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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, 23 June 2022

Evening Walk - The most fascinating stretch of the Thames Path: Maritime Greenwich, the Peninsula, Charlton, Thames Barrier, Royal Woolwich Arsenal

Length: 11.0 km (6.8 mi) [Shorter and slightly longer walks possible, see below] 
Ascent/Descent: negligible
Net Walking Time: ca. 2 ½ hours
 
Take the 18.02 Rainham (Kent) train from St. Pancras I’nal via Farringdon, City Thameslink, Blackfriars, London Bridge (18.18) & Deptford Fun City (18.25), arrives Greenwich 18.27
You can also get to Greenwich with the DLR (from Bank via Canary Wharf; Lewisham train).  
Note: check the walk directions pdf for the start point of the walk! We will not wait…
 
Return trains: eight per hour (xx.00, xx.04, xx.14, xx.24, xx.30, xx.34, xx.44, xx.54), all via London Bridge, then either to Cannon Street or Charing Cross or via Central London Thameslink stations.   
Plus: Crossrail through Central London (every 5 minutes).
Greenwich is in Zone 2, Woolwich Arsenal in Zone 4.

Follow quiet lanes from Greenwich Station to the Thames by the Cutty Sark and turn right downstream along this extremely fascinating stretch of London’s main river along Maritime Greenwich and around the rapidly changing Greenwich Peninsula with the O2-Dome and the ‘Emirates Air Line’ cable car as well as its views across the river to Canary Wharf, the Mouth of the River Lea and the Royal Victoria Dock, before walking past Charlton and the Thames Barrier, with Silvertown and its Tate & Lyle Sugar Refinery opposite, and on to the finish at the former Royal Arsenal site in Woolwich.
You pass reminders of Britain’s great maritime past, many historic pubs, the imposing Greenwich Power Station, some new housing developments as well as some long-established industrial sites (including some spectacular Aggregates Businesses), some large outdoor artworks, an Ecology Park, Woolwich Dockyard and the refurbished Royal Arsenal site with its mixture of historic buildings, new and old housing, food & drink establishments and an Arts Centre (in development).
 
Walk Options: 
Alternative Starts are possible from various points along the route (from 680m to 7.1 km into the walk). For details see the start of the Main Walk Directions. 
Earlier Finishes: For details see the webpage. 
 
Refreshments en route: positively plenty, see the webpage or the walk directions pdf for details.
Tea: six establishments to choose from - between café, boulangerie, pub, bistro, restaurant. See the webpage or the walk directions pdf for details. 
 
For walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=short.42

3 comments:

Thomas G said...



Strike Update: no trains today through the Central London Thameslink section, by the looks of it. And the last train from London Bridge to Greenwich is currently showing as the 18.04 Dartford service, which arrives 18.11. That leaves the Tube/Crossrail to Canary Wharf, then DLR to Greenwich as the most reliable option to get to the start. Still aiming for a 18.30 start...

Return from Woolwich by Crossrail, then tube or DLR to your destination...

Thomas G said...

4 met at Greenwich Station (2 off the 2nd last train from London Bridge on the day, the 18.04 to Dartford - the last train left 2 minutes later to Orpington; 1 by bus from Orpington; 1 by DLR from Canary Wharf), and were met by 2 locals at the Cutty Sark (the boat, not the DLR station).
In w=balmy-conditions we went our way, stopping at North Greenwich for a breather, then at the Anchor & Hope for refreshments, to finish in Woolwich for a meal at The Dial Arch pub.
1 took a bus to Orpington, 2 a bus back to Greenwich, 3 Crossrail to Canary Wharf for the Jubilee Line. The tunnel path at the Thames Barrier was mysteriously closed off, so we had to loop around the buildings, else all was as planned and hoped for. n=6

Thomas G said...

As for Crossrail: the 2 stops from Woolwich to Canary Wharf take 8 minutes, and then you spend 7 minutes (platform to platform) walking across to the Jubilee Line! All in, grossly overrated, methinks. Bring back horse-drawn carriages...