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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Thursday, 20 April 2023

Evening Walk - Bluebells in the Evening: Beckenham Place Park - 8 weeks on, the same walk again, now with bells (but w/o whistles)

Length: 4.9 km (3.0 mi)
Ascent/Descent: 70/82m
Net Walking Time: ca. 1 ¼ hours
Toughness: 1 out of 10 
 
Take the 18.16 Thameslink train from Blackfriars (originates from Welwyn Garden City) to Sevenoaks (calls Elephant, Denmark Hill, Peckham Rye 18.31, Nunhead, …, Catford 18.40, …, arrives Ravensbourne 18.47. 
From London Bridge: 18.14 Hayes (Kent) train (via Lewisham and Ladywell) to Catford Bridge (18.29), walk across to Catford. 
From Victoria: 18.12 Rochester train, change at Denmark Hill (18.21/18.28). 
Return Trains: xx.00 and xx.30. Both stations are in Zone 4.
 
This partly undulating route winds its way through an attractive park in South East London, partly on grounds formerly used for a public golf course. The park is bounded to the east by the Ravensbourne River and the route initially follows parts of the well-waymarked Waterlink Way along it through open meadows. You then cross the railway line into the more undulating westerly part of the park, famous for its bluebell displays in season. Recent major investments in the landscaping of the park have spawned some interesting new features: A Mounded Garden, a Wet Woodland, a Wild Swimming Lake and the replanted Ornamental Garden with its beautiful café in the former homestead of the mansion.
 
Tea: Both the Mansion Bar and Café in the Palladian Beckenham Place Mansion and the Homestead Café may still be open, but if not options are available down the train line to London, for example when changing at Catford Stations or at Peckham Rye or Elephant. The Bottle Bar & Shop in Catford proved to be a very good option last time around…
 
For walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=short.46

1 comment:

Stargazer said...

n=6 of which 3 had been on the previous outing examining the bluebell shoots in the dark. The little guys had come along nicely and were mostly in full form and looking quite lush after the torrential downpour earlier in the evening. The conditions were surprisingly w=cloudy-and-dry notwithstanding most encountering heavy rain on their way to the meeting point. After the walk, the local among us brought us to the Bottle Shop in Catford where we enjoyed some lovely wine, beer and flatbread!