Something of a overcast morning. I took a train from Crystal Palace to Clapham
Junction and then another out to Ewel West. About 90 minutes altogether.
This was the first long day out after having had surgery, so I considered it to be just trying things out to see how things go. I didn’t really expect any kind of problems though.
The bluebells were just coming up. Some were fully open, but the majority were still waiting to properly unfold. They will need another week or so until they’re in full glory.
A large amount of the first part of this walk is all about following the Hogsmill River which is quite nice. A little muddy here in there, but it’s a very peaceful and pleasant walk along a small river.
The morning started out lovely and sunny when I was at home, but by the time I got to Ewell West it was grey and not long after I started walking. I thought I felt little splashes of rain and then after a
few kilometres, more rain.
I decided to follow the green diamonds on the map from on the road at the Toby carvery at Cromwell Road (TQ208654) because even though the route I had marked showed a different way following the river, I remember when I went that way before that there’s no footpath along the road so it’s
quite dangerous. This added maybe half a km or so but was really a pleasant walk through a leafy, affluent residential neighbourhood.
The Southwood Local Nature Reserve is one huge mud pit! And coming up to the A3, it’s very difficult to walk through (TQ205668). You’ll certainly not be coming through there without getting very muddy!
The A3, Malden Way is definitely one of the low points of the trip for the day. It’s very busy, very noisy and you have to wade through the mud in the nature reserve to get to it.
The footpath through the houses in Kingston (TQ184687) is still absolutely overrun with tiny white gnats/flies. I thought last time, in February 2022, that it might’ve been the season, but this time it’s April and it’s raining and they’re still here. It must be something to do with the water
in the nearby streams and rivers. They don’t seem to bite but they are
annoying to walk through as they are so dense!
The Woodland Gardens in Bushey Park (TQ156696) were locked by the time I got there at 17:40 on a Wednesday. That’s not really a problem for navigation but it’s a shame.
Bushy Park, which is a real gem of a place, seems to go on forever by the time you have walked a long day to get to it! If you were fresh, first thing in the morning, it would be lovely, but at the end of a long day, it just seems a bit endless. Maybe there’s some wisdom in arranging this leg of the walk to start at Kingston so that you can enjoy Bushy Park first thing?
I arrived at Fulwell very tired but just in time to catch the 18:54 Waterloo
train. I changed at Clapham Junction for London Bridge, got off at Sydenham and
took a 122 bus home. Painless and easy; thankfully.
