Selnew one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

Short, green, enjoyable and pretty quiet. Most of the walk was through undulating woodland, you are out of New Addington within a few hundred metres and there's under a mile on quiet roads at the Selsdon end. Some views across more open land where you pass beside a couple of golf courses. Bluebell spikes were showing all over the place, it'll be a great show in a couple of months and cool and shady in summer.

Fairly easy to navigate too, the only bit that could have been tricky was Selsdon Wood Nature Reserve, which has many branching paths, but actually this route is ok, especially as you can just follows the London Loop and Vanguard Way signs through those woods (also on footpaths through Selsdon).

The crossing of Featherbed Lane wasn't ideal, but in practice it's not that wide and wasn't truly busy, given it was weeknight 5pm-ish. No other roads crossed outside the end towns. Fairly easy to navigate (those L Loop and V Way signs helped).

Access wise the worst bits was probably the very steep tarmac path down Hutchinson Bank; the restrictions across the path might catch you if you tumble, but are probably just to stop dirtbikes. Later, as John M said, there are a couple of (huge) badger sett entrances right in the path, also some high tree roots, stony or rutted path surfaces and one bit with particularly sticky mud. Not suitable for wheelchairs etc.

I walked from New Addington. A pleasant walk through Selsdon Wood although the path is narrow and rough in places. Follow signs from Tram Stop to North Downs Road and Hutchinson's Bank Nature Reserve. The path starts to the left of the Household reuse and recycling centre. Through Frith Wood keep close to the golf course boundary. Follow LOOP signs to Swallowdale then turn left, right and left to Sundale Avenue which leads to the Old Farleigh Road near Sainsbury's (toilets). I made the distance 2.6 miles.

Selnew (Selsdon - New Addington (reversed))
Distance: 4.33km
Time taken: 55 mins
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Comments: N.B. This walk was done in reverse order.
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Starting off at the tram station, which is easily identifiable and provides good public transport links to West Croydon, the route weaves through a residential estate before descending down a steep concrete track with steel barrier chicanes. These are in place to stop cyclists and other forms of transportation from hurtling downhill, but leave sufficient gaps that disabled ramblers should be able to get through them with wheelchairs and scooters. At the bottom is a road crossing which is obvious, visible in both directions and safe. From here, you enter Frith wood, with a gentle uphill gradient weaving between golf courses, with the trees offering cover and tranquility. Here, the route diverges from the Warnew slow way, going right at a fork in the path to link up with the London Loop, a recreational route which straddles the boundary between Surrey and the Greater London Area, carrying on through picturesque woodland bordering golf courses. At certain points, large burrows have been dug out along the path (fox or badger, possibly), which could present problems for disabled users. The path is also heavily eroded, with awkward relief reducing the functional width for scooters and wheelchairs.
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Descending past Farleigh Golf Club, you come to Selsdon Wood Nature Reserve, where a sign provides interesting information on flora and fauna present in the woods and surrounding area. The entrance is just next to a cul-de-sac residential estate, but the path leads uphill through coppiced woodland. There are many tracks and paths zigzagging the woods, but keep following the signs for the Addington Border/London Loop, and you won’t go wrong.
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The undulating topography will eventually descend out of the woods into Forestdale, a residential area conjoined with Selsdon. From here, the slow way alternates between paved residential streets and narrow footpaths. It ultimately leads to a long, straight residential road which runs parallel to Selsdon high street, before stopping/starting here. It is not clear where the exact start/finish point is, unless it is the “L” bus stop opposite KFC.
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Another short, functional slow way with a degree of road walking which effectively avoids busier roads. It follows a direct route which leads through pretty woodland, with few prohibitive barriers (gates, stiles etc) for disabled users and relatively unchallenging terrain, save for a short, steep hill near New Addington. Main criticisms are that some of the urban areas may intimidate users around the waypoints of Selsdon and New Addington, and some stretches of footpath may prove tricky for disabled users due to uneven surface (erosion, animal burrows). Overall however, it is a suitable addition to the slow ways network.
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Standard (easily accessible) gate count: 1
Kissing gate count: 0
Stile count: 0.

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