morden Hall Park (NT) and Abbey Mills Short Walk

Boardwalk through Wetlands and Viewing Platform, Morden Hall Park

Morden Cottage, Morden Hall Park

Outflow of Moat around Morden Hall

Boardwalk through Wetlands, Morden Hall Park

Wheelhouse on River Wandle, Merton Abbey Mills

Walk Directions