Ornamental Gardens, Ancient Woodlands, Ponds and Heathland, centred on the enchanting ruins of Lesnes Abbey. Undulating.
Length:
9.6 km (6.0 mi) or 5.2 km/3.2 mi (without Bostall Woods)
Ascent/Descent:
214m or 127m
Net
Walking Time: ca. 2 ¾ hours or 1 ½ hours
Toughness:
2 out of 10 or 1 out of 10
Take
the 13.59 Dartford train from Cannon Street (London Bridge 14.03,
…, Woolwich Arsenal 14.25), arrives Abbey Wood 14.30. Abbey Wood is
in Zone 4.
Return
trains:
four per hour (xx.06, xx.13, xx.36, xx.43), all via London Bridge, then either
to Cannon Street or via Central London Thameslink stations.
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. A longer
version leads across a busy road junction on Bostall Hill into Bostall Wood,
with its dense sloping woods and deep ravines.
Walk
Options:
A
shorter route omits
the meandering loop through Bostall Woods: 5.2 km/3.2 mi with 127m
ascent/descent, 1/10.
Bus
stops on the A 206 near
the off-route pubs and on Bostall Hill enable early returns to Abbey Wood,
Woolwich or Slade Green stations (see the route map for the exact locations of
the bus stops).
Refreshments
en route: two pubs,
600m off route, after 2.3 km of the route.
Refreshments
at the end of the walk: Abbey Café (open every day to at least 16.30) or the Abbey Arms.
Note: London is now a Tier 2 Area: no mixed households indoors.
For
walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml
files click here.
T=short.43
1 comment:
Compared to the morning walk, there were 10 new faces but most of the Greenwich - Woolwich group had gone home, just 2 'survivors', i.e. 12 at the start (2 car drivers amongst them).So we set off in 2 groups that never met again, although I understand the first group bumped into a 13th walker that then followed them at distance. Almost everyone had never been to the area, so the Abbey ruins found plenty of interest, as did the undulating route through the woods. Everyone in my group walked the longer version and we got back to the station just after 5. The earlier group had departed on the 17.06, but half of my group paid a courtesy visit To The Abbey Arms' large garden.
Plenty of leaf colour, although far from its peak, but also already plenty of leaves on the ground.
N=13 w=lightly-overcast-and-warm-for-the-season
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