Length: up to 7.3 km
Ascent: negligible
Net Walking Time: up to 1 ¾ hours
Meet: Bermondsey Underground at 18.30 hours (Jubilee Line, Zone 2).
Finish is at Canada
Water Underground, Rotherhithe Overground or Bermondsey Underground stations.
All are in Zone 2.
Sunset is at 19.00,
leaving light for walking to 19.30. So, we should be through Southwark Park and
Russia
Docks Woodland, before it gets dark. The rest of the route is then along
lit paths or streets.
This varied route explores parks and waterways on
the Rotherhithe peninsula rarely seen by occasional visitors, who tend to
follow the Thames Path.
Start from Bermondsey tube near the boundary with
Rotherhithe, following a meandering route through the well-kept Southwark Park,
then cut across to Greenland Dock, one of the few remnants of the once
ubiquitous ponds and water channels of the Surrey Commercial Docks, used mainly
for timber and grain trading, before walking along the spine of the peninsula
through the enchanting Russia Dock Woodland, an infilled dock with plenty of
visible reminders of its past.
A short loop through the Stave Hill Ecology Park
leads up to one the finest low viewpoints in town: Stave Hill, a 9-metre
artificial mound with surround views to the Olympic Park, Canary Wharf, the
City of London, Westminster and most high points in South East London.
You then skirt around Surrey Water and follow the
well-maintained Albion Channel (more remains of the former docks and quays) to
Canada Water, currently one of London’s largest regeneration sites, before a
final loop through the historic Rotherhithe village and – for a short stretch –
along the Thames River, passing some famous pubs and ending back in Bermondsey.
Eat/Drink: Many cafes
and pubs en route and near the end, check the webpage or the pdf for details.
For walk directions, map, photos, and gpx/kml files click here.
T=short.54
1 comment:
Plenty of rain had been falling in SE1 and SE 16 all afternoon, but on approach to the meeting time, it seemed to have subsided. I arrived early at the meet to then witness an almighty thunderstorm moving across from North of the river, dropping enormous amounts of rain right on cue at 18.30, the meeting time. Unable to move out of the station for fear of being washed away, the two of us waited. 2 others arrived and we decided to 'walk' the route in reverse once the heaviest rain had stopped and stop at the first pub, a full 3 minutes away and call it a day.
Then the rain stopped, and stopped completely. And we started to walk, in the prescribed direction. And the sky turned blue. And no more rain fell.
We got to Stave Hill at 19.30, ie in the last twitchings of dusk, and all the high buildings of London looked magnificent. On then along the route, but when we hit the Thames, we shunned the left turn to The Mayflower, as it's always full, and turned right to check out The Salt Quay. A large GK pub, it was busy and getting busier. Only a table outside was available and there was no heater, and the food took some time to arrive (but was pretty good when it did arrive).
A 5th walker in the meantime had done a mini-pub crawl and was awaiting us at The Mayflower, but was buzzed to decamp to The Salt Quay.
4 then walked to Rotherhithe Station, 1 took the bus from around the corner.
n=5 w=blue-skies-with-distant-rolling-thunder
Post a Comment