Walking The River Wandle Trail
Start: East Croydon Station, Croydon CR0 1LF
Finish: Thames Path at Wandsworth, SW18 1EJ
Distance: 21.2 km (13.2 miles)
Elevation change: +55m / -117m. Net -62m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Vanguard Way, Wandle Oaks Link, Capital Ring, Thames Path
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 20
Map: OS Explorer Map (161) London South, Westminster, Greenwich, Croydon, Esher & Twickenham
Guidebooks:
- London's Lost Rivers: A Walker's Guide by Tom Bolton
- London's Lost Rivers by Paul Talling
- London's Hidden Rivers: A walker's guide to the subterranean waterways of London by David Fathers
Links: River Wandle, Croydon, Carshalton, Morden Hall Park National Trust, Wandsworth
Just like last week's Lea River trip, this one started in a grim New Town and ended at the Thames in London. There may be be some pleasant parts of Croydon but they're not on the route of the Wandle.
I was following the river, along the course described in Tom Bolton's London's Lost Rivers. Unlike the other rivers described in the book, the Wandle is mostly still visible, the rest having been covered up and/or converted to sewers. Once you leave Croydon, its a very pleasant walk, run or cycle through some hidden parts of the capital.
The route starts at the 120 year old Swan and Sugarloaf at the south end of Croydon High Street. Once a historic pub and hotel, its now a Tesco Express in a dingy part of town. The river has been covered up in this area, so the best plan is to head north quickly. If you're not bothered about visiting the source, the Wandle car-park, slightly further up, is alternative place to start.
The Wandle becomes visible about half a mile in at the south-east corner of Wandle Park. The pleasant part of the trip only really starts at Waddon Ponds where the signs for the Wandle Trail begin.
The river meanders ~11 miles through parks and industrial areas before reaching the Thames at Wandsworth. In between there's Beddingon Park, Ravensbury Park and Morden Hall National Trust, amongst others as nice places to stop for a rest.
The confluence with the Thames is just north of Wandsworth centre. I've crossed the bridge several times on the Thames Path, not realising what it was. From here I picked up a Boris Bike (TFL Santander Cycle) just round the corner at Smuggler's Way and took a 6 mile route via the Thames Path to Victoria Station. Regular trains go from here to West Croydon.
More London Posts
If you enjoyed reading this post, there is plenty more to explore across the capital. I have put together a dedicated London Outdoors page where I keep track of all my other adventures around the city. It is a handy index where I group my posts by the different types of places I have visited: including historic boundary lines, canal towpaths, and some surprising urban high points.
The collection covers a bit of everything: from long-distance cycling routes to tracing the underground network on foot, and ticking off another Saturday morning parkrun. If you are looking for some inspiration for your own weekend outings, head back over to the London Outdoors page to see what else I have been up to.