parklandheritage

Wimbledon Common & the Village

The windmill, the common that goes on longer than expected, and the high street that survived.

Distance

5 km

Time

~ 90 min

Start

Wimbledon

End

Wimbledon

Best at

morning

Right now

28°C· Clear

12 nearby transit lines disrupted — Waterloo & City, District.

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

Wimbledon Common is 1,100 acres of heath, woodland, and pond — one of the largest areas of wild land in London, and one of the most surprising. Most visitors come for the tennis fortnight and leave from the All England Club car park without seeing any of it.

The Village at the top of the hill has survived gentrification in a form that still works: real restaurants, a farmers' market, pubs with fires in winter. The windmill in the centre of the common is the visual anchor, and Cannizaro Park at the common's edge has a walled garden and a lake that most Londoners have never seen.

The route

On the map.

A soft dashed line, numbered stops. It’s a suggestion, not a turn-by-turn.

Elevation

↑ 71 m·↓ 56 m·22–59 m ASL

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

01
1
Wimbledon station
Come out the top exit and head up the hill. The distinction between 'the Village' and 'the Town' at the bottom is twenty years of house prices.
01
Wimbledon station
Come out the top exit and head up the hill. The distinction between 'the Village' and 'the Town' at the bottom is twenty years of house prices.
02
2
Wimbledon Village
The high street at the top of the hill. Good independent restaurants and cafés; the Dog & Fox is the reliable pub.
02
Wimbledon Village
The high street at the top of the hill. Good independent restaurants and cafés; the Dog & Fox is the reliable pub.
03
3
Wimbledon Common Windmill
A hollow post mill dating from 1817, converted into cottages after milling stopped. Walk around it; the view from the top of the hill is south toward the North Downs.
03
Wimbledon Common Windmill
A hollow post mill dating from 1817, converted into cottages after milling stopped. Walk around it; the view from the top of the hill is south toward the North Downs.
04
4
Caesar's Well
A spring inside the common, supposedly used by Julius Caesar's army in 54 BC. Take this with historical caution; it's still a pleasant ten-minute detour.
04
Caesar's Well
A spring inside the common, supposedly used by Julius Caesar's army in 54 BC. Take this with historical caution; it's still a pleasant ten-minute detour.
05
5
Cannizaro Park
A walled garden adjacent to the common, with a lake, formal planting, and an ice house in the grounds. Free. Open daily.
05
Cannizaro Park
A walled garden adjacent to the common, with a lake, formal planting, and an ice house in the grounds. Free. Open daily.

Wimbledon Common & the Village

On the map.

Things to notice.

Wimbledon station

Wimbledon station

Wimbledon Village

Wimbledon Village

Wimbledon Common Windmill

Wimbledon Common Windmill

Caesar's Well

Caesar's Well

Cannizaro Park

Cannizaro Park

Two more, on similar days.

Clapham Common & Abbeville Village

Barnes: the wetlands, the village, the towpath