We checked 10 Boxing Day walks near Dulwich, from Sydenham Hill Wood to Nunhead Cemetery, for gate times on 26 December. Updated November 2026.
There are 10 Boxing Day walks within easy reach of Dulwich in 2026, and this guide puts them in one place with what time each one opens and locks on Saturday 26 December. Most people head for Sydenham Hill Wood and Cox’s Walk, which never shut, Dulwich Park, Nunhead Cemetery and Brockwell Park. Every entry was checked against the owner’s own site on 11 November 2026.
The light is the thing to plan around. Sunset on Boxing Day is at about 3.56pm, Brockwell Park starts closing a quarter of an hour before that, and the Southwark parks lock at 4.30pm. Set off by 1.30pm for anything longer than an hour.
Getting there takes a little thought too. National Rail says most train companies run nothing on Boxing Day and a few run “a very limited train service”, so the stations at North Dulwich, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, Herne Hill and Peckham Rye may well be quiet; our Christmas trains page will carry the timetables when they are out. TfL has not published its 2026 plans yet. Last year, buses ran a Sunday service on Boxing Day.
The Dulwich woods and parks
1. Sydenham Hill Wood and Cox’s Walk
The one walk with no closing time at all. London Wildlife Trust lists its reserve as “open at all times”, which matters on a day when the light goes before 4pm. The wood is part of the largest surviving stretch of the old Great North Wood, which once ran from Deptford to Selhurst, and holds more than 200 species of trees and plants.
Cox’s Walk, the oak avenue laid out in 1742, climbs from Lordship Lane to the footbridge over the old railway cutting. The trust warns that paths are uneven, with many steps, so wear boots after a wet Christmas.
The flat way in, for buggies and wheelchairs, is through Dulwich Wood from Low Cross Wood Lane or Grange Lane.
Open at all times, including Boxing Day
Address Crescent Wood Road, SE26 6LS; Cox's Walk starts on Lordship Lane at Dulwich Common
Parking free street parking on Crescent Wood Road
Toilets none; the nearest Changing Places toilet is in Dulwich Park
Access uneven paths and many steps; step-free entrances on Low Cross Wood Lane and Grange Lane
Website wildlondon.org.uk/nature-reserves/sydenham-hill-wood-and-coxs-walk
Good for ancient woodland, dogs on a lead, open after dark
2. Dulwich Park
The easy, flat one, and the obvious walk off Christmas lunch. Southwark Council says its parks are “open 365 days a year, including Christmas and New Year’s Day”, with gates opening at 7.30am and locking at 4.30pm through December. The perimeter path is the loop most people walk, and the council allows dogs off the lead on it.
There is a winter garden planted for colour at this time of year, and the lake and boardwalk sit in the middle. The council lists recumbent cycle hire as open daily except Christmas, 10am to 5.30pm with the last hire at 4.30pm, though in December that runs past the gates.
Open 7.30am to 4.30pm in December, including Boxing Day
Address College Road, SE21; gates on College Road, Court Lane, Dulwich Common (Rosebery Gate) and Fireman's Alley off Lordship Lane
Parking car park by the College Road entrance
Toilets by the main car park and in the Francis Peek Centre; Changing Places toilet in the park
Cafe Dulwich Clock Café
Website southwark.gov.uk/culture-and-sport/parks-and-open-spaces/find-park/dulwich-park
Good for flat circuit, buggies, dogs off the lead on the perimeter path, cycle hire
3. Belair Park, West Dulwich
A quieter loop across Gallery Road from Dulwich Park. Southwark explains that the lake was made by damming the River Effra, and that the landscape is Grade II listed, with the park lodge and entrance gate listed too. It became a public park in 1965, when the borough was formed.
It is on the council’s list of gated parks locked in the evening, so it keeps the same 7.30am to 4.30pm December hours as Dulwich Park. West Dulwich station is beside the park, if anything is running.
Open 7.30am to 4.30pm in December, including Boxing Day
Address Gallery Road, SE21
Access West Dulwich station beside the park
Website southwark.gov.uk/culture-and-sport/parks-and-open-spaces/find-park/belair-park
Good for lake, Grade II listed landscape, children's playground, a short loop
4. Green Chain Walk, Dulwich Park to Sydenham Hill and on to Nunhead
For a proper Boxing Day stretch, join two of the walks above. Inner London Ramblers list a short branch of the Green Chain, Section 11a, linking Dulwich Park to Sydenham Hill Wood in 1.3 miles. From there Section 11 runs on through Cox’s Walk towards Nunhead Cemetery; TfL’s Go Jauntly route puts the whole section, from Crystal Palace, at 8.7km and about three and a half hours, and warns it is “very steep and hilly in parts”.
On Boxing Day the full section will not fit into the daylight unless you start in the morning, and the route is linear, so check the buses home before setting off.
Open footpaths open at all times; the parks on the way lock at 4.30pm in December
Price free
Access steep and hilly in parts; steps in Sydenham Hill Wood
Website innerlondonramblers.org.uk/green-chain-walk
Good for a long walk, linking the woods, signposted route
Nunhead, Peckham and Honor Oak
5. Nunhead Cemetery
The picture at the top of this page was taken here on Christmas Eve 2019. One of London’s “Magnificent Seven” Victorian cemeteries, opened in 1840, Nunhead covers 52 acres of hillside, and the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery describe a main avenue of limes leading to the roofless Anglican Chapel, with paths curving off into woodland.
From the top of the hill there is a view of St Paul’s Cathedral. The Friends list the cemetery as open daily, 8.30am to 4pm from November to March, and say times are subject to alteration.
Some paths are uneven and muddy after rain, so they recommend stout shoes.
Open daily 8.30am to 4pm, November to March
Address Linden Grove, SE15 3LP; second gate on Limesford Road
Parking free, by the main gates
Access some uneven and muddy paths; Nunhead station under 10 minutes from the Linden Grove gates; P12 and 78 buses
Website nunheadcemetery.org.uk/visit
Good for Victorian monuments, woodland paths, view of St Paul's
6. One Tree Hill, Honor Oak
A short, sharp climb for a long view. Southwark says the name comes from the Oak of Honor on the summit, under which Elizabeth I is said to have picnicked; the oak behind the railings was planted around 1905 to replace the original. The council lists the hill as a designated nature reserve with many ancient trees.
Pair it with Dawson’s Heights off Dunstan Road, which Southwark describes as very steep, “with amazing views over London”, and open at all times.
Address Brenchley Gardens, SE23
Access a steep climb to the oak; Honor Oak Park station; P4 and P12 buses
Website southwark.gov.uk/culture-and-sport/parks-and-open-spaces/find-park/other-parks-and-gardens
Good for city views, ancient trees, nature reserve
7. Peckham Rye Park and Common
Two walks in one, and the gates matter less here. The common never shuts, while the Victorian park alongside follows Southwark’s December hours, 7.30am to 4.30pm. Southwark describes ornamental gardens, streams, woodland and a lake, with the formal Sexby Garden and a Japanese Garden opened in 1908.
The arboretum is a dog-free zone. If the park is locked by the time you get there, a lap of the common still works in the dusk.
Open the park 7.30am to 4.30pm in December, including Boxing Day; the common at all times
Address Peckham Rye, SE15
Parking small car park on Strakers Road
Toilets near Strakers Road and by the adventure playground
Cafe the Round Café in the park
Website southwark.gov.uk/culture-and-sport/parks-and-open-spaces/find-park/peckham-rye-park-and-common
Good for Japanese Garden, lake, common open after dark, dogs (not in the arboretum)
Herne Hill, Forest Hill and Crystal Palace
8. Brockwell Park, Herne Hill
The hill with the skyline view. Lambeth Council says the park is “normally open from 7.30am to 15 minutes before sunset”. With sunset at about 3.56pm on Boxing Day, that puts the gates at about 3.40pm, the earliest of any walk here.
Lambeth describes a hilly park with a chain of ponds, ancient oaks, a walled garden and open meadows, with Brockwell Hall on the top. Climb to the hall for the view of central London, then drop down past the ponds to Norwood Road.
Open 7.30am to 15 minutes before sunset, about 3.40pm on Boxing Day
Address Norwood Road, Herne Hill, SE24 9BJ
Call 020 7926 9000
Access Herne Hill station by the Norwood Road gate
Website lambeth.gov.uk/parks/brockwell-park
Good for London skyline view, ponds, walled garden, hills
9. Horniman Gardens, Forest Hill
Sixteen acres on the hill above Forest Hill, with what the Horniman calls “stunning views across London”. The museum lists its gardens as open daily and closed on only two days a year, 31 October and 25 December, so Boxing Day is on.
Hours are 7.15am (8am on Sundays and bank holidays) to 4.20pm. The museum itself has closed from 24 to 26 December in past years, according to VisitLondon, so plan on the gardens alone.
The bandstand terrace is the place for the view.
Open gardens 7.15am to 4.20pm on Boxing Day; closed on Christmas Day
Address 100 London Road, Forest Hill, SE23 3PQ
Access Forest Hill station is a short walk
Website horniman.ac.uk/plan-your-visit
Good for views across London, bandstand, free entry to the gardens
10. Crystal Palace Park
The walk with dinosaurs in it. The Crystal Palace Park Trust says the park “is open every day from 7.30am”, with a December closing time of 4.30pm.
The dinosaur sculptures by the lakes were first unveiled in 1854, and the trust says they are still among the park’s best-known sights more than 170 years later. Section 11 of the Green Chain Walk starts here, so it is the natural end point for anyone walking south from Dulwich over Sydenham Hill.
Open from 7.30am every day; closes 4.30pm in December
Address Thicket Road, SE20
Access Crystal Palace station by the park
Website crystalpalacepark.org.uk/visit-opening-times-69nb
Good for Victorian dinosaur sculptures, lakes, children
After the walk
Several local pubs open on Boxing Day afternoon. The Prince Regent in Herne Hill lists Boxing Day hours of 12pm to midnight, and the Herne Tavern and the East Dulwich Tavern, both shut on Christmas Day, open from 12pm to 1am. Menus and booking are in our Christmas dinner guide and our Dulwich pubs guide.
How we chose
These are the walks people around Dulwich head for over Christmas, all reachable on foot or by a short bus ride from SE21, SE22 and SE24, and all open on 26 December. Gate times come from Southwark and Lambeth councils, London Wildlife Trust, the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery, the Horniman and the Crystal Palace Park Trust, each linked in its entry; sunset is for south London on 26 December. Opening times can change at short notice in bad weather, so check the owner’s page on the morning.
Look after a park or wood that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@dulwichtoday.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@dulwichtoday.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.
For more, see our year-round guide to walks near Dulwich, things to do in Dulwich, what’s on in Dulwich this month, Dulwich playgrounds and days out from Dulwich.
Frequently asked questions
Are Dulwich parks open on Boxing Day?
Yes. Southwark says its parks are open 365 days a year, including Christmas and New Year’s Day. Gated parks such as Dulwich Park, Peckham Rye Park and Belair Park open at 7.30am and close at 4.30pm in December. Sydenham Hill Wood and Cox’s Walk are open at all times, Brockwell Park shuts 15 minutes before sunset, and the Horniman Gardens close only on 25 December.
What time does it get dark on Boxing Day in Dulwich?
Boxing Day 2026 is Saturday 26 December. The sun rises at about 8.05am and sets at about 3.56pm, so most park gates lock between 3.40pm and 4.30pm. Nunhead Cemetery shuts at 4pm and the Horniman Gardens at 4.20pm.
Are there trains to the parks on Boxing Day?
Barely. National Rail says most operators run no trains on Saturday 26 December and a few run a very limited service, so plan to walk or take the bus. TfL has not yet published its 2026 Christmas arrangements; last year buses ran a Sunday service on Boxing Day.
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