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Hurst Green to Riddlesdown Walk

Limpsfield Common, splendid views and remains of a medieval manor

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-Jan-24 Hurst Green to Riddlesdown - with possible moonlight variation 21 mostly cloudy with some brightness
Sat, 26-Aug-23 Hurst Green to Riddlesdown 6 mostly dry
Sun, 25-Sep-22 [New] – Hurst Green to Warlingham Green 12 autumnal

Saturday 20-Jan-24

Walker
Length: 17.3km (10.7 miles) if you take a bus from Warlingham Green
19km (11.8 miles) if ending at Upper Warlingham
21.6km (13.4 miles) for the full walk to Riddlesdown T=swc.367
9.55 (East Grinstead-bound) train from London Bridge (10.10 East Croydon) to Hurst Green 10.34
If you just miss this, there is a 10.07 (Uckfield-bound) train from London Bridge (10.22 East Croydon), getting in at 10.38

Buy a day return to Hurst Green, though if extending from zone 6 you only need a single, as both the return stations are in zone six. Incidentally I am told that London Bridge ticket machines have now been converted to do zone six extension tickets - yay if true...
This fairly new walk had an outing in August when for whatever reason attendance was quite low, and the walk report recommended it get another posting. It is basically a walk across Limpsfield Common and a climb up over the North Downs.
Lunch is at the Old Ship in Tatsfield after 5.4 miles, described as walker-friendly, reasonably priced and unpretentious on earlier outings. After 10.7 miles you then end up in Warlingham Green, which has two pubs for tea. Also two cafes but one closes at 3pm and the other at 4.30pm.
From Warlingham Green there are 403 buses every fifteen minutes or so to Sanderstead station (12 minutes). These are TFL-operated, so passes or Oyster are allowed on them.
Otherwise, you can pop down to Upper Warlingham station in 1.1 miles or carry on for another 2.7 miles to end at Riddlesdown station. There are a couple of alcohol-only pubs near Upper Warlingham station, but nothing at Riddlesdown.
If the evening is clear, a few of us might do a moonlight walk from Warlingham Green (after a suitable sojourn to wait for darkness to fall). Others are welcome to join us at their own risk. My idea here is to head east (ie, into the moon) over hills and woods to New Addington, where one can get the tram to Croydon - a distance of about 3 miles. The moon will be 77% full and fairly high in the sky at dusk, so hopefully good enough to provide light for walking.
Trains back from Upper Warlingham are at 03 and 33 past, calling at Riddlesdown at 07 and 37 and Sanderstead at 10 and 40.

  • Tue, 16-Jan-24

    A member of staff told me that London Bridge ticket machines are being upgraded to do zone six extension tickets but I don't know if has been done yet.

  • Thu, 18-Jan-24

    It has (St Thomas's Street entrance anyway)

  • Sat, 20-Jan-24

    16 on the specified train and two by car, but we then very nicely waited for the relief train four minutes later and picked up another three, so 21 overall. We had to reject the siren calls of the Hever walkers on the second train.

    I found this a very interesting and scenic route, particularly (rather surprisingly) on the approaches to and just after the M25. There was also a magnificent great valley that we crossed in the afternoon. All in all a very worthy addition to the SWC canon.

    The weather was mostly cloudy with some brightness - a bit disappointing given the glorious sunshine of recent days. But at least the ground was still largely frozen, reducing the mud to surface slither at worst.

    The Ship Inn in Tatsfield was a bit smarter than I expected given its “walker-friendly” tag, but proved perfectly welcoming. We had rung ahead and had three tables of four. The food was hearty, though the choice fairly limited. It looked to have a nice garden.

    When we got to Warlingham Green some, I think, carried straight on to Upper Warlingham or took the bus. But 13 of us went to pub on the corner for tea or something stronger. In particular bottles of wine were bought, and then second bottles. Some then left at about 4.45pm to walk to Upper Warlingham.

    In the end four were left and we discussed what to do. With the skies cloudy, a moonlight walk looked unlikely, but we figured we could at least continue in the dark to Riddlesdown, and this we did.

    This turned out to be a good choice, as the clouds parted to let moonlight through, and with that and the glow of London ahead of us, there was adequate light to walk by. It really is atmospheric to be out in the countryside at night, and I wish more SWC-ers would try it. After a walk of about an hour and a half we caught the 19.37 train with a few minutes to spare.

Saturday 26-Aug-23

PeteG
Length: 21.6 km (13.4 miles), 5.5 hours walking, 5 out of 10.
After 10 miles, at Warlingham Green, you can take a bus to East Croydon or take a shorter route to Upper Warlingham.
This is a new walk for Saturday's and got a favourable review on it's first Sunday outing. It seems prudent not to travel to far on strike days.
After crossing Limpsfield Common a climb up the escarpment of the North Downs provides fine views with two historic churches passed, Titsey at the bottom and Tatsfield at the top. After some undulating pasture the route passes the enclosure of a medieval manor before more fine views near the end.
Trains: Get the 0944 from Victoria (Clapham 0953, East Croydon 1009), arriving Hurst Green at 10.36. Buy a return to Hurst Green. Trains from Riddlesdown 1644, 1714, 1744, 1812, 1912, 1942, 2012 to Victoria via East Croydon.
(The 1644 & 1714 give a connection to Coulsdon South at East Croydon)
Lunch: Old Ship, Tatsfield 01959 577311 after 8.6km (5.4m) having completed most of the climbing. The Old Ship is a village pub which generally offers a reasonably priced tradional pub menu aiming to be attractive to walkers.
Tea: There is just a shop at Riddesdown, so you might want to take a break at Warlingham Green, or go for the Upper Warlingham ending, where there is tea or pubs.
T=swc.367
  • Sun, 27-Aug-23

    6 on this enjoyable walk, with one newcomer. mostly dry , with a couple of light showers. Good lunch stop with an unpretentious pub and seating on the green for picnics. 5 ended up taking a shorter route to Upper Warlingham, with one going to Riddesdown and possibly a heavy downpour. Well worth repeating.

Sunday 25-Sep-22

Sean
Extra Walk 367 – Hurst Green to Warlingham Green

Length: 16.3 km (10.1 miles), with longer options (see below). Toughness: 5/10

10:23 East Grinstead train from London Bridge (Norwood Jct 10:35, East Croydon 10:39), arriving Hurst Green at 11:03. Buy a return to Hurst Green, which will be valid for any of the return options. Note that there are no trains from Victoria or Clapham Jct to East Croydon.

Longhorn Several new walks were added to the SWC site during the pandemic and it's about time we gave this one an outing, even though one of its banner photos appears to show the walk author being charged by a grumpy-looking longhorned beast. However, I'm reassured that at least one other brave soul has tried out the directions and returned to tell the tale, as there are a couple of helpful comments on its walk page which are worth noting.

In the morning there's a gentle climb up Pains Hill followed by a longer one onto the North Downs escarpment. After a couple of hours you'll reach Tatsfield with its village green, pond and The Old Ship, for those seeking a pub lunch. The afternoon leg is easier and where there's a choice of routes, I suggest taking the one into Warlingham Green. I doubt if the village's coffee shops will still be open but there are a couple of pubs for refreshment, after which you have three options:

  • Continue with the main walk directions to Riddlesdown station (+5.3 km); trains at xx:12 & xx:42
  • Follow the alternative directions to Upper Warlingham station (+2.7 km); trains at xx:08 & xx:38
  • End the walk here and catch a bus from the stop on the green: either a TfL 403 to Croydon (every 20 mins, at around 07/27/47), or a non-TfL 409 to Upper Warlingham station (hourly to 17:55, connects with the xx:08)

You'll need to bring the directions from the L=swc.367

  • Sat, 24-Sep-22

    Hello there, just wanted to check if this walk is going ahead and where would be the meet up point. Thank you!

  • Sat, 24-Sep-22

    @Unknown: Hi there, if you haven't tried one of our group walks before, please click the FAQ button. Look around for fellow-walkers on the platform at Hurst Green.

  • Thu, 29-Sep-22

    A respectable turnout of 12 (plus dog) for this new walk in autumnal weather. The walk lived up to its billing and I for one was pleased to discover some new paths in my local area. Half of us had some decent pub grub in Ye Old Ship and the whole group stayed together all the way to Warlingham. Two locals finished here at the White Lion, but the rest all carried on to Riddlesdown or Upper Warlingham.

    Some of the features on the ground seemed to have changed since the walk was written mid-pandemic and there was one spot in the afternoon with some head-scratching from those of us following the text. However, the GPX track was reasonably accurate and a newcomer with her map and compass showed that the traditional way worked too.