Cronew two

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

I was really pleased to see this route uploaded as I also thought CroNew 1 didn't look very appealling and that the area had potential for something much better. Thank you Jane.

This is a very pleasant walk in an area straddling countryside and urban London. The Croydon end is residential but the route is largely off road and many of the footpaths are much greener and more open than you might guess from a map, e.g. in the Forestdale/Selsdon area.The previous two reviews have plenty of details and better photos than mine. These are a few things they didn't mention, perhaps because they both walked in the opposite direction than I did.
1) Park Hill Recreation Ground - this park is the only one truly closed at night. The route meanders here, not sure why, you can stick to the eastern edge without spoiling the walk.
2) The route chosen through Lloyd Park was a bit fiddly to start, but definitely worth it to keep off the A212. There are two disc-golf courses, quite a rare sight, so bring your frisbee.
3) No need for GPS in the woods of Addington Hills despite multiple well used side paths not on maps, just keep tram line close on your right (as Jane said but in reverse).
4) At Heathfield House/gardens the car park onto Riesco Drive is locked half an hour before sunset with no alternative pedestrian exit that side. But the Coombe Lane entrance has no gate to lock so you shouldn't actually be trapped.
5) There are 2 long flights of board-and-earth steps at Heathfield and several shorter, hard surface flights elsewhere (see Jane's photos).
6) There will be bluebells in Bramley Bank woods if you time your visit right! It will not be locked. The approach to the kissing gate (or gate) at the eastern exit onto Broadcombe was the most muddy part of this walk.
7) If you don't need the shop or chippy in Forestdale that bit of route is fiddly, just stay in the alley linking Selsdon Park Road straight to Pixton Way.
8) I also found the path beside Featherbed Lane much greener and more pleasant than anticipated. There was barely any traffic at 6pm on a Saturday while the A212, roughly parallel and featuring heavily in CroNew 1, had constant noisy traffic.
9) The path up from Featherbed Lane up to Overbury Crescent in New Addington is a long and *very* steep climb, this merits a third warning. Some gorgeous lichens were growing in the trees beside the path. On a summer's evening you could take a side trip here to explore the meadows of Hutchinson's Bank Nature Reserve, a little further along the hillside, where there is a thriving colony of glow-worms, very rare in London.

I walked this on a slightly overcast cold January morning, from New Addington to Croydon. It hadn't rained a lot in the last week.

From New Addington's tram stop, you quickly end up going down the very steep Hutchingson's Bank (photo #1) to end up next to Featherbed Lane, which has a lovely (metalled) footpath alongside it (photo #2). At Forestdale, you need to go around a supermarket, before ending up on first a cycle path, and then a footpath (photo #3, #4) up the hill to the north side of Broadcombe. From here you follow the LOOP through Heathfield House (photo #5). There are some good views hidden away too.

You then continue following the LOOP across Coombe Lane's tram stop (photo #6), and through woods (photo #7) you end up in Lloyd Park (photo #8). The path was a little muddy in the first section, but Lloyd Park was lovely. Once you come out of the park, there is a set of alleys to get through a residential section (photo #9), before ending up in Park Hill Recreation Ground (photo #10). Crossing Fieldfield Road was the least nice part of the route, but even that was without issue.

A really lovely route, with the best bits also part of the LOOP.

5⭐️ Route.
The 5 stars are awarded for linking several pleasant green spaces, plentiful refreshment stops and picnic spots, being fairly direct, and surprising me with Heathfield House and gardens.

A couple of the local parks close at dusk and open around 8.00 am.

New Addington is an interesting new town, with shops, a market, and a new leisure centre (with toilets). The old leisure centre alongside is boarded up and I wonder how that will be developed. It’s the end of the line for the tram from Croydon, and despite its urban new town feel it is 100% North Downs.

The advantage of starting at New Addington is that the route begins by going downhill through a nature reserve. The path is very steep, so if you are coming the other way be sure to keep some reserve energy!
There were butterflies everywhere.

Featherbed Lane runs along the valley bottom and the path is well separated from the road, among grasses and more butterflies. Having experienced some very fast/busy ‘lanes’ in this area while slow waying, I am pleased to say this one is fairly quiet by local standards, and not too speedy.

At Forestdale there are shops, a good bakers, and a handy pub. The landlady said they had recently reopened after being closed for a bit; I very much hope these local community pubs can survive, they really help these routes go from ‘doable’ to ‘great’.

The next section uses footpaths and a quiet residential street to connect to Bramley Bank nature reserve. I did think the footpath that runs behind Quest Academy could have done with a good litter pick. Overall though this is a pleasant safe area to walk through. The nature reserve is uphill, a few lunchtime joggers keeping fit.

At the top of the nature reserve is a lovely surprise - Heathfield House and gardens. On some days/times the ecology centre is open for visitors and I would highly recommend taking time to have a look round. This part of the route is on the London Loop. There are benches and views too. The house isn’t open to the public and there’s no cafe, but its a good place to picnic.

Next up is a tram stop at Coombe Lane and then the route plunges into the woods at Addington Hills. This is the trickiest area underfoot I would say - the tram runs quite close by on a fairly flat gradient, while the path in the woods has some steep and rooty ups and downs. It’s pretty easy to follow the path, if in doubt keep the tram on the left (if coming from New Add towards Croydon).

Take care leaving the woods, I’ve suggested walking a little down the lane to cross over to make it a bit safer. The next section crosses playing fields (skirt around if in use) and connects through a hole in the hedge to Lloyd Park, a huge green space at the edge of Croydon. There’s a cafe and its a lovely place to picnic.

After that there is a succession of footpaths and estates until the final park - Park Hill rec. There’s a cafe here too.
Then a short hop to East Croydon station and the end of the route.

I feel very satisfied with this route which links parks, green spaces and quieter streets pretty much all the way.

There are some steps and steep paths, a number of refreshment stops, and also picnic spots; very good public transport at each end, with a drop out point at Coombe Lane.

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