Croydon

Wandle Park, in the London Borough of Croydon is the place where the River Wandle is first visible in an open channel. The river’s source is rainfall filtered through the chalk of the North Downs, which emerges as a series of springs.

Most of the Croydon section of the river runs along man-made culverts on its journey towards the Thames, joined by tributaries such as the Norbury Brook, which also rises in Croydon.

The Wandle Trail, for cyclists and walkers, has its southern end near East Croydon Station. As well as Wandle Park, Waddon Ponds, with its ornamental garden can be visited along the way.

The Wandle Valley Regional Park also includes some outlying green spaces in the borough of Croydon, such as Duppas Hill, an ancient park where jousting was said to take place in medieval times, and Croydon Cemetery. Here, many Commonwealth servicemen from the two world wars, most of them locals, are buried or remembered on a memorial.