A Dulwich Stroll

The West Route

The west version of the Dulwich Stroll is more rural, with few shops or eateries. It is accessible from central London by taking a train from Victoria to West Dulwich station, a twelve minute journey leaving Victoria at 8 and 38 minutes past the hour, usually from platforms 1 - 8. The walk will take about 15 minutes to the Gallery, another half hour if you see the park or walk up to Dulwich College.

1. Come out of West Dulwich Station, and turn right under the rail bridge. Cross the busy road and go into the entrance shown here, a cool green tranquility that contrasts with the grime of London and the noise of the roads. There are tennis courts on your right, and when you come to the end, bear right, heading over to a thicket of trees.

2. As you come into the trees, there is a small lake and a bench. Ducks sense your presence and swim over. You begin to regret that you didn't bring some stale bread to satisfy their raging hunger.

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3. Across a long lawn you see a beautiful Georgian house on the hill. This is Belair house, built in 1785, which is now a restaurant. If you are lucky enough to have a lot of money, and it is lunchtime, you might be able to enjoy the feeling of being an 18th century Lord of the Manor!

4. The restaurant is very fancy, a nice menu with the new British favourites that replace the old Fish & Chips and a pint of Old Mild: now we prefer Wilted Rocket Salad and Sweetbread Terrine.

5. Go out past Belair House, bearing left through the car park, and turn left on Gallery Road. Take a last look back at this splendid house, and forward to the rural, green lane.

6. A couple of hundred metres down Gallery Road, turn down a small path on the right, with a kissing gate at the entrance. The purpose of the gate is to allow humans but not cattle to pass through. The name of the gate comes from an old custom that when lovers come to the gate, one goes through first, then the other is only allowed through in exchange for a kiss.

8. Here are some houses that brighten our walk, make us imagine that one day we could live somewhere as beautiful as this with the people that we love.

9. This is a remnant of the bad old days, when even the fire service was a private enterprise. Each insurance company would put out fires for its own customers only, ignoring other fires. A plaque like this would indicate with whom the house is insured.

10. Bell House is another majestic home, secluded with a semicircular drive. Originally it was set in the midst of fields, and now it is an island amongst the traffic turbulence of the South Circular Road.

11. Cross the busy road -- you will need to take a slight detour to do this due to traffic volume -- then continue up College Road. On the left is a pond, another opportunity for feeding the ducks and thinking about how the world works. Alleyn built a mill on the site of Dulwich College, across the road, and this pond to supplied water to it.

12. On your right is one of the schools founded by Alleyn in 1619, Dulwich College. Its red brick and white decoration reminds us of the icing on a cake, and these main buildings, designed by Charles Barry, date from the height of Victorian gothic. At that time, the College had a lot of spare cash from selling land to the railways. Famous alumni include the author P. G. Wodehouse and the explorer Earnest Shackleton.

13. As we go further, the views open up. The playing fields of England are on each side, with the boys playing rugby and learning how to fight for and administer the distant Empire.