London 2026: Part 2-Back on the Capital Ring

London has two long distance walking trails that encircle the city, choosing paths through parks and wild spaces when available.  The capital ring is a 75 mile circle that begins and ends in the east end, roughly staying within transport Zone 3.  We have completed 9 of 15 segments to date, and we came prepared to walk as many more as we were able.  We managed to walk two more segments, leaving four remaining.

Segment 10 of the Capital Ring leaves from South Kenton Station and travels to Hendon, 7.3 miles away.  We set out Monday morning, leaving from East Croydon Station and getting off at Clapham Junction.  Here we switched to London Overground, the Mildmay Line, changing again at Willesden Junction for the Lioness Overground Line to South Kenton.  There is a pub just as the walk commences, but it hadn't opened yet, so we set off.

 

We walked from west to east beginning at South Kenton Station, traveling through Preston Park and then on to Fryent Country Park.  The next map follows shortly. 

 

We cut straight across Preston Park, crossing the tracks at Preston Road Station, navigating streets until the vast Fryent Country Park was reached.  Just before the station we came across the Preston Pub, and we stopped for some refreshment.  We shared a half pint of Fullers ESB in this lovely establishment.  The beer was beautifully kept and we could have sat here all afternoon.  We prefer to drink cask ale in England, though the micro draft beer kick is in full swing.  Like home, IPAs and Pale Ales dominate this scene.  While we did drink draft at times, we stuck to casks whenever feasible.  Sadly, many cask ale pubs are not very adventurous in their selections, but a few offer outstanding choices.

 

A Capital Ring mileage sign indicates past goals achieved.  This trip would see us eventually reach Highgate Wood, with our ultimate goal being the Woolwich Foot Tunnel.

 

The Preston.

 

Deb exits the pub with a spring in her step. 

 

The weather for our first week in London was uncannily sunny and warm.  Some days we saw no clouds, and temps went into the 70s.  Upon reaching the main park for today's walk we were soon immersed in deep woods and open fields, with two sizable hills affording distant views of London and environs.  Barne Hill offered lovely woods and a pond, while Gotford Hill was mostly treeless with 360 degree views.  The bluebells were out in full force, as were flowering trees and shrubs, and flowers in general.

 

Fryent Park signage.  Dotted black line shows the Capital Ring route.

 

Bluebells (above), and Deb studying the trail guide.

 

Another Ring sign, this time giving distances to our future goals.

 

Barne Pond is at the summit of the hill.

 

London from Barne Hill shows the Shard, located at London Bridge Station.  We are out in Zone 3, an area where most tourists fear to tread. 

 

The Capital Ring continues eastward through Fryent Park.

 

Our walk was sometimes through quiet residential backstreets.  Electrical wires each lead to a separate house. 

 

The concluding section of our walk today, after exiting Fryent Park at upper left.  We detoured at one point to have a break at a garden center cafe.  We had soft drinks and split a large dish of mango ice.
 

After exiting the park we were back on residential streets.  However, the route took us past St. Andrews Church, Kingsbury.  Behind the church is a deeply wooded lot with a much older church, Biserica Ortodoxa.  This wood also held a cemetery of spellbinding magical properties, even in bright sunlight.  A visit here on a cloudy and dampish day is a must!

 

St. Andrews in the newer church of two in this location.

 

The much older church sits in the wooded cemetery behind St. Andrews. 

 

After a brief refreshment stop at a garden center with cafe, the walk continues now along the north shore of vast Brent Reservoir.  The walk is mostly under shady forest, but frequent paths lead down to the water.  After a fairly long spell the trail emerges in Hendon.  We followed the High Street to the station, not finding a pub or cafe to rest our weary bones.  We caught a train south to West Hampstead, a major rail interchange.  We had to transfer to the London Overground here for our journey homeward, but as we emerged from West Hampstead Station Deb spotted Buzz, a modern cafe with everything we needed: coffee!

 

A section of Brent Reservoir, as we neared the end of our first epic walk of the two week journey.

 

Local reservoir residents.

 

Hendon Station was a welcome sight after our warm and lengthy walk.

 

Thameslink trains were more than helpful to us during our two week stay.

 

Buzz Coffee, West Hampstead.  Just in time.

With my Train Sim game for PC I drive trains all over the UK in real time, and get to know certain areas quite well.  One of my favourite stations is Gospel Oak, where two Overground trains meet at a junction.  I wanted to visit the station in person, having walked through it many times virtually.  Nearby the station was a pub I was eager to visit, so we caught the train to Gospel Oak station, explored it a bit, then headed out to the Southampton Arms a short distance away.  It was time for some serious ale sipping.

 

Gospel Oak Station sits between two Overground lines.  Not far from here is a truly great pub.

 

A worthy goal for the London explorer who loves ales and ciders.

 

Ales, draft and cider are available at the pub.  We had a pleasant visit. 

We ordered three half pints, which come in adorable little mugs.  I am in search of mugs just like them.  We had stout from Elusive Brewing in Woking (delicious), Best Bitter from Holmstead (well above average) and Crafty semi-sweet cider, one of the best I've ever had.  The pub wasn't busy, though it wasn't yet after work time.  I could see trains passing from my seat, and all in all it was a most welcome visit.  We hope to return here for a longer stay next time.

 

We returned to Gospel Oak Station, caught the Mildmay line to Clapham Junction and then a fast train to East Croydon.  We were quite exhausted from our day, with well over 8 miles put in on feet that hadn't walked much more than 3 1/2 miles in well over a year and a half.  And today had seen some pretty big hills climbed.  So, once ensconced in our room (with a Subway sandwich to split), we never left till the next day.

 

to be continued...