Dulcry one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

This has to be one of my favourite routes in London. Really green and goes through lots of interesting areas, Sydenham wood is a fantastic place. As others have said it basically follows the green chain walk route and that is probably the best option to make navigation easy.

The leafy roads and shady woodlands made this a lovely walk on a hot summer day. Most is traffic-free, and with signposts for the Green Chain Walk. Do use the signposts as it's so similar, and avoids fussing over multiple path choices in the parks and woodlands or being misdirected down private roads near Syd. Hill Woods by the gps line.

It isn't very direct, and a coupld of the parks might be locked at night but is a great route nonetheless.
Mid-route options
Rest/Eating spots: Woodman pub at the top of the hill (Crescent Wood Rd / Sydenham Hill junction. Sydenham Hill train station is about 800m off route, down Low Cross Wood Lane (off Cres. Wd Rd). Crystal Palace bus station is about 500m uphill from Crystal Palace Station and there are bus stops at Dulwich Common/Lordship Lane, Sydenham Hill/Wells Park Road or Westwood Hill/Sydenham Hill.

Definite accessibilty issues. Steep woodland paths, multiple long flights of steps, some steep, and kissing gates, one particularly narrow. Crossing the South Circular/A205 at the island nearer the park entrance is better than the Lordship Lane junction as there's no pedestrian phase at those lights.

Opening times for Crystal Palace Park are on Bromley council website and Dulwich Park is in Southwark.

A really enjoyable, slow route between Crystal Palace and Dulwich. It's not very direct, and there are quite a few twists and turns, which means that you were either looking out for signs or looking at your phone for directions a lot of the time. But the route through the different woods and parks make for a beautiful walk. For the most part, all the paths are very wide. There were only a few parts where there are narrow gates to go through and stairs through Sydenham Woods. From the looks of it, if you cannot get through the gates or use stairs, you can take the footpath around the are to meet the route at the other side.

A very indirect route - but worth it.

Certainly not the quickest route (but this is 'slow' ways after all) and not at all suitable for cyclists or wheelchair users. Instead the route goes through the ever-popular Dulwich Park (which has public toilets and a cafe), then follows the Green Chain through Dulwich Woods down to Crystal Palace Park.

Inside Dulwich Woods (which can be very muddy) the footbridge is closed, so once through the gate at the top of Cox's Walk continue straight ahead and in 100 metres or so, turn left, following the Green Chain Walk signs. Continue to follow the signs at the end of the path, climbing the steps to the exit onto Crescent Wood Road.

At Wells Park Road, an alternative to following the Green Chain into Hillcrest Wood (which has one very steep section) is to continue for another 100 metres and turn right to go through Wells Park - one of the prettiest parks in the area (it has toilets as well). Then leave the park and follow Ormanton Road before carefully crossing Westwood Hill and continuing around Charleville Circus (as per Green Chain Walk, section 11). Turning left down Crystal Palace Park Road brings you in around 50 metres to the Fisherman's Gate entrance.

If following the suggested route through Hillcrest Woods, once entering Crystal Palace Park at the Westwood Hill Gate ignore the gpx directions and instead continue straight ahead onto the Lower Terrace - otherwise you will end up walking through a car park. At the end of the Lower Terrace, turn left to arrive at Crystal Palace Station.

Share your views about this route, give it a star rating, indicate whether it should be verified or not.

Include information that will be useful to others considering to walk or wheel it.

You can add up to 15 photos.