Capital Ring Walk – Day 1
Date: 6 December 2017
Walked From: Woolwich Foot Tunnel
Walked To: Crystal Palace Park
Distance: 18 miles
How do you follow up an iconic pilgrimage walk across Spain and a high altitude trek up to Everest Base Camp? By redoing a 79 mile circular walk around London’s parks and green spaces, obviously.
The Capital Ring spends much of its first 18 miles winding through a remarkable amount of woodland in southeast London. On a dry, early winter’s day, the woods are still clinging on to some of their autumn colour, the pathways carpeted in (perfectly brittle sounding) leaves.
It also passes some fine architecture – including Eltham Palace (above), which has its very own moat, and Beckenham Place, a lovely Georgian building in grounds with sweeping views in parkland that wouldn’t be out of place in the countryside.