Roundshaw Downs is an area of chalk down located mostly within the suburb of South Beddington, which is part of the town of Wallington, in the London Borough of Sutton. It sits to the west of the busy A23 road which links London to Brighton. Historically the area was used as farmland but at the beginning of the 20th century it became home to Beddington Aerodrome, which was established in order to protect London during the First World War. In 1917 National Aircraft Factory No.1 was constructed and the Airco DH.9 (known as the de Havilland DH.9 from 1920) biplane was produced here. Waddon Aerodrome was established adjacent to the factory, primarily as a place to test new aircraft.
Winston Churchill, who at the time held the positions of Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air, visited regularly and also took flying lessons here in 1919. He had a pretty nasty crash onsite when the plane he was flying had a malfunction causing it to crash into the downs at around 50mph, luckily he and his instructor both survived.
In 1920 Beddington and Waddon Aerodromes were handed over for use in civil aviation where the newly combined site operated under the name London Terminal Aerodrome, Croydon. At this time the airport became home to the world's first Air Traffic Control Tower. In 1923 the 'Mayday, Mayday, Mayday' distress signal was first used after it was created by the airport's Senior Radio Officer, Frederick Mockford. Following the passing of the Croydon Aerodrome Extension Act 1925, the airport was enlarged and many state-of-the-art features were installed. This included the world's first purpose-built airport terminal and airport hotel, plus an upgraded Air Traffic Control Tower and hangars.
Being at the forefront of aviation meant that the airport played a role in many record breaking flights. Among these were Alan Cobham's 15-day return flight to Cape Town, South Africa, in 1926 which earned him a knighthood, and Bert Hinkler's 1928 flight to Darwin, Australia which took 15.5 days. The record for flying between Australia and England was lowered to 12 days when Charles Kingsford-Smith landed at Croydon in July 1929. Charles Lindbergh visited the airport in his plane a few days after becoming the first person to fly from New York to Paris - he was greeted by 100,000 people. The most-famous of all the record breaking pilots was Amy Johnson who, in 1930 took off from Croydon on her way to becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. It took her 19.5 days. She stayed in the airport's hotel the night before where she reported an awful night's sleep due to the sound of all the traffic on Purley Way.
The airport was again used by the military during the Second World War where it was renamed RAF Croydon. It also became home to RAF Transport Command whose main role was to transport thousands of troops to and from mainland Europe. The aerodrome apparently used eight different names throughout its existence, and once the Second World War was over its use reverted to civil aviation where it was known as Croydon Airport. It served as London's main airport until the lack of expansion opportunities meant that Heathrow took over this role shortly after the war. Croydon Airport finally closed down in 1959. During the 1960s part of the land in the northwest corner of the airport was redeveloped into the residential area and park called Roundshaw.
The rest of the former airport's land to the east and south was left unattended for the next 30 years, and in this time nature thrived. In 1993 the area was formally renamed Roundshaw Downs and declared a Local Nature Reserve the following year. The name Roundshaw is noted on old maps as 'Round Shaw' with the 'shaw' being a natural strip of woodland that is often used as a boundary. In fact the area featured quite a number of 'shaws'. The one that the area and parkland takes their name from was a circular outcrop of trees, hence the 'round' part of the name. A berm, constructed in 2011, runs through the parkland and this marks the boundary between Sutton and Croydon. It follows the former path of a much larger section of raised ground known as the Mere Bank which was flattened during the construction of the airport. It is thought that it may have originally been a Roman Road.
Roundshaw Downs covers an area of 38 hectares of land located mostly within the London Borough of Sutton, but the grassland on the eastern side of the berm is technically located within the London Borough of Croydon. The downs are largely left in their natural state, and apart from the grass and dirt footpaths there are no on-site facilities at all. In 2012 a large central area was enclosed and this is reserved for the five Sussex Cattle that permanently live on-site. Their grazing allows the land to be managed in a very natural way and assists in providing habitats for the wide range of wildlife that resides there. This includes ground-nesting birds such as Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. There are voles present on the downs and these are the perfect food source for the local Kestrels. Finally the chalk downs provide the perfect home for Roman Snails which are legally protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
On 18 July 2009, almost 50 years to the day after the airport closed, the downs became home to a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event called Roundshaw Downs parkrun - it is the 15th oldest UK parkrun still in operation. Like all parkruns it is a community event run entirely by volunteers and is open to all abilities including those who wish to walk the course. I have visited this parkrun on multiple occasions but never on the same day of the week. My first and second visits were as part of my New Year's Day doubles in 2012 (Sunday) and 2013 (Tuesday). It wasn't until my third visit in December 2017 that I actually participated on a Saturday. My fourth visit was on New Year's Day 2025 (Wednesday) and it was from that fourth visit that this expanded write-up was produced.
There are plenty of travel options. If driving, the venue is easily accessed by road from the A23 (Purley Way). Free on-street parking can be found within the adjacent industrial and commercial area. The best road to head for is Imperial Way which is named after Imperial Airways, the forerunner of British Airways. There is an entrance to the downs at the southern end of the road. Alternatively you could leave the vehicle in The Colonnades retail area car park, which is free-of-charge but limited to a maximum of three hours. If cycling there are no bicycle racks within the venue, however there are some on the opposite side of the A23 in Purley Way Playing Fields and within The Colonnades retail area. However I think most people would probably try to find a tree or fence near the Imperial Way entrance to the downs.
The nearest railway stations are Purley and Purley Oaks. They are both served by Southern Railways trains running between London Bridge and Tattenham Corner or Caterham. Purley is also served by trains from London Victoria and by Thameslink services running between Bedford and Redhill via London Bridge. The onward walk is around 1.6 miles (2.6 kilometres). If alighting at Purley station it is possible to use the 289 bus to complete the journey. There is also the option of alighting at South Croydon or East Croydon stations which both offer the option of using the 119 bus to reach the venue. West Croydon Station is also served by national rail, Croydon Tramlink, and by the London Overground, where the journey to Roundshaw Downs can be completed by using the 289 bus.
The closest London Underground station is six miles away in Morden which is the terminus of the Northern Line, and while using the tube is probably not the most efficient route, the 154 bus provides a direct connection to Roundshaw where you can alight on Spitfire Road. This bus stop is also served by the S4 bus which connects the area to Sutton. The venue's main bus stops are on Purley Way adjacent to the Battle of Britain War memorial which stands at the northeast corner of the downs. The 289 and the 439 buses stop here while the 119 stops a little further along the road.
In the vicinity of the downs you will find many large, modern superstores and warehouses. However if you take a closer look you may spot some of the original airport buildings - most notably on the main A23 Purley Way is the former terminal building, Airport House. In front of this is the unmissable sight of an aeroplane raised on struts - it is a de Havilland Heron, which is the type of plane that made the last passenger flight from the airport in 1959. Coincidentally it was almost certainly built at the de Havilland factory in Hatfield whose former land was home to the now closed Ellenbrook Fields parkrun.
Amongst the above are four hotels, all within walking distance of the downs. The closest is the Grand Sapphire which is on Imperial Way. The London Croydon Aerodrome Hotel is just around the corner and occupies the original 1920s Croydon Airport hotel building. The opposite side of the A23 is home to the Hilton London Croydon and purple palace fans will be delighted to read that the London Croydon (Purley A23) Premier Inn is just next door. Adjacent to the last two is The Colonnades retail area which contains a McDonalds and a Costa Coffee and this is where you will find the closest toilets. Note, there are no toilet facilities within Roundshaw Downs.
The parkrun meeting area and the finish can be found next to the entry point at the end of Imperial Way. It is also where the briefings are held. Roundshaw parkrun takes place over two identical anti-clockwise laps which takes in most of the areas that make up the Local Nature Reserve. The surface underfoot is 100% off-road on a mixture of grass and dirt paths which can become quite muddy in the winter. The good news is that the chalk downs drain very well so the course can recover quickly from wet conditions. Given the nature of the course I would always wear trail shoes when visiting, but in good conditions road shoes are fine. My January 2025 GPS data recorded a total of 60 metres of incline over the full 5 kilometres, so it is not a flat course. People pushing regular-width buggies will generally be fine on the course, but double-width buggies will not fit through two points on the course. Muddy conditions will make it more of a challenge. Overall I would say that this is not a suitable course for wheelchair users.
The main briefing takes place and the participants move over to the start line which is just on the other side of the berm, to the west of the meeting area. The general theme of the lap is that the first 1.8 kilometres are spent ever-so-slowly edging uphill. There are flat sections in between the inclines and most of the uphill bits tend to feature a gradient change of around 4.5%. At just over a kilometre in, the view across to the centre of Croydon opens up and for a moment it feels like the climbing is done. However, the course weaves around and through a small patch of woodland where the elevation continues to rise. Upon exiting the woodland, there is a short section which in winter can get a bit boggy.
The route then reaches the previously-mentioned berm which runs north-south through this part of the downs and it is crossed via a tight turn through a small opening, crossing the border into the London Borough of Croydon. Shortly after this, about three quarters of the way around the lap, the route finally reaches its highest point and the lap's final 700 metres or so are all downhill. Although it is possible to largely let gravity do the work here, some attention is required as the ground underfoot tends to be a bit lumpy which could lead to a stumble or twisted ankle. Keen-eyed participants may spot the small remaining section of the old airport tarmac to their left. Once at the bottom of the downhill the route simply passes through another narrow gap in the berm, returning to the London Borough of Sutton, and onwards to start the second lap, which is identical to the first.
With two laps complete the finish line can be crossed where each finisher is given a position token. This can then be taken across to the barcode scanners who will scan it along with the personal barcode. I recorded the course using my Garmin and the resulting GPS data can be viewed on my Strava account. The data was used to create a course fly-by video using the Relive app and it can be viewed on YouTube. Once all the participants have completed the course, the team heads off for the weekly post-parkrun social gathering. The course page does not state the venue but it was confirmed that the team generally go to Mellows Pavillion Cafe which is about 1.5 miles away. The other fairly close option is to pop over to The Colonnades retail park which has a McDonalds and Costa Coffee which both open early, plus there is also a KFC, Pizza Hut and a Nando's which open a little later.
The results were processed and published on the event's results page shortly after the event. In terms of expected number of participants, Roundshaw Downs parkrun has traditionally remained quite an intimate event where a normal week would usually be attended by around 150 people. Occasionally this may break into the low 200s. The course attendance record is 508 which was set at event 666, and very clearly a one-off. The second and third highest attended events were in 2017 and both attracted 271 people. For the record there were 153 participants on my last visit which was New Year's Day 2025.
As far as cancellations are concerned, the venue seems to cope very well in all weather conditions so is unlikely to cancel even during strong winds or periods of ice and snow. From what I can see the main reason that has led to cancellations in the past is when travellers' vehicles gain access to the Croydon part of the downs, east of the berm and set up camp, blocking that section of the route. However the event now has a B course which sticks entirely to the west (Sutton) side of the berm, meaning as long as the vehicles remain on the east (Croydon) side, the event should still be able to go ahead.
Post-event it's worth having a look around the immediate vicinity where you can find the former airport buildings and the de Havilland plane. The Air Traffic Control Tower is part of the rear of the Airport House building, so it is worth having a nose around to see if you can see it. Another interesting, and slightly unusual, feature can be found near The Colonnades retail area. In 1935 the site became home to the Purley Way Lido and although the pool itself was closed in 1979 and filled-in in 1981, the Grade II Listed Diving Stage remains in place in the grounds of a former garden centre. It's worth popping over to the area behind Wickes to take a look.
 |
| top right photo credit: Ian pullen |
I'll no doubt head back over to Roundshaw Downs parkrun a few more times over the next few years to try to take part seven times on all seven days of the week. Until then I'd like to add a huge thank you to all the volunteers that made the event possible and made us feel so welcome.
Related Links:
- My most recent Roundshaw Downs parkrun GPS data (January 2025)
- The Roundshaw Downs parkrun Relive course fly-by video (January 2025)
- The Roundshaw Downs parkrun B course GPS data (7 October 2023 - Original data not mine)
- The Roundshaw Downs parkrun B course Relive course fly-by video
Previous blogs featuring Roundshaw Downs parkrun