The Top of Addington Hills

I have written a few blogs on the Addington Viewpoint and the lower section of wood near Oaks Road. This time I take a walk along the top of Addington Hills starting from the Coombe Lane tram stop.

Addington Hills is famous for its heathland but as the following notice board explains the heather is under threat so a continuing project is underway to protect the area by restoring paths to encourage walkers to remain on the paths and to prevent natural erosion of the underlying chalk.

the low lying sun made it difficult to photograph the board so I have provided some close ups below

The path from the tram stop to the top of Addington hills was rather muddy due to the recent rains but it was still navigable at the time of visiting by taking care.

path through the woods leading to the top of Addington Hills.

the Chinese restaurant at top of Addington Hills

Direction indicators, Selsdon Woods in the west and below, Spring Park in the east

I could not resist taking a diversion from the summit to visit the viewing platform at the end of the left hand path just passed the direction signs.

path to the viewing platform

A proliferation of cranes on the Croydon skyline to show the extent of the building of new flats in the town centre.

repairs are currently being made to the crack at the top of the Park Hill Water Tower

Wembley arch

Returning to the top of Addington Hills I walked east along the top path and came to a pseudo signpost featuring the characters and places from Winnie The Pooh by AA Milne.

At the bottom of the signpost some coloured stones!

I took the path around the side of the hills to observe the heather at the ridges and slopes limited to the slopes and ridges where it tolerates the conditions provided by the very dry and acidic soil.

Walking down the path I came across a different view of South London and the City than that afforded from the viewing platform.

The top of the sail of Shirley Windmill.

The Shirley Windmill was built by Richard Alwen in 1854 to replace the former post mill that was burnt down in October 1854.  Its quick rebuild suggests a windmill was moved from elsewhere, probably near Stratford. A date of 1740 on the beam is further evidence of a rebuild that cost £2,000. The windmill was struck by lightning twice, once in 1899 and again in April 1906 when it was saved by the local fire brigade. Further information on the windmill can be found on my blog on views of Croydon from Grangewood Park .

I saw this poem attached to a tree called “The Life that I have” by Leo Marks. Tragically his fiancée died in a plane crash in 1943. I found that SOE agent Violette Szabo had this as her code poem, before she was dropped into Occupied France in 1944. Sadly Voilette was captured and sent to a concentration camp. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross the first of only four women to be given the award.

End of the path leads to the busy Upper Shirley Road. It is advised to walk back to the summit of the hills rather than cross the road at this point as it is near a dangerous bend .