Route Overview

Green Chain Walk

This extensive and intricate network will provide many happy days of walking through the dozens of woodlands and open spaces that cover this part of London. The South East London Green Chain, and the network of routes that links them is known simply as the Green Chain Walk.

The network takes the shape of a broad blade extending 29km (18ml) from its haft at various points beside the Thames in the northeast to its tip at Crystal Palace Park in the southwest. It connects with other key routes including the Capital Ring, London Loop and Thames Path. Branches from the Thames Barrier, Thamesmead and Erith come together at Oxleas Wood and Meadows, the fulcrum of the network, where a cafeteria sits atop a promontory looking for all the world like a welcoming mountain hut in the Alps! On a fine day this is a glorious place to rest awhile, admire the view and maybe meet other Green Chain Walkers.

Its 10 sections, together with numerous spurs and links, cover 65km (40ml) and are a delight to explore, with many possible combinations and opportunities for circular walks. For convenience, here is a summary with approximate distances (including spurs and links):

Distance walking each Section

Section:	km:	ml:
1 (Thamesmead to Lesnes Abbey)	3.5	2.2
2 (Erith to Bostall Woods)	5.2	3.2
3 (Bostall Woods to Oxleas Meadows)	4.3	2.7
4 (Charlton Park to Bostall Woods or Oxleas Meadows)	5.8	3.6
5 (Thames Barrier to Oxleas Meadows)	6.7	4.2
6 (Oxleas Woods to Mottingham)	6.2	3.9
7 (Shepherdleas Wood to Middle Park, Eltham)	7.5	4.7
8 (Mottingham to Beckenham Place Park)	7.1	4.4
9 (Mottingham or Chislehurst to Beckenham Place Park)	6.8	4.2
10 (Beckenham Place Park to Crystal Palace Park)	5.8	3.6
11 (Crystal Palace to Nunhead Cemetery)	8.7	5.4

Boroughs which the route passes through:

Bexley
Bromley
Greenwich
Lewisham

Interesting places on or near the route:

Crystal Palace
Lesnes Abbey and Fossil Beds
Marvels and Elmstead Wood
Oxleas Woodlands
Thames Barrier
The Marshes

Signage:

The routes are exceptionally well signed throughout. All its signs bear the network's linked 'G-C' logo and text 'Green Chain Walk'. In parks, woods and open spaces this is on solid wooden posts topped by a yellow arrow. Other signs are metal and have white logo and text on a green background. On streets a metal plate or fingers are attached to lampposts or other street furniture. At major junctions where a section starts, or where sections or links meet, fingerposts bearing the location name show distances to other key points, and there is often an accompanying information board for the whole network. It is planned that sections shared with the Capital Ring will have joint signs, and there will also be signed links with stations within 1.6km (1.0ml).

Principal promoters:

The network is jointly promoted and funded by the London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham and through Walk London. A project officer, who supervises co-ordination and administration, is based at the Green Chain Walk Project offices.

Further information:

A laminated pack (current price £3.50), containing an introduction to the network and route descriptions for each of the 10 sections, is available from the Green Chain Walk Project office, tourist information centres, some libraries and the council offices of LB Bexley, LB Bromley, LB Greenwich and LB Lewisham.

Visit www.greenchain.com to find information about the route, Project Officer contact details and details of the fun and welcoming events such as the annual 'Green Chain Walking Festival'.

 

Completed a route ? Why not celebrate your achievement by ordering a completion certificate from info@walklondon.org.uk