GENERAL INFO
The Walking Group normally meets on the second Sunday of each month, usually at Charlton Station, at 10.00 in summertime and 10.30 during the winter; the walks are mostly within TfL travel zones.
Our walks are mainly for ‘softies’ undertaken at a moderate pace to take into account the abilities of a range of walkers and usually less than 5 miles. Walkers are advised to bring bottled water and wear appropriate clothing for the weather – especially strong footwear.
Walks are briefly described in the monthly emails so that walkers may decide if they are suitable for their ability and interests – this includes the travel plan, descriptions of the terrain, places of interest en route, availability of public toilets and places where take-away drinks and food may be purchased – we always end the walk at a cafe, pub or similar.
You can check the calendar for details of future walks. If you would like to sign up to receive monthly emails or suggest some walks you know and love please contact Jill at: jillmo@btinternet.com
As some people are returning and we welcome some new walkers it’s probably a good idea to remind everyone a couple of helpful points about our walks:
– everyone is welcome but please remember you join us at your own risk as only you can decide whether a particular walk is suitable for you;
– please check the weather before setting out and be sure you have appropriate clothing for it;
– we always stop at the end, or near the end, of the walk for refreshments but you will need to bring water and any snacks you need with you;
– if you need to leave the group at any point please let Jill know, or tell someone to do so;
– there is no charge for these walks but, as members of CCRA, we’re happy to offer you this information and invite you to join too:
https://www.charltonresidents.
SOME RECENT WALKS
Sunday April 21, Scadbury Nature Reserve, Chislehurst; where we’ll hope to see some signs of Spring as we follow the Acorn Trail, which is about two and a half miles long and includes the site of Scadbury Manor (home of the Walsingham family). There are no toilets in the Reserve but there are at Chislehurst station and a nearby pub – The Sydney Arms.
Sunday Mar 10, Bermondsey Our next walk will be a very interesting one around Bermondsey. It is not a long walk – we’ll never be more than about a quarter of a mile from London Bridge Station – so anyone wanting to get away quickly to get to their Mother’s Day celebrations will have no problems! Despite the nearness of very a familiar area I was amazed at parts I had never been to and discovered places of interest to show you: from the maze of old streets with their history written on the walls, buildings and the tiny green spaces to the warm and welcoming glass blower’s studio and not forgetting the various cafes dotted everywhere on our route.
Sunday Feb 11 – Two Temple Place – A Thameside walk from London Bridge, crossing the Millennium Bridge and following the river round to Two Temple Place. This beautiful building is worth a visit in its own right but currently it has a splendid exhibition on decorative glass – its history, its manufactory and uses: https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/
Sunday Jan 14th, Riverside. Possibly the last chance to see the willow trees: (https://greenwichwire.co.uk/
Sunday Dec 10, Regent’s Canal Our next walk will be a walk from the Angel tube station along the Regent’s Canal to Kingsland Road where we will find the Museum of the Home: (https://www.museumofthehome.
Sunday Nov 12, Walthamstow. A visit to William Morris’ house but taking a stroll round Lloyd Park beforehand – a delightful park with some great borders and a splendid cafe. The Red House in Bexleyheath was, I’m told, his ‘country house’ so this one was definitely his town house and so is well worth a visit.
Sunday Oct 8, Spitalfields. This walk, which is not long and is all on the flat, enables a stroll through the historic Huguenot area of east London with its houses and places of worship which once provided a safe haven to that group of refugees (who introduced that term from the French), then later the immigrants fleeing the Russian pogroms and more recently the Bangladeshi community. There is a rare opportunity to visit one of these houses in Princelet Street, which also has the added advantage of having a small exhibition of Christo’s work, mostly from the 60s and 70s, before the major exhibition of his, with Jeanne-Claude, opens at the Saatchi Gallery in November. We take a short walk from here to Spitalfields City Farm – a delightful green space with a variety of animals, ideas for planting, a farm shop and a splendid cafe where we’ll stop for lunch before returning home.
Sunday Sept 10, Slade Green. We follow a beautiful, old lane which has a 17th century Tithe Barn and 11th century moat and which eventually opens out onto Erith Marshes with its fossilised forest, only visible at low tide and the Thames saltings and mudflats which provide feeding ground for many birds. This is a walk of about 4 miles (rough estimate) but all on flat ground but without toilets or cafes until we reach Erith where we stop for refreshments at Morrisons supermarket and then take the train back from Erith station .
Sunday Aug 13, Hayes. It will be a real ‘country’ walk starting with a short walk over Hayes Common, then over into woodland and then passing through farmland – where you’ll need to look out for the calves who will be very interested in you! And remember to keep your eyes open for Nash – because if you blink you’ll miss it! Depending on the weather and the decision of the group at the time we can walk on to Keston Ponds to end the walk otherwise we can go straight to Keston Village to take the bus back to Hayes. The walk is about 5 miles with two inclines and can be a bit muddy after heavy rain; because of the nature of the ‘country’ walk, there are no toilets or cafes en route (but Hayes has a couple of both before we set off) so please bring any drinks and snacks you might need and check the weather forecast beforehand to help you decide on clothing and footwear. The whole walk is within the TfL area so no need to pay fares beyond the zones.
Sunday July 9, East Tilbury. East Tilbury Village, originally a small Saxon village, owes its later existence largely to the Bata Shoe Company which was establish there in the early 1930s. It developed the village providing it with the factory, school, village hall, cinema, swimming pool, cafe, dance hall, hairdressers and of course, the housing for its workers (the design was probably influenced by the Bauhaus) many of which still stand! We can view much of these on our way to Coalhouse Fort – an artillery fort built, with additions, to protect Woolwich Arsenal, Deptford Victualling Yards and shipyards along the Thames – and now a delightful walk passing reedbeds with recorded observations of skylarks, corn buntings and nightingales and many more. There is a splendid pub in the village, The Ship, which has a great menu at a very reasonable price.
Sunday June 10: Thames Path, Greenwich to Rotherhithe. We’ll take the 10.04 train to Maze Hill and walk to the Cutty Sark, near the entrance of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. The route takes us through Deptford, then passes the ‘Mayflower’ and St Mary’s Church and so on to Surrey Docks Farm where there is a pleasant cafe, toilets and farm animals! At the end of the walk you may wish to, independently, continue the Thames Path through Bermondsey to London Bridge or take a slight diversion to Southwark Park which has another nice cafe, an art gallery, a boating lake and lots of green open spaces and gardens.
Sunday May 14: Peckham. This walk is devised by a south London environmental group called Tranquil City (https://tranquilcity.co.uk/) who I have had the pleasure to join a few times in the past on their previous walks and then later repeat the walk with many of you – ie: Green Lewisham, Green Deptford, the lower River Lea. This time their walk coincides with ours and, on enquiry, they said they would be delighted to have us join them – I will check the travel plans but have no idea where their route will take us, but I’m sure it’ll be green and you’ll enjoy it; so if I have any further information from them I’ll email you again.
Sunday April 2: Lesnes Woods. A walk through Lesnes Woods and on to Thamesmead then, to return home, we’ll walk along the raised Ridgeway to Plumstead Station. This may be quite a long walk for some but we are never very far from a bus route and from the start it is all down hill until it flattens out along the Ridgeway. After rain the woods can be rather muddy so please wear appropriate footwear. Yesterday the bluebells were only in leaf with no buds just yet so I’m hoping for a good display in a couple of weeks.
Sunday Mar 12, central London. Our walk will start in Westminster where we’ll take a walk through St James’s Park (snowdrops, daffodils and early tree blossom in evidence yesterday). Then on to Belgravia which, amongst the embassies and grand houses, has a couple of Cabmen’s Shelters and the site of the house where Jane Austen stayed during her visits to her brother Henry. We come out onto the Brompton Road with its many shops and restaurants and from here it’s not far to the Natural History Museum where there is a special International Women’s Day event – the Women in Science Tour – visiting a couple of galleries with a talk and descriptions from one of the organisers. There are 4 cafes and 5 toilet blocks in the Museum.
We are close to South Kensington tube station where the District and Circle lines will return us to Westminster but if you’ve not had enough for the day you could always go along to the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Trafalgar Square.
Sunday Feb 12, central London. A walk from Tottenham Court Road we’ll walk to The Post Building in New Bond Street where there is a secret rooftop garden with magnificent views. There is no charge to visit but you will need to have ID with you (a Freedom Pass or similar is sufficient) and there is an airport-like bag scanner on entry. A lift takes you up 9 floors where the roof has different levels and, although not a 360 degree view, there are some great ones, so bring your camera. From there we’ll take a stroll through Bloomsbury, passing the British Museum and a couple of well-known squares to the Wellcome Collection on Euston Road where there are toilets, a cafe and a very interesting exhibition on eyes, sight, perception and much more. We’ll then take the Thameslink from St Pancras back to Charlton or perhaps, if the weather forecasters are wrong and it’s a lovely day, we could end the day with a further stroll in the area.
Sunday Jan 8, Charlton. We’ll meet at Charlton Station at 10.30 and walk down Anchor & Hope Lane to the river where we’ll walk along to the Barrier, up through Maryon and Maryon Wilson Parks and through Charlton Park to the wonderful Old Cottage Cafe. Could go further if the weather is good.
SOME LOCAL WALKS FOR YOU TO ENJOY – click for full details
Click here to read about some of our previous walks
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