London: the step-by-step guide: Keston's woods

Woods are at their most romantic as winter approaches, with the carpet of brown leaves providing a springy walking surface and a pale light filtering through newly -bare branches. This walk, though only 15 miles from central London, is a good mixture of woodland, field and village. Most follows the Nash Circular Walk, one of several signposted (though not always thoroughly) routes devised by Bromley council.

Your first glimpse of the walk's yellow arrow symbol comes at the south side of the car park, near a noticeboard. Follow it through a short stretch of woodland to Westerham Road and turn right, alongside the road as it passes large houses and rounds a sharp bend. Ignore the signposted path down steps on your right and carry on until turning right down tree-lined Rectory Road.

On the right are the stables of Keston Court, with their prominent clock tower. Further on you see the clapboard house, its balcony and green shutters making it look like an American plantation home. At the road junction turn left uphill to reach Keston Church, built in flint and stone and usually kept locked. Parts are Norman - but not the curious timbered bell tower, which has a distinctly Victorian feel.

Walk back down the hill and continue along Church Road. Soon after it becomes Jackass Lane the road begins to climb, and about halfway up the hill you find an arrow and a stile on your left: be careful not to take the adjacent bridleway. The grassy path runs between hedges and wire fences and later twists quite sharply to stay between fields.

Soon after one right-hand turn into the bottom of the valley we made an exciting find - a giant white puffball half-hidden in long grass beyond the wire fence on our left, just close enough to reach through and pluck. Midway between a tennis ball and a football, it made a delicious supper that evening.

Approaching a farm the path becomes flinty. Walk straight ahead, ignoring the wide track on your left and keep to the right of the farm. Cross two stiles, passing some noisy geese, and turn right when you reach the road.

On your right is Nash House, with its unusual chimneys. Turn left in front of it, along North Pole Lane, and at the bottom of the hill climb a stile and take a footpath on your right. After another stile keep straight ahead on a faint track down the middle of a field. A further stile brings you to a path alongside Well Wood.

Soon you reach a stile on your right with the top of one of its posts painted yellow. Cross it to enter the wood, then take the right-hand of the two main paths. Keep ahead at the next junction, staying on the darkest-coloured path.

A large yew tree, and another post with a yellow top, confirm that you are on the right track. Keep ahead and follow the arrow to go right at the next fork, and then slightly left at the one after that. You are now walking along the edge of the wood, with cattle in an open field on your right.

Leaving the wood at the bottom of Queensway go almost straight ahead, following a blue arrow and a public bridleway sign on to a path between hedges, with a playing field and then a school on your left.

At Green Road turn right past a row of mock-Tudor houses. Where they end, ignore the footpath sign on your left and keep ahead alongside the road underneath a row of chestnut trees. Then turn left, following a sign to Hayes Common.

The narrow, enclosed path climbs quite steeply to pass close to a house. A few yards before the road a yellow arrow points you up a narrow path between hedges that soon follows the edge of Baston Manor Road, then Heathfield Road, with one or two more yellow arrows to confirm the direction.

Soon you reach Keston village opposite the Greyhound. Turn right towards another pub, the Fox, and not far beyond it go left down Lakes Road. Where the road curves right, keep ahead on a footpath signposted to Keston Common.

At the end of the playground on your right look for a yellow arrow low down and turn right, walking uphill through scrub and woods to emerge at the corner of Heathfield and Fishponds Roads. Turn left past the war memorial and look out for the 18th-century windmill (not open to the public) behind trees on your right.

By the bus stop take a narrow path on the left through bracken and the final stretch of woodland. Fork right, with the car park directly opposite.

Distance: 4 miles Time: Over 2 hours Public transport: Buses to Keston (not Sundays): 146 from Bromley North and 356 from East Croydon.

Parking: At picnic site off Heathfield Road, Keston, near junction with Westerham Road.