An impressive total of 18 assembled at Crystal Palace station. The weather forecast was overcast and occasional light rain. Unfortunately, this turned out to be pretty accurate and so we only had glimpses of the views the route offers on clear days. The length is about six miles, so is suitable for shorter days in the winter months.
The Crystal Palace building was originally constructed for the Great Exhibition of 1851 which was in Hyde Park. At the end of the exhibition it was taken down and rebuilt on the current site where it was used until destroyed by fire in 1936. A railway line was built from Nunhead to carry the large number of visitors and the walk follows some of the old route.
The hall was built up on a stonework base which is all that remains. One can still appreciate what a massive building it must have been, the length being nearly 600 metres. The designer, Joseph Paxton, was principally a gardener but he drew on his experience of large green houses. The building was three times the size of St Pauls and had many innovative features. It consisted of largely standardised panels of plate glass in cast iron frames. For the first time in a major structure, standard nuts and bolts were used which hugely simplified construction. The original Exhibition charged for entry, and made a surplus of £25 million over the six month period which was used to found the V&A museum. Continue reading Crystal Palace to Nunhead, 8th February 2025 →

On a cold and grey day, 7 Poly Ramblers met at Herne Hill station to explore Brockwell Park and Brixton. We entered the park and followed the now invisible Effra River and the miniature railway, passing the Art Deco grade II listed Brockwell Lido and the ponds. We went in the JJ Sexby designed walled garden and walked up to the Tritton Tower Clock gifted to celebrated Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee, finally reaching Brockwell Hall. The hall is being refurbished and the café is shut – for hire if anybody is interested – so we could not go in to warm up. Continue reading BROCKWELL PARK WALK (HERNE HILL TO BRIXTON STATIONS) 12 FEBRUARY 2025 →

17 Poly Ramblers assembled outside Northwick Park Met line station, this cold February morning. There was a very weak hazy sun at the start, soon disappearing, and leaving a gloomy greyness for the rest of the day. The ramble takes us through the middle of Kingsbury where I lived from the age of 5 (1961) to 27 (1983) so there was much nostalgia for me. Continue reading CAPITAL RING: NORTHWICK PARK TO WEST HENDON. 1 FEBRUARY 2025 →

Twenty two Poly Ramblers assembled at Kings Langley station on the last Saturday in January on a sunny, dry day. It would have been 23 but one member boarded the wrong train and sped past the destination station. Although close to London this is not a station we use often for walks. We headed down a footpath and after crossing the River Gade and the Grand Union canal we entered Wayside Farm, which according to my walk description, houses one of Hertfordshire’s last dairy herds. We paused to visit the farm shop where a large sign informed us that there was no milk today. Continue reading KINGS LANGLEY CIRCULAR – 25 JANUARY 2025 →

On a bright cold Sunday morning, seventeen ramblers assembled at Manor House station for a pre-Xmas 5 mile walk through a part of London’s Northern Heights.

We first crossed Finsbury Park, a green Victorian-era haven, created on the remnants of old Hornsey Wood to offer the poor population of North London some breathing and recreation space. Leaving the park by a footbridge over the train tracks out of Kings Cross, we joined the Parkland Walk, created on the route of a disused railway closed to passengers in the 1950s. Declared a local nature reserve in the 1990s, it has become a crucial car-free corridor for both humans and animals. Much artwork adorns the structures en-route including the sculpture of a ghostly goat-man said to haunt the footpath.

Closed tunnels by Highgate station signal the end of this section of the path so we joined the adjacent road up to Highgate Wood to continue our journey. Unfortunately the wood was closed to the public because of the predicted high winds being a threat to safety. We continued on the road to Cranley Gardens where we rejoined the disused track bed for fine views over London and thence our lunch stop at a pub in Muswell Hill.

A few of our number left at this point whilst the remainder climbed up to Alexandra Palace for more fine views. These included many people in fancy dress taking a break from watching the World Darts Championship in the Palace! A downhill stroll then took us to the nearby station for our journey home.

Danny

Photos courtesy of Hilary