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Crystal Palace to Forest Hill walk

Short surburban London walk with plenty of interesting and unusual features.

London

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, 10-Dec-23 Walking past dinosaurs, Crystal Palace to Forest Hill 4 wet until 1pm then dry
Sun, 11-Dec-22 A Jurassic Lark - Crystal Palace to Forest Hill 11 foggy frozen
Sun, 09-Jan-22 Graargh!! Walking past Dinosaurs. Crystal Palace to Forest Hill. 9 beautifully sunny
Sun, 05-Jan-20 – A short suburban walk (Crystal Palace to Forest Hill) 27 overcast
Sun, 02-Dec-18 Dodgy Dinos - Crystal Palace to Forest Hill - with Xmas Market 13 mild overcast slightly damp start turning sunny dry
Sun, 10-Dec-17 – Walking with Dinosaurs (Forest Hill to Crystal Palace)
Wed, 30-Dec-15 Midweek end of year walk - Crystal Palace to Forest Hill 6 mild but windy
Sun, 12-Jan-14 Crystal Palace to Forest Hill 10
Sat, 01-Dec-12 Crystal Palace to Forest Hill
Sat, 18-Feb-12 Crystal Palace to Forest Hill
Mr M Tiger

I13¼ km (8.2 miles). 3/


Your day starts near a small Museum (free admission) where, if you want, you can learn the history of the Crystal Palace. Then you’re off past the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs – modelled as Victorians saw them. (Don’t try feeding them, they’ll have your arm off). The walk continues through the last remnants of the ancient North Wood, past the Dulwich Picture Gallery (which you could visit if you’ve got £16.50 handy but you’re on a walk, right?) Near the end, you pass the Horniman Museum with its unusual collections, gift shop and tea shop (open to 5.30pm, free admission). Their enormous walrus is worth a quick look but, whatever you do, don’t touch it or sit on the iceberg. Just don’t, OK?
Trains: Get to Crystal Palace Station for 11:00 a.m.
The 10:28 from London Bridge (destination Victoria) arrives Crystal Palace at 10:51. The 10:20 from Victoria ( Clapham Jct 10:28) (destination London Bridge) also arrives at Crystal Palace at 10:51. There are also London Overground trains starting from Highbury & Islington. The 10:12 from H & I arrives Crystal Palace 10:55.
Returning, there are frequent Overground trains from Forest Hill towards Highbury and Islington as well as proper trains to London Bridge at 59, 29 or Victoria 13, 43.
Crystal Palace is in in TfL Zones 3/4, and Forest Hill in Zone 3.
Lunch
On the Main Walk the suggested lunchtime pub is the Crown and Greyhound (020-8299 4976) at 73 Dulwich Village, after 8 km.
An earlier option (and the only convenient pub on the Short Walk) is the Wood House (020-8693 5666) at 39 Sydenham Hill Road.
Tea t=swc.137
There is a good café at the Horniman Museum (closes 5pm) plus several places on London Road as you approach Forest Hill station: a delicatessen, The Teapot, at #56, open to 5pm ; a Costas at #7 open till 6.
Directions here Note that parks close at dusk

  • Sun, 03-Dec-23

    The dinosar trail in Crystal Palace Park passes close to Capel Manor College, which includes Crystal Palace Park Farm. The farm is open for public visitors and is a popular local attraction.

  • Tue, 05-Dec-23

    In addition to the weekly food market there is the Christmas at Crystal Palace Park event.

  • Sun, 10-Dec-23

    I missed the connection at Clapham Junction and made my way to Penge via Overground, then headed for the dinosaurs (looking a bit miserable in the wet) where I thought I might intercept other walkers. I didn't so carried on to the Wood House where I had a drink and waited for the rain to stop. I decided to skip the Dulwich loop and headed through the woods straight to the Horniman Gardens, where there was a good market. Looked in on the walrus then got the Overground back from Forest Hill. The afternoon weather wasn't too bad; sorry not to see anyone.

  • Mon, 11-Dec-23

    . . . so at least1 on a wet day

  • Mon, 11-Dec-23

    Sorry we missed you, Sandy. There were 3 more at the station, one of whom soon dropped out because of the rain. But we bumped into another near the dinosaurs. So4 in total. We had slightly better weather wet until 1pm then dry

  • Tue, 12-Dec-23

    I would have gone but I didn’t want the dinosaurs to catch my cold. They’ve enough to worry about, what with asteroids and everything.

Mr M Tiger
Mr M Tiger

13¼ km (8.2 miles). Difficulty 3/10
Your day starts near a small museum (free admission) where, if you want, you can learn the history of the Crystal Palace. Then you’re off, past the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs – modelled as Victorians saw them. They may look cute but don’t try feeding them - they’ll have your arm off. The walk continues through the last remnants of the ancient North Wood, past the Dulwich Picture Gallery with its collection of old masters (entry £15, these days) and, near the end, passes the Horniman Museum with its unusual collections (open to 5.30pm, free admission). If you venture in, don’t, whatever you do, touch the walrus or sit on the iceberg. Just don’t.
Trains Get to Crystal Palace Station for 11:00 a.m.
Your best bet is either the 10:28 from London Bridge (destination Victoria) arriving Crystal Palace at 10:51. Or the 10:20 from Victoria ( Clapham Jct 1028) (destination London Bridge) also arriving Crystal Palace at 10:51. It is also on the Overground. The 9:54 from Highbury & Islington arrives Crystal Palace 10:47.

There are frequent Overground trains returning from Forest Hill as well as proper trains to London Bridge or Victoria.
Crystal Palace is in TfL Zones 3/4, and Forest Hill in Zone 3.
Lunch
On the Main Walk the suggested lunchtime pub is the Crown and Greyhound (020-8299 4976) at 73 Dulwich Village, after 8 km.
An earlier option (and the only convenient pub on the Short Walk) is the Wood House (020-8693 5666) at 39 Sydenham Hill Road.
Tea
There is a good café at the Horniman Museum, plus several places on London Road as you approach Forest Hill station. A delicatessen, The Teapot, at #56, open to 4pm and a Wetherspoon's pub The Capitol at #11-21.
Directions here
If you tire of our company, the walk can be curtailed at various points with directions to nearby stations. If you want a very short 7 km (4.3 miles) walk, you could cut out the entire loop through Dulwich.
T=swc.137



  • Mon, 12-Dec-22

    The number waiting at the station rose and fell as the toilet sign grew more enticing(it’s back down the stairs on platform 1). As more arrived, more were enticed - and so on. “Like Waiting for Boggo” someone said. Still, mustn’t grumble. After about half an hour, 10 of us ventured out into a foggy frozen world.

    First stop, the little museum. This proved more interesting for some than others.

    We left eventually, off into the fog. Soon, the dinosaurs hove into view, looking all mysterious in their icy lake. I nearly jumped when one said “Hello” but it was just walker number 11 joining us.

    There was a Xmas fair near the boating lake, administered by elves. We had a quick look and lost two here, thinking they’d gone ahead. But, readers, it was OK, they caught us up at the Wood House where we stopped for lunch. They were full but but they’d had a cancellation in their restaurant, next to a table of screaming infants. Mr Tiger enjoyed a pint of Winter Warmer. Others enjoyed food.

    What would you expect to find on a freezing cold day in the Great North Wood? Would you, for instance, expect to find a circle of spoon carvers sat round a fire? We did. Tried to get us to join them but we made our excuses and pressed on. Claimed to be ‘Wildlife Trust’ or something. That’s Sarf London for you. Spoon carvers.

    Snow had just started to fall when we reached the Hornimans Museum. Some wanted tea but others rushed inside to find the walrus. It’s still there but, sadly, we weren’t allowed to touch it or sit on the iceberg.

    A heady day was rounded off with a visit to Wetherspoons, where you can get a half of Abbot for just one guinea. Most settled for tea.See

Mr M Tiger

13¼ km (8.2 miles). Difficulty: 3/10
The Victorian dinosaurs in Crystal Palace park are an early feature of this walk.

If you survive this encounter, you continue through the last remnants of the ancient North Wood, past the Dulwich Picture Gallery with its collection of old masters and, near the end, past the Horniman Museum with its unusual collections. (Worth a look, but whatever else you do there, do not touch the walrus or sit on the iceberg 😡).
Trains Meet at Crystal Palace Station, 10:40. There is a 10:03 Crystal Palace train (Southern) from London Bridge station arrives at 10:37 a.m. You can also take the Overground. The 09:39 from Highbury and Islington (9:52 Whitechapel) arrives at: 10:29.
There are frequent Overground trains back from Forest Hill. Platform 1 to Highbury and Islington (or change at Whitechapel for the tube network). Platform 2 will take you to Norwood Junction where you can change for London Bridge trains. Crystal Palace is in in Tfl Zones 3/4, and Forest Hill in Zone 3.
Transport for London's journey planner may help.
Museums
Dulwich Picture Gallery Admission £9, book in advance, open 10-5.
Horniman Museum open to 5.30pm. Free entry, but you need to book a slot in advance.
Lunch On the Main Walk the suggested lunchtime pub is the Crown and Greyhound (020-8299 4976) at 73 Dulwich Village, after 8 km. An earlier option (and the only convenient pub on the Short Walk) is the Wood House (020-8693 5666) at 39 Sydenham Hill Road.
Tea
There is a good café at the Horniman Museum, plus several places on London Road as you approach Forest Hill station: a delicatessen, the Teapot, at 56, open to 4pm, and a Wetherspoon's pub The Capitol at 11-21.
Directions here

T=swc.137


  • Sun, 09-Jan-22

    Eight walkers assembled at Crystal Palace station having arrived by about 9 different routes, and another joined us at the dinosaur lake making 9 on a beautifully sunny day. We kept a safe distance from the dinosaurs but they looked great under the blue cloudless sky and low winter sun. More modern predators were out in huge numbers in all the parks and Dulwich Village, so we tried the cafe at Dulwich Picture Gallery where there were just enough seats left in the grounds to fit us in. Those who got food there pronounced it good, there was just one thumbs down for the coffee.

    No crocodiles lurking in the mud of Sydenham Hill Wood so we made it safely to Horniman Gardens where I left the group perusing either the view or some Sunday market stalls. Thanks for posting a nice outing to my former haunts.

Sean
Extra Walk 137 – Crystal Palace to Forest Hill
Length: 13¼ km (8.2 miles). Toughness: 3/10

Meet outside Crystal Palace station (TfL Zones 3/4) to start at 11:15. There's a bunch of trains arriving just before then, with the simplest being a direct (but slow) Caterham service leaving London Bridge at 10:35, arriving at 11:05.

A Journey Planner enquiry from your local station might suggest one of these alternatives: a Southern train from Clapham Junction (arr 10:54) or East Croydon (arr 11:10) or West Croydon (arr 11:14), or a London Overground train from Highbury & Islington (arr 11:04).

If you get there early you could walk up to the small Crystal Palace Museum which in theory should be opening at 11am, and intercept the main group as it passes by at around 11:20.

At the end of the walk there are London Overground trains from Forest Hill (Zone 3) every 5-10 minutes; northbound trains connect with the Jubilee line at Canada Water, but are not stopping at Whitechapel. There are no Southern trains from Forest Hill this Sunday.

This is a surprisingly hilly little suburban walk in south London, with a few muddy stretches in Dulwich and Sydenham Hill Woods to ensnare people wearing trainers. As well as free museums at both ends of the walk (plus the Dulwich Picture Gallery in the middle: £9) you can admire the famous Crystal Palace Dinosaurs in the park. There are a couple of pubs en route if you want a proper Sunday lunch, or cafés for something lighter. At the end of the walk there's a café in the Horniman Museum and more tea places on the road to Forest Hill station.

You'll need to bring the directions (with street maps) from the Crystal Palace to Forest Hill walk page. These point out several places where you can drop out or shorten the walk. T=swc.137
  • David
    Sun, 05-Jan-20

    overcast 27 Two separate groups of walkers congregated outside Crystal Palace station, one of which (clearly not SWC) were rather more youthful in appearance. They set off just before us and turned downhill from the station, following the Capital Ring in an anticlockwise direction. We, numbering twenty-two, turned uphill, to be joined soon afterwards, by three others, who had gone to have a look at the nearby museum, and rather later by two defectors from the more youthful group. Almost immediately, we split up into small groups and proceeded at a nice gentle pace through Crystal Palace Park, pausing to have a good look at the dinosaurs on the way. At lunch, one group headed for the pubs of Dulwich Village, while others lunched at or picnicked outside the café in Dulwich Park.

    At Horniman Museum, some admired the view across to the City before paying a brief visit to the museum to round off a very pleasant day.

Mr M Tiger
13¼ km (8.2 miles).
3/10
You don’t get many London walks from me so make the most of this one. This journey through South London's green spaces starts near a small museum (free admission) where you can learn the history of the Crystal Palace. Then off you trot past the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs – modelled as the Victorians saw them (they were more likely all feathers and looked like can-can dancers but hey-ho). The walk continues through remnants of the ancient North Wood, past the Dulwich Picture Gallery (admission £9) and, near the end, passes the Horniman Museum with its unusual collections (open to 5.30 pm, free admission). Don’t, whatever you do, touch the walrus or sit on the iceberg. The Horniman is hosting a Xmas market today if you're still wondering what to get for Mr Tiger.
Trains Get to Crystal Palace Station for 11:00 a.m.
Southern’s 10:26 from Victoria to Norwood Jct arrives Crystal Palace 10:54. The 10:38 from London Bridge to Crystal Palace arrives 11:00. You can also get the Overground - the 10:07 from Highbury & Islington gets there for 10:54 via East London.
Returning from Forest Hill, there's a train to London Bridge every 15 mins as well as frequent Overground trains.
Crystal Palace is in in TfL Zones 3/4, Forest Hill is in Zone 3.
Transport for London or National Rail’s journey planners will help you plot your own journey from wherever.
Lunch
On the Main Walk the suggested lunchtime pub is the Crown and Greyhound (020-8299 4976) at 73 Dulwich Village, after 8 km.
An earlier option (and the only convenient pub on the Short Walk) is the Wood House (020-8693 5666) at 39 Sydenham Hill Road.
Tea
There is a good café at the Horniman Museum, plus several places on London Road as you approach Forest Hill station: a delicatessen, The Teapot, at #56, open to 4pm Sun; and a Wetherspoon's pub The Capitol at #11-21.
Directions here
If, heaven forfend, you should tire of our company, the walk can be curtailed at various points with directions to nearby stations. Cutting out the loop through Dulwich would shorten the walk to 7 km (4.3 miles).
T=swc.137

  • Sandy
    Sat, 01-Dec-18

    thanks for posting an urban walk through familiar haunts mr t - just what the doctor ordered (not literally)

  • Anonymous
    Sun, 02-Dec-18

    Many thanks to Mr Tiger for posting,

    and leading this lovely walk.

    A great day.

  • Sun, 02-Dec-18

    13 - or was it 14? 8 left at the designated time from Crystal Palace, of whom 2 stopped to look round the museum. The other 6 shot off like the Devil himself was after them. The dinosaurs were impressive, not quite Jurassic Park but capable of producing nightmares. Especially after cheese. The slow two got slightly lost and found themselves at the wrong end of Cox's bridge. And who should appear at the other end but two late starters who explained the trains from Victoria had broken down/been delayed etc etc. Lunch was taken in Dulwich Park's cafe where, miraculously, at least another 3 had joined the group. You add it up, I've not got enough fingers. Eventually the Horniman was reached and there was indeed a Xmas fair but Mr Tiger himself, being used to wild open spaces found it a bit too busy and claustrophobic to actually buy anything. Instead he went and said "Hi" to his old friend the walrus and went home. mild overcast slightly damp start turning sunny dry .

  • Sandy
    Mon, 03-Dec-18

    well presumably I'm one of the 3 - as the Clapham Junction train wasn't running I went to East Croydon, my phone having informed me I could get a connection to Crystal Palace, but no, as I didn't want to risk running down the stairs I missed it by a few seconds. I then caught the first train to anywhere vaguely on the route, namely North Dulwich, from where I intercepted the front six near the Woodman. I didn't persuade anyone to try this pub, but note it looked virtually empty at 12. However the Dulwich Park café was quite satisfactory, accommodating to those without a full set of functioning limbs and even had draught beer. Helpfully it stopped raining when we were inside. The rest is as Mr T describes. Thanks again for a good day and I'm sorry to have missed the dinosaurs and museum.

Sean
Extra Walk 137 (in reverse) – Forest Hill to Crystal Palace
Length: 12½ km (7.8 miles). Toughness: 3/10

Meet in the booking hall of Forest Hill station (off the northbound platform) at 11:15. There are two southbound trains arriving just before then: the 10:54 Tattenham Corner train from London Bridge (New Cross Gate 11:00, etc) is due at 11:08, and a London Overground train from Highbury & Islington at 11:12. [South Londoners should be able to catch up if they take the 11:03 from West Croydon, arriving at 11:17.]

Trains back from Crystal Palace (Zones 3/4) go to London Victoria at 01 & 31 minutes past the hour, and there are London Overground trains to H&I at 01, 16, 31 & 46 minutes past.

This south London walk has been in limbo for a few years because its lunchtime pub was undergoing a major refurbishment, but the Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich Village has re-opened now. The written directions are from Crystal Palace to Forest Hill, but the walk notes rashly claim that it "works equally well in reverse" so I thought it was about time we put this to the test (and I see that my fellow walk poster has had the same idea for today's Amberley walk). As this one is a suburban walk with plenty of landmarks it should be fairly easy to find your way from the street maps in the document.

If you don't fancy a pub lunch there are restaurants such as Pizza Express nearby, or you could carry on to the café in Dulwich Park. There's another café for tea near the end of the walk, by the lake with the famous Crystal Palace Dinosaurs. If you want something stronger I'm sure you'll be able to find a pub in the neighbourhood.

NB. Footwear advice is tricky as much of the route is along tarmac paths and pavements, but there are also some potentially muddy stretches through Dulwich and Sydenham Hill Woods.

You'll need to print the maps (with directions, if you can work them out in reverse) from the Crystal Palace to Forest Hill Walk page. T=swc.137
  • Anonymous
    Thu, 30-Nov-17

    There is also a good if small cafe in Crystal Palace Station and some excellent independent cafes up the hill in Crystal Palace triangle.

  • Thu, 07-Dec-17

    TfL's weekly travel update says that London Overground trains from Crystal Palace are affected by Network Rail work on Sunday, but the service is still showing as running normally on its Journey Planner. If there is a problem on the day and you particularly want to return this way (rather than via Victoria) you could leave the park at the Penge gate and pick up a Southern or Overground train at Penge West.

Mike A

Crystal Palace to Forest Hill

Short suburban London walk with plenty of interesting and unusual features and an opportunity to visit an art gallery.

Book 3 Walk 137

Length : 13 km or 8 miles

Toughness : 3 out of 10

Getting there : You may travel to Crystal Palace by train, here are three suggested routes:
  1. Catch the 10:06 am Sutton train from London Victoria (Clapham Junction 10:14) - arrives Crystal Palace station at 10:32
  2. Catch the 10:14 am London Victoria train from London Bridge (New Cross Gate 10:20) - arrives Crystal Palace station at 10:34
  3. Catch the 9:49 am overground train from Highbury and Islington to arrive at Crystal Palace station at 10:32. Some calling stations are Dalston Junction, Hoxton, Whitechapel, Wapping, Canada Water and Surrey Keys. The overground timetable is here
If you live locally you may wish to walk or catch a suitable bus

Meeting point : Crystal Palace Station Ticket Hall at 10:40 am ( I've added a bit of contingency time to allow for the various arrival times)

Tickets : Buy an Oyster Card to cover zone 3 and any other zones you need to travel in. (If you don't already have one)

Brief Description

Inspired by the ever resourceful Sean, I have the pleasure of posting the last mid-week walk of 2015.
The route is mainly on tarmac, but with possibility of some muddy stretches in Dulwich and Sydenham Hill Woods
The route gives walkers an opportunity to visit the Dulwich Picture Gallery which is showing work by M.C. Escher probably best remembered for pictures such as impossible triangles and never ending stairs.

You may find full details of the walk here

Suggested Lunch stop

The suggested lunch stop The Crown and Greyhound is closed for refurbishment so, as an alternative, I'm suggesting ...
The Plough at 381 Lordship Lane, London SE22 8JJ which is about 10 minutes walk away.

I anticipate arriving there about 12:15

Visiting Dulwich Picture Gallery

Quite a few days for the M.C.Escher exhibition are sold out already, so if your planning on going I suggest you purchase a ticket here ASAP.

The Gallery is about a 20 minute walk from the Pub, so I would suggest the 13:45 afternoon slot if you wish to visit.

Suggested Tea stops

The café in the Horniman Museum
The Deli on the road to Forest Hill Station

Map

OS Explorer : 161
If you have a London A-Z, perhaps pop in in your bag to cover all eventualities.

Returning home

Forest Hill has plentiful overground and national rail services back to London.
Alternatively, if you've been over-awed by Escher, you may also return from West Dulwich station (about 1 km away from the Gallery).
Trains here go to London Victoria and there are 4 an hour with a journey time of 12 minutes.
  • Anonymous
    Tue, 22-Dec-15

    Have booked for 13:45 at Greenwich Picture Gallery - looking forward to exhibition.

    Have noted you can enter up to 15 mins after your booked time

  • Sun, 27-Dec-15

    I'm sure anonymous meant Dulwich.

    Looks like all tickets are sold out now :-(

    There might be some cancellations on the day though ...

  • Mon, 28-Dec-15

    I don't think you need to rely on cancellations if you want to see the Escher exhibition. It's always possible to buy tickets on the day, though there could be a queue and tickets may sell out in the afternoon. If you haven't booked in advance, I'd suggest buying a ticket as soon as you reach Dulwich, and then lunching at the Dulwich Picture Gallery Café, or at the Pavilion Café in Dulwich Park, while you wait for the timeslot shown on your ticket.

  • Wed, 30-Dec-15

    6, mild but windy . This carefully contrived walk makes the most of the green spaces in SE London around Dulwich. Two of us had lunch at the Dulwich Park Cafe and three walkers visited the impressive Escher exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. In the afternoon you see much of central London from the top the Horniman grounds. All this culture was followed by a beer or two at the Wetherspoons in the former Centurion Theater at Forest Hill.