Tag: green chain

If you fancy a 16.5 mile, 8 hour walk through some of south-east London’s greenest scenery then this Saturday provides an opportunity. Once again Ian Bull is leading the Green Chain Megawalk as part of Walk London’s Autumn Ambles weekend. It’s a slightly different route than last time, taking in Charlton’s parks and ending at the Thames Barrier rather than Bostall Woods and the Thames at Erith, which cuts some five miles off the distance. Walkers will meet at 9.15am outside Crystal Palace station, and the walk finishes at Charlton Station. The Walk London website has more details:

Walk Description:
A packed lunch is essential as is water to drink along the way. There is a small supermarket at the beginning but opportunities to re-stock along the way are very limited.
No other London walk offers such a pleasant challenge.
The Green Chain Megawalk is by a considerable margin the longest established long-distance guided walk in London and many hundreds have participated. Some thought they wouldn’t complete such a distance, yet the camaraderie and expert guidance have seen all but a handful achieve an on-time finish. Every one of the participants has taken wonderful memories from the day. Here’s your chance to join the institution!
South East London possesses London’s finest landscape but in places the remarkably bucolic components of that landscape are not quite contiguous. The ‘Green Chain Walk’ was laid-out in 1977 to link those Pearls together becoming the Capital’s first long distance footpath in the process. Today the Green Chain network is over 50 miles long and the many thousands of acres of open space and woodland it joins are deservedly to be considered for Regional Park status. The Megawalk carefully balances distance, gradient, landscape, and views to bring a true taste of this exceptional system into one day.
We’ll gently climb to some of the highest points in the city, suburbia giving way to outstanding views and much woodland, some established for 8,000 years. For lengthy sections you won’t know you are in a town, let alone the Metropolis, as well over half the route is off-road. After lunch we descend through woodland and across heaths to a splendid complex of parks in Charlton that were a principle location in the 1960s cult film ‘Blow Up’. From there it’s a short distance to our destination at the remarkable Thames Barrier, hopefully glinting in the setting sun. Excellent transport into central London is close-by.
The route is steep in places, a packed lunch is essential, and of course you must be reasonably fit. You must also be able to sustain three miles per hour for most of a day and if you think you can, this particularly friendly event is the one Walk London walk that you should do. There is no need to book, just turn up and go, a remarkable day awaits you.
The Megawalk is never, ever, allowed to finish late. Should the necessary pace prove wearisome there’s plentiful public transport throughout for a comfortable return home. You are also most welcome to join the walk at any point.
The walk leader is the Green Chain Walk’s surveying contractor and will be delighted to share his extensive knowledge both along the way and in advance. Feel very free to contact him, Ian Bull, for further information.  T. 020 7223 3572,  E. ianbull@btinternet.com

The Autumn Ambles programme includes lots of other great walks, though Ian’s walk on Sunday which takes in Severndroog Castle is unfortunately already fully booked. However Seafaring London – Tower Bridge to Greenwich sounds interesting, as do some of the shorter walks in central London such as The Real West End – Soho, Chinatown and Covent Garden which is just 1.5miles, the same distance as Secret Diaries and Public Spaces – The Legacy of Pepys and Wren.

Time to brush off those walking boots.

Walk London‘s series of free guided walks this weekend – their Autumn Ambles – includes one of the longest but most rewarding “ambles” in London: the Green Chain Megawalk. The 22 mile amble actually moves along at a steady average walking speed, and will be led once again by Ian Bull, our favourite leader of walks in South-East London and a bit of an expert on the Green Chain, not to mention a part-time restorer of steam locomotives. The walk starts at Crystal Palace railway station at 9.15am on Saturday, 27th September and finishes more than 9 hours later down at the Thames near Erith railway station. The Walk London web site has the details:

The Green Chain Megawalk is by a considerable margin the longest established long-distance guided walk in London and many hundreds have participated. Some thought they wouldn’t complete such a distance, yet the camaraderie and expert guidance have seen all but a handful achieve an on-time finish. Every one of the participants has taken wonderful memories from the day. Here’s your chance to join the institution!
We’ll gently climb to some of the highest points in the city, suburbia giving way to outstanding views and miles of London’s best woodland, some established for 8,000 years. For lengthy sections you won’t know you are in a town, let alone the Metropolis as well over half the route is off-road. Despite travelling around an entire quartile of London we’ll cross just 40 surfaced thoroughfares.
The route is steep in its latter parts, a packed lunch is essential, and of course you must be reasonably fit. You must also be able to sustain three miles per hour for most of a day and if you think you can, this particularly friendly event is the one Walk London walk that you should do. There is no need to book, just turn up and go, a remarkable day awaits you.

One of the good things about the walk is that if 22 miles proves too much then it is possible to drop out along the way and get a bus or train home, and for those living in Shooters Hill the late lunchtime stop at the Oxleas Café can be an early finishing point if the legs are ready to give up after 16 miles.

There’s an interactive map of the route of the Green Chain Walk on the Green Chain web site here. For further information about the walk contact Ian by phone,  020 7223 3572 or  email – ianbull at btinternet dot com.

The Green Chain Megawalk is by far the longest of the Autumn Ambles; most of them are just a couple of miles, and there are walks taking in Soho, St. Paul’s and the City of London. Looks like a good weekend for a walk.

There’s another opportunity for an overnight ramble along the 22 miles of the Green Chain Walk from Crystal Palace to Erith on Friday, 5th September. As before the walk will be led by Ian Bull, who regularly leads walks near Shooters Hill, such as the Best Landscape and Views in London,  the Thames Path Super Walk and London’s best woodland and views – without doubt. He e-mailed to say:

MIDNIGHT MEGAWALK – FRIDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER 2014.
CRYSTAL PALACE RAILWAY STATION at 23.30.

At last… There’s finally a strong chance of clear skies on Friday/Saturday 5th/6th September. No rain is forecast and it’s going to be nice and warm as well. There hasn’t been a clear Friday/Saturday  since late May – not one!
This is your chance to experience a very pleasant walk in remarkable  conditions. There are miles of dense woodland on our route and in them it will be jet-black. Barely a photon will disturb us when we stand still for a moment and listen to the nocturnal wildlife quietly scurrying through the undergrowth. As first light begins to show at  about 04.00 the sky will gently become turquoise from the North  leaving black to the South and from our best vantage points, London’s  streetlights gleaming gold beneath us. The views are glorious, the darkness delicious, and the landscape is London’s best.

There’s no need to book and no charge, just turn up, but feel very  free to ask me in advance for further information.

What we’re going to do…
* We meet outside Crystal Palace railway station at 23.30 on Friday 5th September.
* The pace will be leisurely, we don’t even have to make average  walking speed.
* The aim is to see the Sun rising over East Anglia and the Lower Thames from Shooters Hill, very nearly London’s highest point, at 06.21 and we will achieve this.
* The overall distance is 21.5 miles but a 1.5 mile diversion through excellent woodland will be offered to see the Gothicky (spooky?) Severndroog Castle. There are benches for a nap for those who don’t want to do this.
* After sunrise we’ll traverse Bostall Woods and Lesnes Abbey Woods.  About four miles of these, and the latter has been there for 8,000  years, London’s finest ancient woodland.
* Finish at Erith about 08.30 for a train home. No engineering works – 33 minutes to London Bridge.
* Some participants traditionally have a breakfast together in a Café near London Bridge after the event.

Ian can be contacted by e-mail on  ianbull at btinternet dot com

If you prefer to walk the Green Chain in the light of day Ian is also planning to hold a day-time megawalk on Saturday 27th September.

Our favourite walk leader, Ian Bull, wrote to remind me of this weekend’s set of strolls brought together by Walk London. Ian is leading two walks over the weekend. The first, and longest, is on Saturday, 17th May – a 17.5 mile, 8 hour hike along the Thames from Slade Green to Greenwich.  This Thames Path Super Walk is described on the Walk London web site as follows:

 – This is without doubt one of the most fascinating walks possible in South East England. In a most attractive way it explores the Thames between bucolic countryside and the intense development of the World’s greatest commercial centre. This isn’t so much a walk as a journey.
– We begin in the farmland of London’s Green Belt beside the River Darent, a stones-throw from Kent, arriving at Crayford Ness and confluence with the Thames by way of brackish marshes rich in bird life. We then receive the almost magical experience of seeing the great river progress from pre-estuarine bleakness to the heart of urbanity.
– The transition between the contrasting landscapes is both inexorable yet surprisingly gentle as the natural environment penetrates well into London. Typically, whilst passing Bulrushes reclaiming an old wharf we might already see the towers of commerce rising before us.
– The walk is also a historical timeline for London. We’ll pass evidence of almost every aspect of the city’s economic and industrial past from agriculture and fisheries through iron and shipping to electronics and nuclear engineering. We’ll conclude besides one of the most famed examples of the built environment anywhere on the planet, Wren’s magnificent work at Greenwich. Overall, this walk is a feast for both the eye and the mind, no wonder it’s proven so popular.
– The start is timed to allow for a walk without rush but please note that it demands the ability to consistently maintain average walking pace for some 14 miles. A packed lunch is essential as is water to drink along the way. There is a small supermarket at the beginning but opportunities to re-stock along the way are very limited
– The walk leader has a lifetime’s experience of walking besides London’s river and will be delighted to share his extensive knowledge. Feel free to contact him, Ian Bull, for further information.  Telephone 020 7223 3572,  E-mail ianbull@btinternet.com

The walk starts at 10.00am at Slade Green Station and finishes at Greenwich. Both walks are free and booking is not required.

The second walk, on Sunday 18th May, is even closer to home.  The modestly titled London’s best woodland and views, without doubt is only 7.5 miles, but takes in the best bits of the Green Chain walk. It starts at 11.45am outside the booking office at Belvedere railway station and finishes at the top of Shooters Hill. The Walk London write up says:

 – The title of this walk says it all and participants will not be disappointed.
– South East London is sometimes dismissed as a sprawl of suburban housing. This couldn’t be further from the truth, the area contains the finest landscape in London. Thanks to that quality the South East was chosen in 1977 as the location for London’s first long distance footpath network, the Green Chain.
– This walk naughtily picks the very best parts of the Green Chain system and combines them into one gem, perhaps the most attractive foot journey that London can offer. There will be miles when you’ll have no idea that you are within a City. The Woodland is ancient, extensive, and dense, it was recorded by the Romans and pre-dates them by millennia.
– Within that woodland we’ll meet one of London’s least known ancient monuments, the ruins of Lesnes Abbey. Already having met some notable gradients we now start climbing consistently, to well over 400 feet. As we progress you’ll notice ever more extensive views unfolding and at every stage you can be sure of ever better views and landscape before you. A Victorian interlude at Plumstead Common preludes further ascent towards Shooters Hill and, if the weather is clear, views out to the North Sea. The summit of Shooters Hill with its great vista over Kent and Surrey is crowned by yet more ancient woodland and nestling within it we’ll find the remarkable Severndroog Castle. From here it’s a short walk to buses for home and memories of a day you won’t forget. Please note that our route is very steep in places, a packed lunch is essential, and there are few places to re-stock along the way.
– The walk leader is the Green Chain Walk’s surveying contractor and will be delighted to share his extensive knowledge.

While walking with Ian you could also ask him about the railway system that used to run in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich and the restoration of the Woolwich steam locomotive. Ian is scheduled to give a talk about “The narrow gauge railways of the Royal Arsenal” at the Greenwich Industrial History Society meeting on 17th June. It starts at 7.30pm at  The Old Bakehouse, Bennett Park, SE3, behind Age Exchange in Blackheath.

Ian Bull e-mailed about a walk he is leading this Saturday, 25th January: The best landscape and views in London – Charlton to Plumstead via Shooters Hill. Ian frequently leads walks on the Green Chain path, including the Green Chain Megawalk, which last year attracted some 60 walkers for the 22 miles from Crystal Palace to Erith. He wrote:

I’ll be leading a walk on the Green Chain from Charlton to Plumstead  via Maryon Park, Charlton House, Woolwich Common, Severndroog Castle,  and Shooters Hill etc. All are welcome, no need to book, and it’s  free of charge. We’ll have lunch at Charlton House. Meet 11.30 at  Charlton railway station. Finish 17.00 at Plumstead railway station,  seven miles long. A packed lunch and waterproof footwear are essential.
There are some slightly glorifying, but not too embellished details here. http://www.walk4life.info/events/the-best-landscape-and-views-london-charlton-plumstead-shooters-hill-green-chain-walk
I’ve spent a great deal of time on Shooters Hill in the past few  weeks. As lovely as ever, but isn’t it muddy? I suppose that’s what  comes from a hill made of Clay!

The walk is one of many across London as part of Walk London‘s “Winter Wanders Weekend”.  I notice Ian is also leading a walk on Sunday, A Cathedral of Steam and the mature Thames – Plumstead to Woolwich Arsenal, which includes a private visit to the Crossness Pumping Station. Unfortunately this is already fully booked.

On Sunday the Winter Wanders Weekend includes another nearby  walk, though not led by Ian this time: Ferry cross the Thames – Woolwich Arsenal to West Ham/Hackney Wick. Details are available from the Walk London web site:

Date:                        26th January 2014
Start Time:               11:00am at Woolwich Arsenal Station
Duration:                  3 hours
Length of Walk:        5.8 miles
Cost:    Free of charge
Booking advice:    No booking required
Walk Description:
Start your walk along this part of the Capital Ring with a ferry across the Thames to the Royal Docks and a walk through Beckton parks, the Greenway and the Lower Lea Valley to the largest remaining C18th tidal mill at Three Mills.
The walk takes in the Greenway, Bazelgette’s famous raised sewer that combated the “Great Stink” and cholera outbreaks.
Walkers are advised to bring a packed lunch.

Ian Bull, who frequently leads walks on the Green Chain Path, has been in touch about two walks he is leading this weekend as part of Walk London‘s Autumn Ambles Weekend. On Saturday he is leading a Green Chain Megawalk:

Saturday 28th sees the seventh ‘Green Chain Megawalk’. This very popular 21.5 mile stroll leaves Crystal Palace railway station at 09.15, arrives at the Oxleas Wood café at about 14.30, and finishes by the Thames at Erith at about 18.30. The aim is see many of the really good parts of the Green Chain in one day at average walking pace. A packed lunch is essential and there are more details here http://www.walk4life.info/events/londons-ultimate-walk-the-green-chain-megawalk . One of the best aspects of this walk is the excellent camaraderie generated between participants, some making life-long friends.

Look out for, and be careful of, the Hornets’ nest in a hollow tree just down the hill from the old concrete tank in Oxleas Wood.

Then on Sunday there is the Unknown Delights and Gems in South East London walk, which takes in Eltham Palace, Eltham College,  the River Quaggy  and Chinbrook Meadows, Elmstead and Marvels Woods, Avery Hill Park and Oxleas Wood:

Sunday 29th sees us exploring attractive parts of the Green Chain that haven’t featured in Walk London’s programme before. Indeed, few organised walks have. This 10.5 mile walk starts at Eltham railway station at 12.00 and will finish at the Oxleas Wood café at about 17.00. There will then be an extension for those interested down to Plumstead Common via Shrewsbury Park for trains from Plumstead railway station. Again a packed lunch is essential for people who won’t have already eaten by the state time. We’ll take lunch either at King John’s playing fields in Southern Eltham or at Chinbrook Meadows depending on what the walkers want to do. There are more details here http://www.walk4life.info/events/unknown-delights-and-gems-south-east-london.

There’s no need to book for these walks. Ian can be contacted for more details on ianbull at btinternet dot com.

Sounds a great weekend for walkers.

If you fancy a 22 mile night hike along the length of the Green Chain Walk from Crystal Palace to Erith then you’re in luck because Ian Bull will be leading one on Friday night. This is a repeat of last year’s successful “megawalk”, but without the Oxleas missiles. Ian has led a number of walks in the area, including the Best Landscape and Views in London,  the Thames Path Super Walk and London’s best woodland and views – without doubt. He e-mailed to say:

A leisurely 22 mile stroll over the most popular sections of the Green Chain Walk from Crystal Palace to Erith, but with a difference, the walk is nocturnal!
Meet outside Crystal Palace railway station at 23.45pm. After the first five miles we enter pitch black woodland. Quite amazing! By the time we get to Eltham we’ll see wonderful views of London at first- light. This was so good last year that we spent about 20 minutes watching. At around 05.00, after much more dark woodland we arrive at Shooters Hill for sunrise, and there’s no where better to see it as the view extends right over Essex and the estuary. The rest of the walk is mostly in woodland which looks lovely at that time of the morning. We arrive at Erith and the Thames at about 08.00 for plenty of trains home.
The walk was very successful last year but I must stress that the event is wholly unofficial and just for fun. If you take part you do so entirely at your own risk. For further information please contact Ian Bull – ianbull at btinternet dot com

If you prefer to hike by daylight then Ian will be repeating the walk on Saturday 28th September during the day:

TfL has offered to fund Walk London’s ‘Autumn Ambles’ and thus the 7th ‘Green Chain Megawalk’ will go ahead on Saturday 28th September starting from Crystal Palace railway station at 9.15. It’s the same as the above but in daylight.