The London Loop is a walking route of 150 miles length around the outer boundaries of London split into 24 sections. See tfl.gov.uk /modes/walking/loop-walk for more details. Inner London Ramblers now produces updated guides to the walk.
I last walked this section in May 2019. At 3.5 miles it is one of the shorter sections of the Loop but quite enjoyable although there is quite a lot of estate road walking.
I started at Banstead station, arriving there around 11am then through a short section of woodland towards Banstead golf course.
This is the start of section 7 at a remote marker post inside the woodland which I had found easy to miss on my previous visits. The route continues through the woodland adjacent to the golf course emerging on it eventually.
After leaving the golf course there is now a lengthy section of estate roads starting with Sandy Lane where the tree surgeons are out felling a tree. Pleasant area but not countryside.
The large St Paul's church is reached after a mile and the busy A232 Cheam Road is crossed.
The route now goes under the railway bridge to reach Warren farm. It is no longer farm land but owned by the Woodland Trust as a public nature area. Not to be confused with another Warren Farm near Brentford. The small blue butterfly is resident here and I did see one fluttering as I passed.
Now into Nonsuch Park. First the so called Ghost Roads with all sorts of theories about what they were. They just look like forest tracks to me! Nonsuch Park with its former Mansion was created by Henry VIII and later used by Elizabeth I. Nothing much is left of the mansion and now it is just a pleasant woodland area.
At the far end of the park the path goes into denser woodland and a series of stone numbered pillars is followed. The overgrown low brick structure is all that remains of the Banquetting Hall.
Out of the woods, across a small field and after crossing the busy A24 a narrow path leads to Ewell Church Street.
On one side of Church Street is St Mary's church, the other side the buildings of Ewell Castle School. Reaching Ewell High Street I lunched at the nearby Spring Tavern.
The white Dog Gate with a dog above leads into Bourne Hall Park with a nice lake and the 1970s Bourne Hall.
Section 7 ends by the lake. I continued through the park and after crossing another busy road made my way down to Ewell West train station and my way home.