The Beverley Brook walk in London takes you through the woodland of Wimbledon Common, along the boundary of Richmond Park and Barns Common before finishing at the River Thames in Putney.
According to everything I read online, the walk itself is 6.5 miles. Well, my tracker told me 8 miles. So either I went a bit wrong, or they are all wrong. I’m gonna go with the latter 😉
What is the Beverley Brook walk like?
Rather pretty actually.
A bit of golf course, lovely woodland (and possibly lots of mud), open fields, adorable homes, the River Thames (and maybe some rowers) and most importantly the Beverley Brook – which I have since learnt is not a river. It just looks like one.
Also 2 major road crossings. These are unavoidable, but let’s ignore them for the moment.
Why is it called the Beverley Brook walk?
This walk is named after the Beverley Brook, which is a brook, not a river. The walk basically follows it. There are times where it isn’t in view, but it is there most of the time. You will be following it right up until it reaches the River Thames.
The Beverley Brook ‘river’ actually starts slightly further south at Worcester Park. It’s right by the station, so if you would like to make the walk a little longer you could start down there. It will add maybe a couple of miles to the walk.
Logistics for the Beverley Brook walk
- Start: New Malden Station
- Finish: Putney (and then a short walk to Putney Station)
- How to get there: Direct trains run from London Waterloo and Clapham junction. Journey time is 22min and 13min respectively.
- Distance: 8 miles from New Malden station to Putney.
- Time: 3 hours at a slow pace (I took lots of photos along the way. Plus was having a bit of a crisis so was stopping to use my phone a lot).
- Terrain: A surprising amount of mud (in winter anyway). Dirt trail. Walking trail. Pavement.
- Time of year: I did this during late winter/early spring
- Tips: For the love of god, wear some sort of hiking shoe. That mud.
Map for the Beverley Brook walk
(click on the little box in the right corner to open in your google maps)
More ideas for walks nearby, or similar walks, will be at the end
A Guide To The Beverley Brook Walk
Out of the station, get yourself onto the main road and take a right, then a couple of blocks along, take another right onto Cambridge Avenue. From here it’s one straight line taking you through a residential area, and then a green bit until you hit the first major road.
Never fear, the big road is easy to cross. To the right you should see some steps taking you down and under the road to the other side.
Follow the signs
On the other side, head south and you should soon see these signs for the Beverly Brook walk.
Follow it, taking a sharp left along a narrow pathway behind some houses.
Continue following the road as it curves to the right, then at the junction you should see the Beverley Brook signage again.
Follow the signage to the left, then at some point cross over the road so that you can take the second turning on the right onto Beverley avenue.
At the end you should find another Beverley Brook walk signage.
Congratulations. You have now completed the tedious bit. From this point on, until you exit Richmond Park, it’s all green (except one bit. We will get to the later).
The mud
It was at this point, just before taking a left down the footpath, that I passed an elderly women who warned me about the mud. I thanked her, meanwhile thinking about how she doesn’t know how experienced I am with mud. No mud can faze me….
Then I saw the mud. Oh boy, was she right. What I didn’t realise at the time, was that this was just warming me up for what was to come.
Once past the mud trail (or maybe it’s not muddy all the time, if you do this walk in summer let me know), you take a sharp right, keep the fence to your right. This turning is not signposted.
Beverley Meads Recreation Ground and Wimbledon Commons
Continue along the trail as it takes you to some playing fields. There may be sports matches going on, but it’s ok to walk here, just make sure you keep to the left of the fields.
At the other end you will reach the woods.
The woods and Beverley Brook
Getting into the woods I found a bit tricky, what with the entrance being blocked with a giant mud puddle.
After dancing around a bit, I did make it inside the woods and then (wrongfully) decided I was now safe.
From here you take the dirt trail keeping the Beverley Brook to your left.
The dirt trail was dry which is what tricked me into thinking the rest of the walk would be easy.
Then this happened….
This was the beginning of what would be a long stretch of deep mud with no other way around. This is also where I lost the battle of keeping my feet dry and clean….I was wearing little white shoes.
I know.
Once out of mud land, you continue with the river to your left, following the Capital ring signs, until you reach the crossing.
If you are following my map, you will see an extra red line where I missed this turn….I missed it so you don’t have to 😉
You will pass some signs for the capital ring along the way. Follow these signs to take you over the next major road.
Richmond Park
After the big road you will reach Richmond Park. Look out for this little signpost with the red reindeer (it’s the top circle). The red reindeer guides you for the Beverley Brook walk.
I had read about the red reindeer signage before doing this walk. Although, I have to say, there weren’t actually that many of them. I certainly wouldn’t rely on them to guide you. That said, the next bit is super easy to navigate.
Beverley Brook ‘river’
If you follow this path, it will take you back to the Beverley Brook ‘river’. Don’t cross the river, but instead, walk with it to your right.
Then that’s it. You follow the brook until you reach a bridge crossing right, on the other side of the park.
This was my second favourite part of the Beverley Brook Walk. No mud. Open space. A cute river. A cloudy moody day. Crisp air. No mud.
Once you reach the bridge, cross over it. Then continue with the road to your left to reach Roehampton Gate where you exit the park.
Leaving Richmond Park
After leaving Richmond Park there is a bit of navigation required for the rest of the walk.
Once past the gate, take a sharp left along the trail running alongside the park.
At the first trail junction, take a right alongside Palewell common and fields. Follow this trail as it bears around to the left, and then to the right until you reach the road. You will pass some allotments along the way.
At the road (Hertford Avenue), take a right, and follow it until you reach a main road. At the main road you go right.
For the next little bit, if you follow my map, the route takes you off the main road briefly before returning to the main road. If you get confused you can just stick to the main road for ease.
Make sure though, that when you reach Vine road on the left, take it.
Railway tracks
A bit further along the road you should pass over a couple of railway tracks. If you have made it here, you have gone the right way.
After the tracks you should find yourself on a lovely little road enclosed by trees and houses to the left.
Reaching Barns Green
Now, I have to admit. I am writing this blog post 3 months after I did it. This next little bit to reach the green, I can’t really remember. I am having a look at my map and I seem to do a road or path switch.
My advice is to use my map to guide you. If you can’t use my map, then simply walk along Vine road, take a left onto Station road, and follow this until you reach a path/trail on the right. This will join you to the next bit.
The Beverley Brook again
Now the next little bit was my favourite part of the walk. You will notice there are two trails. Take the dirt trail to the left so you are right alongside the brook again.
Welcome to the land of cuteness
After having passed through Wimbledon common and Richmond park, I figured I was done with the main part of the walk and would be making my way along roads with some token green areas until I reached the river Thames.
Then I arrived here.
I felt like I was way out in a countryside village. A quiet river, with overgrown shrubbery. Houses with their backyards backed onto the brook.
The cuteness was only brief though, as the trail soon leads you back to mud land. Remember, my shoes at this point were already dirty and wet so this made no difference. Actually I lie. I still had to dance around it because it’s that kind of mud that sucks your shoe off your foot.
This mud land is only short, and the trail will soon lead you to a lovely civilised dry path.
The cemetery
Once you reach a main road, there will be signage. Follow this, then once you see the cemetery, walk through it.
Yes, I was confused here. I wondered If I had gone the wrong way, but no. You do walk through a cemetery.
Through the cemetery, you should see a red reindeer signage again. Remember, that signage that is supposed to guide you along the Beverley Brook Walk. I had actually forgotten about these, there are so few of them around.
Anyway, when you reach this bridge, cross over it.
Reaching the River Thames and Putney
The home stretch.
After crossing the bridge, take a right and follow the trail right to the end where the Beverley Brook River meets the River Thames.
If you have been following the walk as you read this, then well done. The walk is complete.
To reach Putney station from here, you take a right and walk along the river Thames.
I have to say, walking along here and past the rowing clubs I got a sence of deja vu. I realised I have been here before.
Funny, I actually don’t live far from here although I never walk this way. The deja vu I felt was from over a decade ago. Back at uni I signed up for rowing. This is where we came to row.
Mind you, I didn’t last long at rowing. It was those early starts with a hangover combined with getting wet from Thames water which saw my swift exit from the rowing club.
Final thoughts
My final thoughts today aren’t from the Beverley Brook walk (I already gave you my thoughts at the beginning).
Although I knew I lived right next to Putney, it never really registered how close. Upon reaching the river I could actually see in the distance where I live.
I decided in that moment that I would walk this way more often.
In fact, not long after this, we went into lockdown. With one daily walk allowance, I ventured over to Putney a few times. It took me a few years of living here, but it wasn’t until we were locked down that I really started to explore it.
Other walks in the area
Richmond Park is full of walking trails. You could simply just turn up and wander around. If you would like something guided though, I have written about the Tamsin Trail. It is a circular loop that takes you around the Richmond Park boundary.
Richmond to Hampton Court along the Thames Path is pretty good. Actually, it’s gorgeous. If you go via Bushy Park, it’s about 9 miles in length. Bushy Park is another deer park here in London.
Richmond to Putney along the Thames Path has lots of greenery like the Richmond to Hampton Court walk. It’s also about 9 miles long, but there are options to shorten it along the route.
If you would like to explore the Thames Path more, you can read my guide on walks along the River Thames here.
Pin it for later: A guide to the Beverley Brook walk
4 comments
I did this walk in the summer last year. There was no mud but we did go through some adventurous bits and it was a lot longer than expected. Thankfully our house was en route and I could drop off my daughter who couldn’t possible keep going. Also I followed a trail from the AllTrails app and it unnecessarily walks away from the brook at a few places, but as a knew the area I could find a better way. It’s such a beautiful walk.
Oh that’s lucky your house was en route, iv done that before when doing walks near my place, I will stop off for a toilet break then keep going haha. That’s good that you knew a better way! Knowing the area you are walking always helps with things like this.
Hi – thanks for sharing this. I’ve done this walk once, and I’m planning to do it again next week, so I’m hoping that the awful mud that you had to struggle through/past won’t be a problem at this time of year. One point – maybe a bit pedantic – but Beverley Brook is a brook, not a river. It’s too small to be a river (though I have no idea what the rules are for that), and it certainly can’t be both a brook and a river.
oooh, I didn’t know that! thank you so much for the info. I will update it