Daddy or Chipstead
Bucolic, rural farmland only moments away from Croydon’s main arteries
#countrysidewalks #easypublictransport #historicplaces
Length: 10.2 miles (16.4km) | Hills: ↑1099 feet (↑335m)
Bucolic, rural farmland only moments away from Croydon’s main arteries
#countrysidewalks #easypublictransport #historicplaces
Length: 10.2 miles (16.4km) | Hills: ↑1099 feet (↑335m)
Route map for 01. Daddy Or Chipstead by Octavia Lillywhite on plotaroute.com
Route map for Chipstead And Cane Hill Old Asylum by Octavia Lillywhite on plotaroute.com
Parking: Free, 24hr at start - Holly Lane Car Park
Alternatives: Woodmansterne Recreation Ground parking, (mile 1.75); Chipstead Meads Recreation Ground (mile 6)
Public Transport: Chipstead Station (0.2 miles from start) 45 minutes from London Bridge.
Alternative: Woodmansterne station (mile 3). 45 minutes from London Bridge.
The Woodman, Woodmansterne, SM7 3NL (just before mile 2)
A really handsome, dog friendly village pub. Good food, plenty of seating, though they do get busy at weekends, so booking is a good idea. They also do a really epic-looking afternoon tea. There’s alternative village parking here, in case you want to make this your star/end point.
Smuggler’s Inn, Woodmansterne Station, (just past mile 3)
A proper local’s pub, very friendly and likely to be showing the football or rugby. I’ve not been but it has lovely reviews online and apparently a nice Filipino menu.
The White Hart, Chipstead (mile 5.5)
A destination foodie pub that people drive to from all over. It was built in 1731. Booking definitely recommended to eat at weekends. You can start and end here, but use the free parking 200 yards down the road at Chipstead Meads Rec, rather than the pub car park.
Start/finish: There is a corner shop 3 mins from the start of the walk on Chipstead Station Parade. There’s often a van selling ice cream/snacks in the car park at the start.
Mile 2: Londis at Woodmansterne Village. Open 09:00-17:30 Monday to Friday, 09:00-12:30 Saturday. Closed Sundays.
Mile 3: Near Woodmansterne Station there is a Londis, plus cafés, a Budgens in the petrol station and a Coughlans Bakery: good for sandwiches and cake (closed Sundays).
Wildflower meadow south of Woodmansterne
This walk came about because of an interest what old buildings used to be in another life. I don’t believe in ghosts, but I wonder whether events or experiences can imprint on buildings and leave a memory of themselves. Does a sense of past sadness reverberate in the brickwork? Do the trees whisper of what they’ve seen? Abandoned insane asylums, of which there are several dotting the hills above London suburbs, hold a particular fascination.
Cane Hill Hospital was built in the 1880s and for over 100 years was home to thousands of unhappy or unwell patients, battling everything from demons and depression to lying husbands (you can read about Mrs Harriet Thornton’s unjustified sectioning here). The facility closed in the 1990s, sparking an immediate role reversal for the derelict buildings. For years people had been prevented from breaking out – now people started breaking in.
Urban explorers photographed the gaping windows and abandoned wards. Arsonists destroyed the halls. In the face of increasing security concerns, a large portion of the hospital was demolished, all except the water tower, chapel and administration block with its iconic bell tower. But in 2010, arsonists targeted the building again, burning down the tower, with the bell collapsing into the ashes.
