A Place Like No Other: going off the beaten track on London’s Green Chain Walk

One might assume that the winter months offer less opportunity for traversing London’s well-worn footpaths, but don’t let the dank weather dampen your footslogging. The colder months’ crisp walks along quieter routes ­– ideally paired with a flask of something warm in hand – are to be relished. And thanks to London’s Green Chain Walk, a circular system of open spaces stretching across 50 miles of parks and woodlands, you hardly need to plan your routes ­– not least as each section starts near public transport.

Created in 1977 to protect areas from building activity, the Green Chain’s public paths encompass architectural sites across the city. It’s not unheard of for hale and hearty hikers to do the whole loop over a couple of days, but when there’s so much to see, why not take it at your own leisurely pace? Linger a while at London’s local gems, as we did when we explored the south-eastern section of the route, taking in Severndroog Castle and Eltham Palace, galleries and gothic follies on the way.

As it happens, Inigo is both familiar and very fond of this patch of the city, having listed and sold several wonderful homes here. First up was Wickham Road, a vibrant garden flat in Brockley with a zinging green kitchen. Lately, we’ve had the pleasure of selling Redbanks, a stylishly revamped apartment that could barely be closer to the walking route, while three of our current listings in the area have recently gone under offer. Green with envy? Keep an eye out for the next one and, in the meantime, why not get a few of the Green Chain’s links under your belt?

From Brutalism behemoths to romantic ruins: Thamesmead to Lesnes Abbey, 2.6 miles

Beginning at Thamesmead, this section of the walk leads around Southmere, an artificial lake framed by Brutalist buildings, to Lesnes Abbey. Founded in 1178, the Cistercian abbey was one of the first monasteries to fall victim to Cardinal Wolsey during the dissolution of the monasteries in 1525. Built from Normandy stone, its Grade II-listed romantic ruins are still visible today, sitting within 88 hectares of former marshland and containing a beautifully restored Monk’s Garden, where medicinal herbs are still grown. Other highlights include the Conduit Pond, which provided the monks with fresh drinking water, a huge gnarled mulberry tree said to have been planted by King James I, and wooden sculptures carved by Tom Harvey.

Surfers, sharks and spring-time blooms: Erith to Bostall Woods, 3.4 miles

An alternative route takes you from Erith railway station (spot the flapping sails of windsurfers on Thames Estuary on gusty days), before reaching Lesnes Abbey Woods. Once a huge expanse of heathland characterised by heather, bracken and gorse, it’s home to highly fossiliferous shell beds, in which the preserved remains of all manner of creatures from the Eocene period can be found, from turtles to crocodiles – and lots and lots of sharks’ teeth. Open to the public, you just need to let them know you’re going. For those more into flowers than fossils, a visit in March will afford a glimpse of the area’s celebrated wild daffodils (believed to be the largest display in south-east England), while a stroll in the warmer months of April and May sees the ground transform into a carpet of bluebells.

Hot on the heels of highwaymen: Bostall Woods to Oxleas Meadows, 2.9 miles

A section that puts the ‘green’ in the Green Chain Walk. The open, grassy expanses of Bostall Heath and Woods were once the favoured stomping ground of highwaymen – there’s even a cave here named for Dick Turpin. A wander along this section of the walk will see you pass Shooter’s Hill and the working Woodlands Farm, run as a sustainable conservation project. If you continue to Oxleas Wood, one of the few remaining areas of ancient deciduous forest in Greenwich (more than 8,000 years old in some parts), you’ll find excellent views across the city and the North Downs.

Football and farm animals: Charlton Park to Bostall Woods, 1.7 miles

This section takes you past Plumstead Common, which, astoundingly, was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086. Its name comes from the fruit that once grew here, and its land, used for many years to graze cattle, was also the first playing field for a well-known football club in the 19^th century. No, not Charlton but, surprisingly, Royal Arsenal FC, before the club moved north of the river.

Today, Plumstead Common windmill’s tower is still extant, forming part of the Old Mill pub, while on the corner of the common, the Royal Artillery Museum offers respite from the outdoors of a different sort. Look out for the rotunda shaped like a military bell tent, designed by John Nash. The unusually long ha-ha ditch separating the Royal Artillery Barracks from Woolwich Common, installed in 1774 to stop sheep and cattle from entering the gunnery range, provides another stopping point. The origins of a ‘ha-ha’? It was allegedly coined by one of Louis XIV’s sons, whose governess, trying to prevent him from approaching the drop, was met with: “Ha-ha! Is this what I’m supposed to be afraid of?”

Floodgates and follies: Thames Barrier to Oxleas Meadows, 3.9 miles

This section starts at the world’s largest moveable flood barrier and ends up at a gothic folly. Severndroog Castle – designed by Richard Jupp and built in 1784 as a memorial to the British commodore who led an East India Company attack on the fortress of Suvarnadurg on India’s west coast – has a difficult history, but its Grade II*-listed spires, turrets and arched windows are worth a visit, with views from the top looking out to seven different counties on a clear day.

A modern marvel with a princely past: Oxleas Wood to Mottingham, 3.7 miles

A walk around the ancient Long Pond – excavated and used as a private boating lake in the mid-19th century – brings you to Eltham Palace. This great estate has borne witness to many significant periods in history, first as Edward II’s Medieval palace, then as the royal residence of the Tudors (it was Henry VIII’s childhood home and the site of his famed meeting with Erasmus). In the 1930s the palace was acquired and extended by Stephen and Virginia Courtauld, whose Art Deco transformation turned it into a masterpiece that’s equal parts modern and historic.

Tropicana in the Tarn: Shepherdleas Wood to Middle Park, 4.3 miles

Aside from Oxleas Wood, the open spaces surrounding Eltham Palace include the Tarn, a beautifully landscaped garden once for royal hunts (sadly, most of the deer were subsequently slaughtered during the rule of Oliver Cromwell). Also nearby is Avery Hill Park, best known for its winter garden – the second-largest Victorian glasshouse of its kind (after the temperate house in Kew) – containing tropical trees and plants from across the globe.

Creature comforts: Mottingham/Chislehurst to Beckenham Place Park, 1.7 miles

All will love Beckenham Place Park. It was established by John Cator, a merchant, politician and property developer whose Georgian mansion still stands in the grounds today and whose interest in botany saw the introduction of many species of tree to the estate. Cator’s lake has now dried up, but the park boasts London’s first purpose-built swimming pond, as well as wetlands for birds. And speaking of water: it was at the mouth of the nearby Ravensbourne, a tributary of the Thames, that Queen Elizabeth I climbed aboard the Golden Hind to knight Francis Drake.

In raptures over raptors: Beckenham Place Park to Crystal Palace, 3.9 miles

Wend your way towards Crystal Palace Park, designed by Joseph Paxton after the Great Exhibition of 1851. It was created to house the relocated glass-and-iron structure he’d originally built in Hyde Park. It was so huge it was visible from many points within the city, but in 1936 was destroyed in an inferno. The park remained, however, and is now a proper pleasure garden, home to one of the largest weekly farmers’ markets in London (yes please). The maze is worth a gander, as is the gob-smacking dinosaur park, with its full-scale (though not entirely accurate) Victorian models of the prehistoric reptiles – the first in the world.

Tawny owls and tigers (some living, some less so…): Crystal Palace to Nunhead Cemetery, 5.4 miles

This section of the route diverts through Sydenham and into Dulwich, whose Picture Gallery is the oldest public art gallery in England, designed by Sir John Soane. After you’ve lost yourself among the magnificent old masters, tighten those walking boots and continue along to another of Inigo’s favourite haunts: the Horniman Museum. Founded by Frederick John Horniman, whose business in the tea trade enabled him to amass artefacts from all corners of the earth, the museum houses more than 350,000 objects related to anthropology, natural history and music. It’s perhaps best known for its taxidermy animals – a particular shout out goes to the overstuffed wrinkle-free walrus – as well as its beautiful gardens, which boast a butterfly house.

Our final stop on the walk is Nunhead Cemetery, perhaps the least celebrated of London’s Magnificent Seven. Originally known as All Saints’, this Victorian burial ground is also a nature reserve populated with towering lime trees and a diverse range of fauna, from songbirds and woodpeckers to tawny owls, and affords views across the city stretching all the way to St Paul’s.

Further reading

For more information on the Green Chain Walk, visit the TFL website

Photography credits: images (from top) 1-6, 13, 15 all Ellen Hancock