Sometimes you just want to go for a nice walk, nothing too taxing, plenty of variety, bikes, horse manure, arterial road, sports ground, signs of autumn, wet dogs, sunshine and shade, a bit of a stroll, won't take long. So here's a walk in southwest London that crosses four different boroughs in just half a mile, nowhere near enough to make a day of it but a nice walk all the same.
Richmond upon Thames
The walk starts on the southeast edge of Richmond Park (for which I apologise because there's no station within two miles [aspreviouslyblogged]). Specifically we're just inside the Robin Hood Gate by the car park, not that there are many cars because through traffic was banned a few years ago and now it's mostly bikes. I counted upwards of 50 bikes in one minute, that's how busy the perimeter road is at the weekend, so very much a helmeted domain. I have however never previously seen a sign saying 'Cyclists Caution Roundabout may be slippery', indeed you'd think they'd just de-slip the surface rather than leaving the cobbly disc in situ. Also there's a bus stop here for free-to-ride route RP1 [as previously blogged, obviously], which might be a good way to get here if it's Monday, Wednesday or Friday.
What a lot of signs there are here, also 'Watch Your Speed', also 'Raised Pedestrian Crossing', also 'Road Closed Cyclists and Permit Holders Only', also 'Richmond Park National Nature Reserve', also 'Capital Ring' [as previously blogged]. I learned from further signs that you mustn't take dogs or bikes into the public toilets, also which telephone numbers to ring if you get trapped in the park after hours, also that you shouldn't pick the park's chestnuts. Almost as common as cyclists on a weekend morning are the joggers, some brazenly topless, most clutching bottles, perhaps running a full circuit of the Tamsin Trail [as previously blogged]. Likely no deer will be visible here, it is a bit peripheral, but if deer do give you the willies then perhaps come back in August which is the sole summer month not beset by birthing or rutting.
Obviously Richmond Park is a much better place for a walk than where we're going, as frequently proven [and aspreviously blogged]. But to cover four boroughs in fifteen minutes we need to leave the park here by passing Robin Hood Lodge towards the Robin Hood Gate. The legendary Sherwood hero obviously never visited Richmond, merely used to have a local pub named after him, itself thought to be named after festivities Henry VIII once enjoyed locally. The water fountain by the toilets is your last chance for refreshment on this walk, also the bowl underneath may prove invaluable for any canine companions. And if you're wondering why the path now smells of manure, you can find out why by stepping through the gate and entering...
Kingston upon Thames
Ah look it's Stag Lodge Stables, an Approved Livery Establishment, which according to a sign outside has been on this site since 'circa 1790'. Horses are in and out of here all the time, hence the mounting blocks just inside the entrance and the Saturday girl shovelling poo with a broom. It also explains the lady in thigh high leather boots carrying a whip striding off towards to the car park. The presence of so many horses is also the reason for the rare pegasuscrossing at the Robin Hood Roundabout on the A3. These are found only on bridleways and have amusingly high pushbuttons, ideal for reaching on horseback, also they light up with a green horse not a green man when it's safe to cross [as somehow never blogged].
Alongside is a toucan crossing for pedestrians and bikes (two can cross, geddit?) which funnels into a completely separate mid-roundabout corral. Having watched for a while, un-horsed crossers appear to use whichever side of the divide they prefer. You might be waiting for a while as a stream of traffic flows by (hatchbacks, lorries, learners, 4×4s, open-top MGs, the K3, whatever...) in which case why not peruse the Capital Ring signpost (only 14 miles to Crystal Palace Park, only 31 miles to the Woolwich Foot Tunnel). Tucked away to one side is a mysterious hatch which covers the longstanding Kingston Vale sewage pumping station, site of much recent drainage works so best not explored further. And once you are finally across the road it's time to step onto the northwestern tip of Wimbledon Common [as previouslyblogged]. It's not clear why an additional pegasus pushbutton has been installed some way from the crossing.
Ahead a dry gravel path crosses a part-parched expanse. A lone sign cautions 'No fire No barbecuing', which is always good advice but especially at present. The grass is currently scattered with vetch and occasional feathers, also strange earthen grooves, also that fluff that dandelions leave behind. These are the Richardson Evans Memorial Playing Fields, and if you're here on a Saturday morning and step through the hedge you can watch the SW19 Swifts practising flyball, a sport I confess I'd never heard of before.
Alas this walk heads left towards the river, not right into the thick of canine hijinks, but if you've always wanted to have more fun with your lively dog then bear the Swifts in mind. Instead I watched two terriers splashing in the Beverley Brook, one incredibly reticent, as I crossed the footbridge into...
Wandsworth
We're still in the Richardson Evans Memorial Playing Fields which now spread flat and green to the horizon. It seems premature to see rugby posts in situ already, given at least a dozen goalposts were carted off to the sidelines before the summer. The clubhouse to the left is home to the Thames Hare and Hounds, the world's first cross-country running club, formed in 1868 when members of the Thames Rowing Club wanted something athletic to do in the winter. They still run lots of races around Wimbledon Common including a regular 5-miler on the second Sunday of the month, perhaps the ideal challenge if Saturday's Parkrun hasn't wiped you out. Our walk continues at a more sedate pace along a dusty river-adjacent track overshadowed by oaks, plus we're only doing half a mile and we're nearly done.
Thick woodland cover signals the edge of Wimbledon Common proper, also a noticeboard pointing out that stag beetles are brilliant and oak processionary moths are bad. The recently renovated footbridge goes by the impractical name of the Brasher-Chataway-Bannister Bridge, a tribute to three extremely famous TH&H runners, but don't cross because it leads back into Kingston and we've been there. If you're the dogowner who left a tied-up bag of poo on a post here, shame on you. The shallow dip of the Beverley Brook proves magnetic for many a passing dog, leaping down to splash with new found friends or barking their approval from the rooty bank. But you must never bring more than four four-legged friends onto the common at a time, hence a slew of notices broadcasting this important news on all approaches. Keep your eyes peeled and you may spot the boundary stone that marks the switch into...
Merton
There it is, a parish marker dated 1861 set back a few feet from the river. But that photo's from a previous visit in spring 2022, not summer 2026, because even though I've spotted the stone several times before I couldn't see it this time. I walked back and forth several times checking on my phone precisely where the borough boundary was, even poking through the undergrowth in case it'd got covered over, but to no avail. Either the stone's been damaged or it was underneath the brambles because I can't believe I'd have missed it otherwise, given how ridiculously long a time I spent looking. By the way those brambles are already sporting their first few ripe blackberries, not yet many but a portent that autumn is hurtling through this heatwave to meet us headlong.
On the Merton side of the boundary I met a tiny whippet and a shaky spaniel, rapidly drying off, also a father and son doing some extraordinarily coordinated exercises while sat on Peta Martin's bench. Several more joggers passed, many wearing t-shirts celebrating longer runs than they were doing today bought for an event that wasn't here. A thick stick floated slowly downstream towards Wandsworth because river levels aren't yet critical on the Beverley Brook, also the pink flowers of Himalayan balsam are becoming ever more intrusive on the riverbanks. There's no point continuing further because that's now four boroughs ticked off, a relatively rare achievement over such a short distance. Also don't expect any convenient public transport to whisk you away from this side of the common, it's a hike out whichever way you head, but as short nice walks go that packed a heck of a lot in.
