Going back to The Capital Ring Walk – (Part 2)

The other week we started the Capital Ring Walk from Woolwich to Falconwood, this week we returned to take on Section 2. Here’s what we found

The other week we told you about our first walk of the Capital Ring Walk, read it here, well this week we returned to do the next section Falconwood to Grove Park.

We took the train back, south of the river and exited the station at Falconwood and back to the cold air of the woods next to the Rochester Way Relief Road. and to the big sign pointing the start of Section 2. A short walk across the bridge and into Eltham Park South.

We soon lost the droning sound of the Relief Road and were engulfed in a lovely park, were posh dogs roamed and searched for golf balls from the adjacent course. We walked through and out, onto a picturesque road and onward.

Section two is shorter than part one and moves through a lot more residential streets.

We took a brief detour midway along the way to seek out coffee and some crystals which we posted about last week (Here).

At the end of North Park you cross into Tilt Yard Approach and a hint at what was around the corner. (Just mind the raised painted chevrons in the road they are a tilt hazard of their own, as Bob found out!)

Around the corner is Eltham Palace a gorgeous Medieval Palace that fell into disrepair until the 1920’s when the Coulthard Family bought it and modernised it to dramatic effect, making it the quintessential Art Deco interior.

We however weren’t here for this and may return someday to view the palace, as it was we only got to see the cleaning lady emptying the bins and locking the gate as we skirted the edge of the grounds and headed down King John’s Walk and toward a mass of stables and paddocks filled with grazing horses and ponies and we mean filled, there were dozens of equine beauties to say hello to and give a neck scratch to.

Eventually we walked on through proper countryside – avoiding the manure – and took a look at the views of the distant cityscape.

Then it was back into urban South London, over a railway bridge and turn right onto Mottingham Lane, the guide informs you that WC Grace lived here and the nearby Eltham College had a few students who went on to be ever so slightly famous, mostly the political activist Fenner Brockway (who? Yes exactly!)

But the most famous Eltham resident is Bob Hop the ‘American’ Comedian who was born and raised in Eltham and so you can find Bob Hope Lane and Hope Hope Theatre, in that way that places with no fame latch onto anyone or anything, kind of ‘Mozart once sat on this seat in this coffee shop, well not this actual seat, but one a bit like it and it wasn’t this coffee shop, but one with the same name, just 400 miles away!’

But we carried on past the unremarkable school and down to the end of the little country path and at the end of the path, next to The Quaggy River is the end of Section 2 and then you are left to figure out where Grove Park Station is.