Nine Boxing Day walks near Bromley, from the Morris Men at Keston to Petts Wood, with distances, parking and which pubs open. Updated November 2026.
Bromley has nine Boxing Day walks worth getting your boots on for in 2026, and this guide puts them in one place with distances, start points, parking and what is open on the day. The one with a crowd is Keston Common, where the Ravensbourne Morris Men dance outside The Greyhound at 12.30pm, as they have for 63 years. For a pub at the end, the Three Commons walk finishes near The George in Hayes, and Chislehurst Common has the Bull’s Head and The Bickley, all open on Boxing Day. Pubs and venues were checked against their own sites on 11 November 2026.
Boxing Day 2026 is a Saturday, and the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December. A few things change on the day:
- Light. The sun sets at about 4pm, so start by 1pm for anything over five miles.
- Gates. Bromley Council’s gated parks and barrier car parks open at 9am at weekends and on bank holidays, and the last gate shuts at 4pm in December.
- Trains. Southeastern ran no trains on Boxing Day last year and has not published its 2026 plans yet. TfL buses ran a Sunday service. Our Christmas trains page has the detail and will be updated when the timetables are out.
- Parking. Last Boxing Day, on-street pay bays in the borough were free; council car park charges applied as normal.
- Mud. Most of these routes are on London clay or chalk and are wet all winter. Wear boots.
Keston and Hayes
1. Keston Common and the Boxing Day Morris dancing
The Ravensbourne Morris Men’s 2026 tour programme lists “Dancing at The Greyhound, 63 years and counting!” at 12.30pm on Saturday 26 December, outside the pub on Commonside, Keston. The side, admitted to the Morris Ring in 1947, opens its season each May Day at sunrise at Caesar’s Well, the source of the River Ravensbourne, on the same common.
Make a morning of it on the council’s Ravensbourne Trail, a 2.5 mile circuit of numbered posts past bog, heath and old coppice by Keston Ponds, which starts at the car park off Commonside. The leaflet’s map shows steps along the way.
Open Morris dancing Saturday 26 December 2026, 12.30pm
Walk Ravensbourne Trail, 2.5 miles, from the Commonside car park
Address The Greyhound, Commonside, Keston, BR2 6BP
Call 01689 856338
Website ravensbourne.org/programme
Good for Boxing Day tradition, ponds, children, dogs on the common
2. Darwin’s Footsteps: Keston and Holwood (3¼ miles), with The Fox
The council’s Keston and Holwood trail starts at the Westerham Road car park in Keston and runs through heath, sweet chestnut coppice and one of London’s few sphagnum bogs, then along the public footpath across the Holwood estate, once William Pitt’s home. The leaflet gives 3¼ miles, easily shortened, with 20 steps down to Caesar’s Well at the start and paths that “may be muddy and slippery”.
It would join up with the Morris dancing on Commonside for a longer day. The Fox on Heathfield Road is the Boxing Day stop: its festive opening times give 12pm to 5pm, with drinks, pork pies and sausage rolls only.
Walk 3¼ miles from the Westerham Road car park, Keston
Open The Fox, Boxing Day 12pm to 5pm (drinks, pork pies and sausage rolls); 27 and 28 December 12pm to 6pm
Address The Fox, 2 Heathfield Road, Keston, BR2 6BQ
Call 01689 497898
Website thefoxkeston.co.uk/festive-season
Listing Our listing
Good for Darwin history, heath and bog, a pint after
3. Three Commons from Hayes (5 miles), with The George
Bromley Council’s route card describes “a 5 mile walk through the commons of Hayes, Keston and West Wickham, plus Ravensbourne Open Space and Padmall Wood”, allowing three hours. It starts on Warren Road, opposite Station Hill in Hayes, with parking on Warren Road and the surrounding streets, and it passes The Greyhound on Keston Common on the way.
A short cut from point 5 to point 13 trims the middle. The George on Hayes Street, in the old village a few minutes from the start, opens 11am to 11pm on Boxing Day.
Walk 5 miles, about three hours, from Warren Road opposite Station Hill, Hayes
Open The George, Boxing Day 11am to 11pm
Parking Warren Road and nearby streets
Address The George, 29 Hayes Street, BR2 7LE
Call 020 8462 1120
Website thegeorgehayes.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for three commons in one walk, short cut available, a pub at the end
Chislehurst
4. Chislehurst Common, with the Bull’s Head and The Bickley
The easiest Boxing Day stroll in the borough with a choice of pubs. Paths cross the common between Royal Parade and Church Row, with The Crown Inn facing it on School Road.
Two pubs here publish Boxing Day hours: the Bull’s Head on Royal Parade opens 8am to 11pm, and The Bickley on Chislehurst Road, the Young’s pub in the mock-Tudor building, opens 12pm to 11pm, its Christmas page says; it is a two-minute walk from Chislehurst station. For a longer loop, Scadbury Park (below) is on the other side of the town.
Walk short loops across the common from Royal Parade
Open Bull's Head, Boxing Day 8am to 11pm; The Bickley, Boxing Day 12pm to 11pm
Address Bull's Head, Royal Parade, BR7 6NR; The Bickley, Chislehurst Road, BR7 5NP
Call Bull's Head 020 8467 1727; The Bickley 020 8468 7613
Website youngs.co.uk/christmas/bickley
Listing Our listing
Good for short walk, two pubs open, near the station
5. Scadbury Park (1km step-free, or the Acorn Trail)
A Local Nature Reserve of over 300 acres, home to the Walsingham family from 1424 to 1655, according to the council’s page. From the one car park, off Old Perry Street, the Easy Access Trail runs 1km with no steps or stiles; its leaflet says it was accessible for self-propelled wheelchairs when printed.
The longer Acorn Trail follows numbered posts past trees that have stood here for hundreds of years, and its leaflet warns the valley soils are very wet in winter, so Boxing Day is a boots day. The Friends of Scadbury Park look after the volunteer side.
Walk Easy Access Trail 1km; Acorn Trail on numbered posts
Parking one car park, off Old Perry Street
Access Easy Access Trail has no steps or stiles
Website bromley.gov.uk/nature-reserves/scadbury-park-local-nature-reserve
Good for step-free walk, pushchairs, old oaks
Petts Wood and Orpington
6. Petts Wood and Hawkwood (4 miles), with One Inn The Wood
The National Trust’s 338 acres are open dawn to dusk every day, its place record says, with no Trust car park, cafe or toilets and uneven ground “with some slopes and steps”. The council’s Petts Wood circular, 4 miles in about two hours, links it with Jubilee Country Park from the Tent Peg Lane car park off Crest View Drive, passing the Willett sundial.
From Petts Wood itself, the Hazelmere Road underpass leads in from the station side. One Inn The Wood, the micropub on Petts Wood Road, is dog-friendly and walk-in only; it has not published Christmas hours, and its usual Saturday hours are 12pm to 11pm.
Walk 4 miles, about two hours, from the Tent Peg Lane car park
Open National Trust land dawn to dusk
Toilets none on the Trust land
Address Petts Wood, BR5 1NZ (Trust land); One Inn The Wood, 209 Petts Wood Road, BR5 1LA
Website nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/petts-wood-and-hawkwood
Listing Our listing
Good for ancient woodland, dogs, Willett sundial
Downe and High Elms
7. High Elms Trail, High Elms Country Park (about 3.5km)
The best-equipped countryside walk in the borough for a short day. The council’s trail leaflet marks the route with 20 pale-blue-banded posts over about 3.5km (2¼ miles), with steps, some steep gradients and two crossings of High Elms Road.
The former Lubbock estate covers 250 acres of woods and chalk meadow. There are two car parks off High Elms Road, public toilets and the Green Roof Cafe, which the council lists as open 9.30am to 5pm at weekends; it has not published Christmas hours, so ring 01689 855439 before relying on a hot drink.
Walk about 3.5km on 20 numbered posts
Parking main car park and Cuckoo Wood car park, both off High Elms Road
Toilets yes, by the BEECHE centre
Cafe Green Roof Cafe, weekends 9.30am to 5pm (Christmas hours not published)
Address Shire Lane, Farnborough, BR6 7JH
Website bromley.gov.uk/parks-open-spaces/high-elms-country-park-local-nature-reserve
Good for toilets and cafe at the start, families, chalk meadows
8. Darwin’s Footsteps: Downe Valley (5 miles, or 3¼ or 1¾)
The council’s Downe Valley trail follows country Charles Darwin knew from Down House, including “The Big Woods” where he walked with his sons. It starts at the Biggin Hill Recreation Ground car park, with shorter versions of 3¼ and 1¾ miles, and the leaflet warns of “gradients of 25%” in and out of the valley, plus stiles and steps.
Down House itself is closed on Boxing Day and reopens on Sunday 27 December, 10am to 4pm, English Heritage’s opening times say. The Queen’s Head on Downe High Street has not published Boxing Day hours.
Walk 5 miles, or 3¼ or 1¾, from Biggin Hill Recreation Ground car park
Open Down House closed 26 December; Sunday 27 December 10am to 4pm
Address Down House, Luxted Road, Downe, BR6 7JT
Website bromley.gov.uk/downloads/file/1111/darwins-footsteps-downe-valley-trail
Good for views, Darwin history, a hard leg-stretch
9. Cudham circular (7.5 miles)
The longest of the council’s circular walks, and the one for walkers who want the whole of the short day. The route card gives 7.5 miles in about 4½ hours from the Cudham Recreation Ground car park on Cudham Lane South, past the 12th-century church of St Peter and St Paul and into the High Elms estate, with a short cut from point 7 across Kent Wildlife Trust’s Downe Bank.
With sunset at about 4pm, set off by 11am. The card puts Cudham at 800ft above sea level.
Walk 7.5 miles, about 4½ hours, from Cudham Recreation Ground car park
Parking Cudham Recreation Ground, Cudham Lane South
Website bromley.gov.uk/downloads/file/1276/cudham
Good for a full day, hills, short cut over Downe Bank
Beckenham and Penge
10. Capital Ring: Beckenham Place Park to Crystal Palace Park
The Ramblers’ Capital Ring guide for section 3 runs from Grove Park through Beckenham Place Park, Cator Park, Alexandra Recreation Ground and Penge to Crystal Palace Park and its Victorian dinosaurs, 7.8 miles in all. On Boxing Day, without trains, the second half makes the better outing: from Beckenham Place Park through Cator Park and Penge to Crystal Palace Park.
The guide calls the walking “generally fairly easy”, says Beckenham Place Park can be muddy, and lists public toilets at Beckenham Place Park and Crystal Palace Park.
Walk about half of the 7.8 mile Capital Ring section 3
Toilets Beckenham Place Park and Crystal Palace Park (Ramblers guide)
Website innerlondonramblers.org.uk/ideasforwalks/capital-ring-guides.html
Good for parks all the way, dinosaurs at the finish, splits easily
How we chose
These are the walks in Bromley borough with a published route and a named start, spread across Keston, Hayes, Chislehurst, Petts Wood, Downe and Beckenham, from 1km to 7.5 miles. Routes come from Bromley Council’s route cards and trail leaflets, the National Trust and the Ramblers’ guides for Transport for London; Boxing Day hours come from each pub’s own Christmas page, and the Morris dancing from the Ravensbourne Morris Men’s programme, which says dates can change, so check their Facebook page before you travel. Run a pub, cafe or group on one of these routes, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@bromleyonline.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@bromleyonline.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.
More for the holidays: our walks near Bromley guide has three more routes, including the London LOOP; see also what’s open on Christmas Day, Christmas trains and travel, things to do in Bromley, what’s on this month, the pubs guide and the cafes guide. Local businesses are in the Bromley Business Directory.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the Boxing Day Morris dancing near Bromley?
The Ravensbourne Morris Men dance outside The Greyhound on Commonside, Keston, BR2 6BP, at 12.30pm on Saturday 26 December 2026, according to the side’s 2026 tour programme. It is their 63rd year. Keston Common’s ponds and the Ravensbourne Trail are on the doorstep for a walk before or after.
Which pubs near Bromley’s walks are open on Boxing Day 2026?
The George in Hayes opens 11am to 11pm, the Bull’s Head on Royal Parade, Chislehurst 8am to 11pm, and The Bickley in Chislehurst 12pm to 11pm. The Fox in Keston opens 12pm to 5pm for drinks, pork pies and sausage rolls only.
Are there trains on Boxing Day in Bromley?
Southeastern ran no trains on Boxing Day last year and has not yet published its 2026 plans. TfL buses ran a Sunday service on Boxing Day 2025, so plan to walk from home, take a bus or drive.
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