South Circular Road at Park Lane LSW to Wimbledon, 9 via summits of and Merton

Start South Circular Road at Putney Park Lane — SW15 5QJ

Finish Wimbledon station (South Western Railway, Tramlink, and District Line, Wimbledon branch) — SW19 7NL

Distance 7.26km

Duration 1 hour 33 minutes

Ascent 63.9m

Access Buses at start of section. Barnes station (South West Trains) near start of section. Wimbledon station at end of section. Buses at Putney Heath en route.

Facilities Pub at Putney Heath. Café and toilets at . All facilities at end of section.

9.1 S Circular Road at Putney Park Lane (bus). 0m

9.2 S on Putney Park Lane (path, not street); cross Putney Heath (road); SE on 2060m path through woodland to L of Telegraph Road; pass cricket ground on L to reach Telegraph Road (bus); ahead to Telegraph Inn.

9.3 Pass Telegraph Inn on R; ahead on path; L beside road; corkscrew L under 1790m rbt; over A3 (bus); R under rbt onto Putney Heath; tend L on clear path towards Wimbledon Common at windmill.

9.4 Continue SSW: second path off L (SSE) to West Place; bisect Causeway 1770m junction to cross SE to Southside Common.

9.5 Continue SE into Lauriston Road; L onto Ridgway; R (opp church) onto 1640m Sunnyside; at end, descend Sunnyside Passage and Malcolm Road; L on Worple Road; R on Wimbledon Hill Road to Wimbledon stn (bus).

© 2017-21 IG Liddell London Summits Walk 9 – 1 This section of the 9.1 London Summits Walk route begins on the South Circular Road, at the foot of Putney Park Lane. Barnes station (South Western Railway services to and from Waterloo) is nearby: buses serve here from Junction. The South Circular Road is (with its northern counterpart) the second of three concentric orbital routes round London. We have already met the innermost (the Ring Road) at Angel; the outermost is, of course, the M25. Others were planned during the heyday of road-building, but have not seen the light of day and have now been shelved. Cross the busy road, 9.2 but do not take the street called Putney Park Lane (which has one-way traffi c descending), but enter a broad stony avenue to its left, also called Putney Park Lane: this Views of the two ends of avenue is at least three hundred years old. Putney Park Lane The lane rises, almost devoid of traffi c, for 1.5km to reach Putney Heath at the bott om of Telegraph Road. It is a long but pleasant climb which links Lower Putney Common with Putney Heath (both parts of Wimbledon and Putney Commons); about a third of the way up, there is a small area of green off to the right. This is the Pleasance, the site of a hunting lodge in days gone by. A few cars will be found at each end of the lane: the main access is at the upper end, where there is a church and a school. At the top of the lane, the route crosses Putney Heath (the road) at its junction with Telegraph Road. Do not walk up Telegraph Road, but instead, seek out a woodland path which sets off immediately to the left of the junction: this runs almost parallel to Telegraph Road. The path eventually passes to the left of a house and, keeping as close as possible to a south-westerly direction, comes out at a cricket ground.

9 – 2 London Summits Walk © 2017-21 IG Liddell Keep the ground on your left to emerge onto Telegraph Road adjacent to its junction with Portsmouth Road (the original route of what became the A3). Turn left to reach the Telegraph Inn. The Telegraph in the names refers to a signalling system which relayed semaphore-style messages for the Government, this one being part of the chain between London and the naval headquarters in Portsmouth. Passing along the front of the inn (or turning right as 9.3 you come back out of it), keep to the left edge of the car park to enter a narrow lane at the far end. On your left is a wall which guards a covered reservoir. At the far end of the lane, you are thrown back into heavy traffi c: this is the busy junction between the A3 and the A219. Bend to the left, and then corkscrew down to reach a subway system for pedestrian and cyclists. The way bends left to go under the northbound A219, then right to go over the A3. Ignore an option on the left which leads up to Withycombe Road (unless you need to use the bus stop which is marooned on the roundabout’s fl ank), but carry straight on under the A219 again to rise onto the grassland of Putney Heath. You have now successfully negotiated the roundabout at Tibbet’s Corner. Wimbledon and Putney Commons cover about 460ha. Commons management is by a board of Conservators, three appointed by government and fi ve elected by the levy-payers (see below). The area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, and certain tenant farmers had had commoners’ rights for many years. In 1864, though, the Lord of The Manor of Wimbledon att empted to enclose some of the land, and eventually lost a court batt le. As a result, the governance of the Commons was set out in an Act of Parliament of 1871. Putney Heath, near the In a recurrence worthy of Anthony Powell’s Dance to the Music summit of Wandsworth of Time, we fi nd that we have met the Lord of the Manor before on this route: he is the same Earl Spencer who underwrote the building of St Joseph’s church on Highgate Hill. The upkeep of the Commons is funded by the Levy, which is paid along with Council Tax on each property within 1.2km of the Commons: on average, this is just over 50p per property per week.

© 2017-21 IG Liddell London Summits Walk 9 – 3 Putney Heath was used for army mobilisation (both King Charles II and King George III reviewed troops here), and was also a favourite site for duels. William Pitt the Younger fought a duel here in 1798, and the famous 1809 duel between cabinet ministers Lord Canning and George Castlereagh was acted out on the Heath, close to the Telegraph Inn. The path soon veers a litt le to the right, then again to the left. Between these two turns lies the summit of the Borough of Wandsworth, 60m above sea level. The distance from the previous summit (in the Brazilian area of College Park, remember?) is, at almost 14km, the farthest so far between the borough tops. Don’t worry, though, there are some longer inter-summit distances to come! Plunge with the path into the woodland: this soon leads to a footpath with a horse-ride on the right. Just keep going along this path until you reach a paved Skeleton tree on road: over to the right is the Windmill. Wimbledon Common The Windmill, which may be open for visitors, is the centre of a honeypot area of the Common, with café and toilets, and a large car park. Section 6 of the Capital Ring crosses the path just before you reach the Windmill access road. Continue ahead in the same direction, passing on your 9.4 right the various refreshment facilities surrounding the Windmill. Ignore the fi rst path which goes off half-left (down the side of a fi eld in a south-easterly direction). Take the next (i.e., the second) half-left turn (which runs a shade to the east of south), opposite a part of the golf course near a green. The path soon plunges into woodland. Continue on this path, past a tree, stripped to its skeleton, off to the right, until eventually you come out at the corner of a street, with houses on the right-hand side and open land on the left. Keep close to the street (West Place) to reach a crossroads, where take the path bisecting the corner of the road ahead. Cross the next road to reach the houses at the far side of the common, 9 – 4 London Summits Walk © 2017-21 IG Liddell on Southside Common at the top of Lauriston Road. This is the summit of the Borough of Merton, 55m above sea level. Follow the left-hand pavement 9.5 of Lauriston Road to its foot at the Swan pub. Turn left along the road (Ridgway), crossing to the right-hand pavement at a suitable place. When you reach Emmanuel church over to your left, turn right down Sunnyside. At the bott om, bear slightly left to go down a steep path (Sunnyside Passage) to reach Malcolm Road. Look out for the tower ahead in the distance: it is Saff ron Square in the middle of Croydon and will be visible from many parts of the London Summits Walk route through the southern part of our journey. Continue to the foot of Malcolm Road. If you have no need of Wimbledon station, or the shops, pubs and cafés nearby, but want to push on towards Merton, you may be tempted into taking a short-cut by squeezing down a narrow alleyway opposite (to The view across the the right of a No Entry sign), turning left onto St George’s Road, Croydon basin from the top of Sunnyside Passage and then turning right to reach the railway footbridge (see next section). However, the future of the railway bridge is far from certain: it is worth a check before committ ing yourself. Turn left along Worple Road: at the traffi c lights, turn right at Lloyds Bank onto Wimbledon Hill Road. Cross Alexandra Road to reach Wimbledon station on your left. This section ends at Wimbledon station. Nearby, you will fi nd the full range of shops and eating establishments. Wimbledon station is a major suburban node for South Western Railway services: it also serves as one of the southern termini of the District Line.

© 2017-21 IG Liddell London Summits Walk 9 – 5