Door to door in SE23

Unbelievably (at least for me), the last time I posted about an actual walk, the supposed theme of this blog, was April 2nd. How embarrassing!

Interestingly, and spookily appropriate, the next walk I went on (WAY back on the 18th of March) was to distribute newsletters for the Forest Hill Society (hence the door-to-door bit). I have recently been asked, and readily agreed, to help out with some Forest Hill Society stuff so you will see my name pop up there from time to time too. This has included doing the layout of the next newsletter which I will be distributing in the next few days. If you want a copy, let me know.

So, March 18th. It was bright day. I remember because I was still suffering from a chest infection but it looked so nice I thought I wouldn't need extra insulation and only took a light jumper. That was a mistake!

My route took me from the top of Dacres Road, across Inglemere to Mayow Road then down to the very end of Perry Rise then across to Houston, Garlies and Allenby Roads. I thought I'd be an hour. It took me three. Thanks to the marvels of Google Maps, you can now take a look at the route here.

Several things stood out on the way. At the top of Dacres Road, at numbers 101 and 103 Perry Vale, is a mystery house. It has a plaque that indicates a date of 1797. The house cannot be that old (see discussion here) so it is a bit of a mystery why. The house is in need of some TLC and I see it is currently up for auction so you never know (as long as it isn't "redeveloped" by being knocked down).

The route took me past several new developments for schools in the area which is a very positive sign. The Forest Hill School Sports Centre looks quite grand and well provisioned. They are also redeveloping the main building and it certainly looks an impressive size.

After getting a little lost trying to find all the addresses for the members of the FHS (I think I got most of you) I emerged by the Prince of Wales pub - somewhere I probably need to try at some stage. The standout building in this area has to be the old Fire Station and the afternoon sun made it even more impressive with its shadows. It is a shame it isn't used for more than some basic Council offices (I believe the majority of the building is empty). Does anyone know why more isn't made of this landmark?


From here I walked a loop along Allenby Road (impressive frontages), down Houston (all the way to the very end!) and back along Garlies Road. There are some lovely houses along here. Certainly some of the biggest detached houses I have come across in the area. Unfortunately the light was not cooperating and I didn't get photos to do the road justice.

The newsletters were delivered by this point, but I took one little detour before returning home. I have walked many of the roads around here now and wanted to "fill-in" those I have missed so I headed up Pearfield Road. This is another quiet and attractive tree lined street which is a dead-end for cars and therefore quiet (bliss!). However, at the end I noticed a footpath which I followed to find the Forest Hill Bowls Club. Unlike some of the others in the area this looks still in use but is hidden away back here.

At this point I was rather tired and cold and the sun was about as low in the sky as it can be (as measured by the length of my shadow).

My next round of deliveries is already due (which means, as a quarterly newsletter, it has taken me a shameful 3 months to write this walk up) and I hear there are some great houses on this one too. Maybe one of yours?