Despite the weather forecast of no sunshine and intermittent rain, an impressive turnout of twenty-four members and three guests assembled at Wimbledon Park station for a 4.5 mile walk across Putney Heath and Wimbledon Common.

A stroll along a suburban street took us to the gates of the nearby park. It is a recreational green space that sprawls across sixty-seven acres. Passing a children’s playground and numerous tennis courts, we reached a large lake with much wildlife. Zig-zagging past an athletics track took us out of the park and onto a road with a distant view of the home of lawn tennis. Turning off beforehand, we climbed up a side road until we found ourselves at an entrance to Putney Heath. Highwaymen once prowled here and duels were fought but we only saw locals enjoying the attractive woodlands.

Soon we spotted the windmill dating from 1817 on the adjacent Wimbledon Common. We stopped for refreshment at the tearoom below its four sails whilst fortunately avoiding a sudden rain shower. We then set off down a straight path with little mud to the south-east corner of the Common and the start of Wimbledon Village. Here we passed through a small bustling market and past many expensive looking shops before heading down the hill to finish the walk in the vicinity of Wimbledon station.

The adjacent Alexandra pub provided ten of our number with a pleasant hour or so of excellent refreshment and good conversation before heading home.      

Danny
Photos courtesy of Chris