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In early 2020 I created three new short walks in SE London to feature under a “Bluebell Evening Walks in SE London” headline, but of course they never got an outing due to Lockdown I. Here they are, now as part of a series of five Evening Bluebell Walks right across London. Disclaimer: as I haven’t walked any of these during the relevant season, I don’t know which of the woods are ‘early bluebell’ and which are ‘late bluebell’. We’ll find out, but Lesnes Abbey Woods have the advantage that they are also full of wild daffs and other flower-folk, so this may be a good time for the walk anyway…
Ornamental Gardens, Ancient Woodlands, Ponds and Heathland, centred on the enchanting ruins of Lesnes Abbey. Undulating.
Length:
5.2 km/3.2 mi
Ascent/Descent:
127m
Net
Walking Time: ca. 1 ½ hours
Toughness:
1 out of 10
Take
the 18.06 SouthEastern train from Cannon Street (London Bridge
18.10, Greenwich for DLR 18.18, Woolwich Arsenal for DLR 18.32), arrives Abbey
Wood 18.37. Abbey Wood is in Zone 4.
Return
trains:
xx.08, xx.18, xx.38, xx.48), all via London Bridge to
Cannon Street.
This
is an undulating route on the boundary of the Boroughs of Bexley (Lesnes Abbey
Woods) and Greenwich (Bostall Woods) in South East London, based upon the atmospheric
ruins of Lesnes Abbey, surrounded by a
beautiful park with some ornamental gardens and towered over by ancient and
secondary woodland, with a high extent of sessile oaks, some large wildflower
meadows with bluebells and native wild daffodils in spring and several scenic
ponds. A heathland with an Iron Age tumulus and some acid
grassland are passed through as well.
Refreshments
en route: two pubs,
600m off route, after 2.3 km of the route.
Refreshments
at the end of the walk: Abbey Arms (right by the station,
with a large garden at the back).
1 comment:
7 off the train with 1 running late, so 4 dashed ahead, en route booking 2 tables for later at The Abbey Arms, while 3 waited for walker #8.
The woods are famous for wild native daffodils (of which there were plenty, if mostly already wilted) and for bluebells (of which there were plenty and quite a few already fully out), but it also has enormous amounts of wood anemones. Personally, I have not seen that many on a single walk. In places they combined to a very scenic kind of tricolore, with white being very dominant.
Else: undulating route through interesting woods, with some heathland thrown in, a couple of ponds and those abbey ruins (and a fossil pit).
Pizza and drinks in the back garden of The Abbey Arms. Staggered departure depending on progress with food and drinks.
n=8 w=sunny-but-cold
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