Transport for LondonRoute details
Capital Ring Section 6: Wimbledon Park to Richmond
| Walk facts | Details |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 7.5 miles (12 km) |
| Location: | Merton, Wandsworth, Richmond, Kingston |
| Start: | Wimbledon Park station (GR 253-721) Get there with Journey Planner |
| Finish: | Richmond Riverside (GR 177-746) |
| Factor: | Capital Ring Section 6: Wimbledon Park to Richmond |
| Recommended direction: | Southeast to northwest |
| Terrain and surface: | Some quite long and fairly steep ascents and descents, mainly on rough tracks or paths and grass. Steps on footbridge over A3. No stiles. 1.8km (1.1ml) beside roads |
| Points of Interest: | Wimbledon Park and lake, Putney Heath, Wimbledon Common and windmill, Beverley Brook, Richmond Park, Pen Ponds, Pembroke Lodge, King Henry VIII Mound, Petersham Park, Petersham Meadows, River Thames, Richmond |
| Signage: | Partially signed both ways usually the logo is: 'Big Ben' in Blue on a white background |
| Temporary Diversions: | |
| Refreshments and toilets: | Pubs at Wimbledon Park, Kingston Vale, Petersham and Richmond. Cafes at Wimbledon Park, Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park and Richmond. Toilets: Wimbledon Park, Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park, Richmond |
| Public transport and breakpoints: | LU: Wimbledon Park, Richmond. NR: Richmond. Buses at these points plus Wimbledon Park Side, Kingston Vale and Petersham |
| Links with other walks: | Beverley Brook Walk, Tamsin Trail, Thames Path National Trail |
| How to get the map: | Download it from www.walklondon.org.uk or call 0870 240 6094 |
| Principal promoters: | London Walking Forum, LB Merton, LB Wandsworth, LB Richmond |
Walk details:
- Possibly one of the finest walks in the whole book, with glorious scenery almost wall to wall.
- Wimbledon Park is less well known than the Common but very pretty, with an impressive chalet-style cafe and a large lake where quiet watersports take place.
- A longish uphill stretch along pleasant residential roads leads on to Putney Heath, then it is rough ground most of the way to Richmond.
- A fascinating windmill beckons you on to Wimbledon Common - it rises above a cafe, and has a museum attached.
- You drop steeply down past tranquil Queen's Mere, then cross a golf course fairway to join the Beverley Brook Walk for a while.
- After crossing the busy A3 on a stepped footbridge you pass through Robin Hood Gate into Richmond Park, where you cross the Tamsin Trail and can expect to see several groups of red and fallow deer (do not approach them).
- After climbing steadily to the Pen Ponds, positively heaving with waterbirds, you pass Pembroke Lodge cafe and King Henry VIII Mound, of prehistoric origin, into Petersham Park, then descend to the meadows with a fine view of Petersham church, village and River Thames.
- You now accompany the Thames Path National Trail downstream along the south bank beneath the grand buildings on Richmond Hill for the final stretch into Richmond, which surely has one of the finest riverside frontages along the Thames.
