London LOOP Section 5 – Hamsey Green to Coulsdon 18th July 2011

We set off from Hamsey Green, which proved to be an awkward place to get to, both by road and by public transport. This is probably not the best place to start and finish a section of the Loop. We arrived by car, eventually, and left it parked in a side street near the Good Companion Pub. Last time we were here it was at the end of Section 4. We called into the pub about 5.30pm ish to be told they had stopped serving food for the day. Still an empty stomach and pint of beer makes for a rapid descent into inebriation. The pub does have a nice cherry tree in the car park, dripping with cherries. Very tasty.

Almost the whole of this section is across open commons, downs and nature reserves, with hardly any of the walk through suburbia, along roads or manicured parks. This was definitely the time of year for this section. Chalkland flowers abound!

You have to keep your wits about you on this section, since whoever wrote the directions left a little to be desired. However, my son’s smart phone had a very useful map/satellite view of the area which helped out. We spotted a roe deer, which in part added to our route-finding issues, since it made us miss one of the marker signs.

Eventually we found the route from the top of Riddlesdown and its mass of yellow rattle, to the busy Godstone Road. You are quicky across this and over the railway bridge before rising up the other side of the valley onto Kenley Common. After a strenuous climb to the top you might spend a while looking for pyramidal orchids, which the Loop directions suggest are growing here. We found none, even though this should be a good time to see them.

The path then leads through woodland before coming out onto Hayes Lane for about 100 metres. Take care here as you are forced to walk along this narrow road without recourse to a footpath. Once off it you have the joy of picking your way through further woodland and meadow to come out on Old Lodge Lane. We didn’t try the pub here, but it sounded attractive with its Kenley Airfield memorabilia. The route gives no views of the airfield, whose presence is as remote as its glorious Battle of Britain past. Take care on Old Lodge Lane as everyone seems to drive far too fast down this narrow lane.

After crossing this road you are quickly into open fields occupied by horses. These were pretty placid souls, unlike some others we have met on the Loop. Once again you plunge into woodland and a downhill track, leading to Caterham Drive and a brief glimpse of how the better healed half exist. From here the route takes you up Rydon’s Lane, yet another ‘rat run’ for speeding drivers, before you come out on Coulsdon Common and cross Coulsdon Road into Fox Lane. Another interesting pub is to be found here before you enjoy the chance to leave cars behind you for the best section of the walk.

Happy Valley is well named. On a fine summers day you are regaled with wild flowers galore, many I have rarely seen before. We found Greater Yellow Rattle, Round –headed Rampion, Restharrow, Nettle leaved bellflower, as well as the widespread marjoram, red bartsia, field scabious and birds-foot trefoil.

From top left – Yellow rattle, Lesser knapweed, Marjoram and Hare bells

The views are marvellous looking up the valley towards Farthing Down. The appearance of some fairly dense canopy cover in Devilsden Wood was most timely, as it just started to rain. The canopy cover was just enough to see us through this short shower before emerging on the far side onto Farthing Down.

At Farthing Down the local authority have done themselves proud with the creation of a marvellous car park, toilets and interpretive boards.

Farthing Down

The ensuing 2 mile walk to Coulsden Station along the ridge of Farthing Down was a mix of joy, dancing through alpine-like chalk meadows singing “The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music” and consternation as a particularly large black cloud came skipping over the Downs towards us. We made the shelter of Coulsden Station in the nick of time.

Coulsden Station

However, the trickiest and most frustrating bit of the journey now followed. We took a train to East Croydon (£4.00 for 2 miles) before having to take a bus to Hamsey Green. This would have been simple enough, but the bus maps at East Croydon Station make no mention of the bus route to Hamsey Green. We were then compelled to tramp through rain soaked streets across Croydon, to West Croydon Bus Station. Here the bus took us back through Croydon close by East Croydon Station, before picking its way through back streets to Sanderstead and eventually Hamsey Green.

This leg of the Loop highlighted one of the major aspects to be considered when planning a leg of the Loop – car, or public transport. The former is probably cheaper but can cause problems when finding loop starting points. The latter can be variable in quality, depending upon what route you are compelled to follow to return to your start point. Of course if you have a travelcard or Oyster Card you can elect to travel direct to the start and directly home and thereby avoid this aspect. We have tried 2 cars, one car and no cars/public transport for all the legs so far completed. There is no best method, as it depends upon where you live and the section being tackled. However, good planning can probably make the travel involved less arduous than it might otherwise be.

Final thoughts on this section? Great. Lovely section to do. The next section looks more built-up, but then it may prove to be even more interesting. This is the fun of ‘Looping’!

Field Scabious