This section of the Capital Ring, from Falconwood is really beautiful! Although I loved wandering through the woods in the previous section, this part is nice in a different way. Most of the walk follows the same route as the green chain walk, through parks and playing fields. Even the parts that go through residential streets have sooo many blossoming trees that it is a truly pretty walk.

Falconwood to Grove Park – the basics:

Distance: 6.6 km
Public transport: Falconwood rail station – Grove Park rail station
Best sights along the way: Eltham Palace and gorgeous views over London
Loos: We didn’t see any, but there must be some in Eltham Palace.

Falconwood to Grove Park Map

Capital Ring Section 2 – the route:

We walked this on the same day as the previous section of the Capital Ring (from Woolwich to Falconwood) and it wasn’t too long at all. We stopped and had lunch in Eltham Park South, and then kept walking along the edge of the sports ground and Avery Hill Park. You’ll pop in and out of parks and into south London’s suburbia the whole way along this section.

The route goes past Eltham Palace, which looks like it might be a gorgeous place to visit. However when we were there it looked like they were having some sort of wedding fair, so we avoided the crowds and kept going. It seemed like a nice place to explore if you have time.

After the palace you can wander along King Johns walk. This used to be the route from the palace to the royal hunting grounds. Now it feels like a pleasant country lane, with some good views into central London. We spotted a farm with a riding school, as well as quite a few friendly ponies and donkeys. I love meeting all the farm animals as you wander past their fences!

The last part follows a path along Quaggy river to get to Gove park and the station there.

Falconwood to Grove Park – Highlights

– Once we walked this route backwards in spring time and there are sooo many blossom filled streets. South London can be stunning.
– There is a bit of a (not steep) climb which gives you a chance to look down into the city, the shard and the rest of London!
– Part of the path is a bridle way, so you might get to see horses. We saw several horses in the fields, but none of the path. We also got to meet some pretty cheeky-looking donkeys.

I can’t think of many downsides for this section. It is a really pleasant walk, not too hard and pretty well sign posted. You might find it too easy…but you can combine it with one of the sections either side to make it a little longer.

We found that there were not many trains into Grove park at the weekend, so you might have to wait a while to get back into central London.

The map for this section of the Capital Ring is here and you can find the whole map here: You can find links to the next sections of the Capital ring here.