London LOOP Section 7 – Banstead Down to Ewell West 24th November 2011

This being the second part of our Section 6/7 walk we anticipate no problem finding the start of this section. Wrong. It takes several minutes of walking along different tracks before we find the way mark we are seeking, hidden behind some blackthorn screening what turns out to be a charming woodland walkway. In the distance is the approaching prospect of open grassland and November sunshine.

We are all too soon out on the short cropped turf of the golf course again until we find our way into Suburban Cheam. The directions for this section of the Loop are apologetic about the amount of street walking involved. Done in isolation I can perhaps understand this view. However, as the second half of a double section it works very well. I don’t really understand why these 2 short sections were not treated as a single 8-mile section in the first place.

Suburban Cheam is quite different from Romford in the far east of London, where we live, so we find the suburban architecture here quite interesting, especially as the roads are so quiet and the houses relatively palatial. The broad tree-lined avenues make this an understandably attractive place to live.

Quiet Suburbia

We are probably biased in our views since our last Loop walk was through Barnet (Section 15), which contrasts badly with the opulence of Cheam. You would be unlikely to find anything like the St Andrews (Cheam) Lawn Tennis Club in Barnet.

From suburban Cheam the walker passes under bridge 282 taking trains to Reigate and into an area of grassland at Warren Farm. This 53-acre Woodland Trust nature reserve was given to them in 1994. After 17 years of ownership I can see no signs of any tree planting. The Woodland Trust would appear to have turned into the Grassland Trust in this area of South London.

On leaving the Woodland Trust site we pass through a line of trees and into the extensive parkland of Nonsuch Park.

Once again the Loop historians have dipped into the ‘Terrible Tudors’ they bought specially to keep us abreast of what happened around London during the 16th century. It seems Henry VIII squandered a fortune on building a palace that lasted probably little more than 100 years. £24,000 sounds a derisory sum to spend to impress your fellow noblemen. Inflation it seems is not a new phenomenon.

Once past Henry’s hunting lodge you once again take life in hand crossing the A24 Ewell By-pass. The approach to Ewell village is charming and one can easily see why a bypass around the village was necessary. Hundreds of blue blazered school children are issuing out of Ewell Castle School as we pass. My assumption is that this is a private school as all are well turned out and there is not a stunted tie in sight.

Ewell Castle School

The church tower across the road is interesting, with the naive evidently having been removed in the 15th Century. This must be the oldest remaindered church in England.

A little further along Church Street the road passes between some very attractive houses before arriving at The Watch House, a former village gaol and now restored with the assistance of the local rotary club. One can imagine the inmates had little privacy or protection from the elements with the barred windows opening out onto the street. A far cry from the modern day comforts to be found in nearby High Down Prison I suspect.

The Watch House

We turn down the high street and arrive at Bourne Hall Park where our journey is supposed to end, only to find the gates locked and our way barred. Resourceful as we are we walk along the road to the right of the park and find Bourne Hall. This looks like a smaller version of the Dallas Cowboys NFL stadium from the outside. Inside it is a delightful space, housing a library, museum and café. We have a cup of coffee and seasonal mince pie to celebrate completion of this section of the Loop, before a short walk to Ewell West Station and a ride into London just in time for the rush hour. Sunday walking does have some things to recommend it over mid-week walking and avoidance of London Rush Hour is one of them.