Anna Sayburn and Phil Lane walk from Sydenham Hill to Big Ben.
There’s a spot in Sydenham Hill woods from where (on a clear day) you can see the Houses of Parliament. The view is tantalisingly green, with woodland and playing fields giving the impression that you could walk through countryside right up to the south bank of the Thames.
Dulwich College looms grandly, like a big country estate. Further afield, the chimneys of Battersea Power Station are shrouded in a kind, misty distance. Inspired by this rural view, Phil and I took off one crisp Saturday morning, camera and compass in hand, to walk to Westminster. No map, obviously. We’re Londoners, for heaven’s sake.
The first bit was easy, and the rural illusion persisted as we rambled down Grange Lane between allotments and golf course, towards the toll gate. Then along College Road with its white chain-link fences, past the college and the picture gallery. No time to stop for my usual cappuccino at the café – we were on a mission.
At the north end of Dulwich Village, we paused to take a compass reading, then plunged onwards through quiet suburban streets, emerging onto Denmark Hill. From the top, by the Fox on the Hill pub, you can spy the London Eye and the Post Office Tower. We were going the right way.
The rural illusion disappeared altogether as buses, lorries and ambulances thundered down the hill, past Kings College Hospital. Camberwell awaited us – not a part of London I’m very familiar with.
Camberwell Green has very little in common with its near namesake from children’s television. Unless I missed the episode of Camberwick Green where Windy Miller joined the all-day drinkers on the green, swigging from bottles wrapped in plastic bags.
Camberwell Road and Walworth Road continued in lively fashion with street markets and crowds, up to the Elephant and Castle. This particularly unlovely road junction presented its own challenges. We dithered about in the underpass, trying to decide which of the many exits might disgorge us in the direction of Westminster. From the surface, we could now see St Stephen’s Tower, which stands at the opposite end of the Houses of Parliament to Big Ben. We could see it – but could we reach it?
Looking at the map later, I see we could have avoided the Elephant altogether, with a judicious left off Walworth Road. But eventually we emerged onto St George’s Road, which took us past the Imperial War Museum, where children frolicked on the grass and played on the enormous, terrifying cannon. Ah, the joys of military hardware.
Following our noses, we completely failed to take the direct route down Westminster Bridge Road (yes, the clue’s in the name) and somehow found ourselves in a quiet park behind St Thomas’ Hospital.
St Thomas’, I knew, was directly across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament. At a reception on the Parliamentary terrace, overlooking the river, an MP once told me that Tommies erected its huge, river-facing sign after an MP in a committee meeting discussing the future of London’s hospitals politely asked a visiting doctor, ‘So where exactly is St Thomas’ Hospital?’. Speechless, the doctor pointed out of the window.
We were nearly there. We crossed the park and came out round the front of Tommies. We joined the crowds of tourists inching their way across the bridge, stopping every 5 seconds to take photographs or buy bags of caramelised nuts, which now seem to be the staple diet at tourist traps. We synchronised our watches with Big Ben. The walk had taken 2 hours 20 minutes.
Famished, we soon polished off fish and chips with a pint of Badger at St Stephen’s Tavern on Bridge Street, a Grade 2 listed building and a little gem. Then we limped down to Victoria Station for the 15-minute train ride home.
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