Description
This is a winter and wet weather alternative to ChiOrp One. It has less off-road distance but is a lot shorter, so both are around 1/2 traffic-free. Chislehurst village is rather pretty, and scattered around the Common, mostly mature woodland and you might find harebells in the meadows. Next up the Hawkwood Estate, a working National Trust farm with "wide vistas opening to the south" and you might see lambs in spring. It's contiguous with Petts Wood and this is the driest way through. There might be some loose gravel on a track through the farm, puddles on the earthy path near the railway line, and sadly, steps by both railway crossings.
There's a lot of overlap with ChiOrp 1 and later BroOrp 2. The new middle part is along quiet, well-to-do suburban streets, leafy suburban footpaths or alleyways alongside train cuttings. It also goes through Petts Wood town centre with shops, places to eat, buses and a station. The Wetherspoons (over the railway footbridge) is officially a "Bromley Community Toilet", no offence intended. There's a footpath junction, at TQ 4522 6625, when this route heads east but you could cut south straight to Orpington Station. Either way goes down a second set of steep steps.
The other route, ChiOrp 1, goes through Crofton Woods, a national level, SSSI, nature reserve preserving a special "wet woodland" habitat, and it is beautiful. But local dog-walkers and RSPB promo material agree that it can be very muddy. I've seen photos and it was extreme, for an urban or a rural route. This route won't risk losing your shoe. Or drowning your small dog
This is a winter and wet weather alternative to ChiOrp One. It has less off-road distance but is a lot shorter, so both are around 1/2 traffic-free. Chislehurst village is rather pretty, and scattered around the Common, mostly mature woodland and you might find harebells in the meadows. Next up the Hawkwood Estate, a working National Trust farm with "wide vistas opening to the south" and you might see lambs in spring. It's contiguous with Petts Wood and this is the driest way through. There might be some loose gravel on a track through the farm, puddles on the earthy path near the railway line, and sadly, steps by both railway crossings.
There's a lot of overlap with ChiOrp 1 and later BroOrp 2. The new middle part is along quiet, well-to-do suburban streets, leafy suburban footpaths or alleyways alongside train cuttings. It also goes through Petts Wood town centre with shops, places to eat, buses and a station. The Wetherspoons (over the railway footbridge) is officially a "Bromley Community Toilet", no offence intended. There's a footpath junction, at TQ 4522 6625, when this route heads east but you could cut south straight to Orpington Station. Either way goes down a second set of steep steps.
The other route, ChiOrp 1, goes through Crofton Woods, a national level, SSSI, nature reserve preserving a special "wet woodland" habitat, and it is beautiful. But local dog-walkers and RSPB promo material agree that it can be very muddy. I've seen photos and it was extreme, for an urban or a rural route. This route won't risk losing your shoe. Or drowning your small dog
Status
This route has been reviewed by 3 people.
There are no issues flagged.
Photos for Chiorp two
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Information
Route status - Live
Reviews - 3
Average rating -
Is this route good enough? - Yes (3)
There are currently no problems reported with this route.
Downloads - 4
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Geography information system (GIS) data
Total length
Maximum elevation
Minimum elevation
Start and end points
Chislehurst
Grid Ref
TQ4440070175
Lat / Lon
51.41221° / 0.07500°
Easting / Northing
544,400E / 170,175N
What3Words
emerge.shapes.walks
Orpington
Grid Ref
TQ4611465896
Lat / Lon
51.37333° / 0.09787°
Easting / Northing
546,114E / 165,896N
What3Words
gates.deck.truth
| Chislehurst | |
|---|---|
| Grid Ref | TQ4440070175 |
| Lat / Lon | 51.41221° / 0.07500° |
| Easting / Northing | 544,400E / 170,175N |
| What3Words | emerge.shapes.walks |
| Orpington | |
|---|---|
| Grid Ref | TQ4611465896 |
| Lat / Lon | 51.37333° / 0.09787° |
| Easting / Northing | 546,114E / 165,896N |
| What3Words | gates.deck.truth |
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reviews
JohnMyerson
29 May 2025A good alternative route. Large Tesco (with toilets next to Costa) at Orpington and plenty of other shops. Steep uphill from the High Street. It was nice to end in countryside at Chislehurst. St. Nicholas churchyard is pleasant with bench seats. Bus 162 to Eltham, Chislehurst and Bromley stations from Chislehurst Common stops. No toilets in Petts Wood Morrisons.
Jane Taylor
25 Mar 2025Walked Chislehurst to Orpington. Really good route, direct, lovely green spaces from Chislehurst as far as Petts Wood, then residential to Orpington.
The route crosses railway lines 4 times and 3 of those involve steps to a footbridge (sample photos included).
Refreshments half way at Petts Wood.
I took off a star, partly for the steps and partly for being a bit suburban, maybe a little unfair, given the terrain. 4.5 stars.
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Daisy C
29 Nov 2022Reviewed this in two parts. First part in mid September starting from Chislehurst War Memorial and ending at Petts Wood Station (to get train home after running ChiSid 2). The second part I walked from Petts Wood Station to Orpington at the end of November (and then continued on to Knockholt to finish my review of OrpSev 1).
Nice walk. Chislehurst section is very green and pleasant. Hawkwood Lane (after the school) then Botany Bay Lane is just an access road to a few houses and the farm/woodland so feels more like a farm track than road walking. From the other side of the railway it is a "well-to-do" tree-lined suburban route, think white 30's semis with off road parking. It's fairly quiet and pleasant, if a little samey after a while, but the footpath beside the railway line breaks things up a bit. Good view from Knoll Rise towards Orpington.
Trains, buses, supermarkets and lots of places to eat in Petts Wood. Possibly public toilets too, on the other (W) side of the railway line (footbridge a little way N from station) is an official looking sign for "Community WCs" which points into the Wetherspoons.
There are two steep flights of concrete stairs heading down to the railway footbridge at TQ 4529 6626 (somewhat N of Orpington station). I don't recall any stiles or gates and there were no locked parks. The footpaths at the Petts Wood end are close to houses with occasional street lights but the paths at the Chislehurst end are not lit.
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