The Common

Located just 100 yards from the Rose and Crown Hotel, Wimbledon Common offers plenty for the outdoors enthusiast or for those that just want a breath of fresh air.  The area covers 1100 acres of woodland, scrubland, heath land, and mown recreation areas.

Cycling on The Commons
We have many permitted cycle paths on Wimbledon Common and Putney Heath and these are marked with the blue 'Cycle Route' signs which are fixed to posts along the paths.
We would ask any cyclist using the Commons to be aware that these are shared paths and priority should be given to pedestrians and especially horses, which do share adjacent paths in some cases.

Walking
The Commons provide a large area for walking in a variety of scenery.  Besides the many paths available for walking, there are organised, guided walks regularly conducted by an expert on a particular aspect of the Commons arranged from time to time and details of these can be found in here. These have included talks on birds, plants and an evening observing the bats in flight around Queensmere Pond.



Running    
Full use is made of the Commons for running, whether for training, charity events or organised Club or open races.
The first cross country steeplechase ever (not at a school), staged by Thames Rowing Club, was run over the Common on 7th December 1867.  This resulted in the formation in 1868 of Thames Hare and Hounds (the oldest cross country running club in the world). 

Horse-riding
There are 16 miles of horse rides on Wimbledon Common and on Putney Heath.  The rides are open to all members of the public and the stables located in the area including Ridgeway stables and Wimbledon Village Stables.

Golf
Two Clubs use Wimbledon Common - The London Scottish Golf Club  formed in 1865, and The Wimbledon Common Golf Club (formerly the Wimbledon Town Golf Club), founded in 1908.



Summer and Autumn Sports on Wimbledon Common
The Richardson Evans Memorial Playing Fields is a substantial grassed sports facility with a large pavilion and extensive parking.  It is owned and managed by the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators since 1925 and we are now expanding the range of sports facilities we can offer during the summer and autumn months.

As well the 7 full size rugby pitches and 10 full size football pitches, we can now offer cricket pitches, Australian Rules Football pitches, running tracks, soft ball, rounders and kick-about areas.  

Within the pavilion there are ten fully fitted changing rooms and at least one member of staff, fully trained in First Aid, on duty during the course of a day.