South Norwood Country Park is tucked in a corner by Elmers End, surrounded by various residential streets near Birkbeck and Addiscombe. It once straddled the Surrey-Kent border, but the area is now safely in South London, miles from any crossing points. It's also entirely in Croydon, even if one might assume it ought to be part-Bromley as well, but it appears the old border no longer runs through the park. Croydon are proud of the park - they have a wood-carved sign proclaiming it's theirs. But enough on borders.
It used to be part of the Great North Wood, a massive forest which covered large swathes of South London, stretching from Streatham in the west to here. Since then, it has been the site of a mote (which I didn't see on my journey and according to Wikipedia is hard to spot anyways) and a sewage site, but is now thankfully a large open space for anyone to come and have a lovely time. I first found the place when looking at a map of the area, and I noticed the large green rectangle - I knew I'd have to go after seeing it, it was sure to be wonderful.
I came on a pleasant, overcast day, the sun piercing through the clouds in many of my photos. I started my walk at Arena tram stop, which lies exactly at the southern tip of the park. It's only a few minutes from here that you'll get to the arena promised, specifically Croydon Arena (where I once attended my school's sports day), as well as Croydon FC's home stadium. I don't have photos for either, instead I opted to proceed up a hill and into the park, passing by dogwalkers and playing children along the way.
The aforementioned sign makes it clear that this is a local nature reserve, and you can tell because many of the footpaths merely follow the routes others have taken, leading up to hills and generally not refined. Not that it's a problem, of course. But it's a pleasant nature reserve, one you could easily lose lots of time in walking around and taking in the views of countless trees and shrubs, along with the occasional puddle. Birdsong filled the air and unsurprisingly for a Saturday morning, dogwalkers were aplenty. In a way, the park reminded me of Wandle Meadow Nature Park; a large plot of land not necessarily to entertain but rather to relax.
I followed the eastern half of the park, loosely following the tram line running down to Elmers End. However, I could have veered northward, towards Harrington Road, such is the size of the park. The main reason why I headed east was to find Chaffinch Brook, which I mentioned last week in my post on Kelsey Park is one branch of the Pool River.
Chaffinch Brook itself is composed of various branches of its own, and the part I visited was itself composed of two tributaries. As I approached the site, I noticed a series of dykes which seemed dry when I peered over. Eventually, though, the river peered through the ground, and I'd have continued along the length of the bank should the following footpath not been so muddy. Instead, I returned back along where I walked and have these photos to share. In the distance, the two main transmission towers in South London - Crystal Palace and Croydon - can be spotted, even if they come off as two thin needles.
Eventually I caught up with the river as I neared the end of the park, as well as the Bromley border. If one was to name an attraction in the park, the pond might come up, and deservedly so. It's populated by countless ducks, with a peaceful backdrop of trees and bird calling. A sinking sign from the council says dogs aren't to be in the water, and an information board tells you not to feed the ducks bread. After a few minutes watching the pond, I walked off. Initially I thought about going to another viewpoint, but mud made me change my mind. And that was that - an end to my rather pleasant walk through another South London park, and I finally managed to cross the Croydon-Bromley border shortly after.
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