Kent, Swanley: Five Wents and Swanley Park

[1]  Start at The Oaks surgery, Swanley.  With The Oaks behind you turn left onto the path alongside the recreation ground and turn right.  With the recreation ground on your left walk along the footpath towards Aldi and go through the gap in the railings on your right by Aldi. Continue forward  into the pedestrian shopping centre.  

[2] Ahead is  the Asda building.Go forward and walk alongside the Asda building where there is a paved pedestrian walking route to exit the car park onto Bartholomew Way.

[3] Turn left and cross road at traffic lights and then turn right and continue along Bartholomew Way to Birchwood Park Avenue.  

[4] Turn left into Birchwood Park Avenue.  At the end of this Avenue go forward onto footpath (A)

[5] Follow this footpath, along the edge of the park,, ignoring the road exits to the right, continue through cycle barriers to the end until you reach the end and exit at the main road which is Five Wents.

[6] Turn left into New Barn Road (B)

[7]Continue along New Barn Road and take entrance into Swanley Park, by cafe, on left.

[8]  Turn left and walk around the lake before walking to the top of the Park towards the car park (C)

[9] Take path through gap in trees.

[10] Go forward onto Northview, and continue forward onto Alexandra Close.

[11]Exit onto Bonney Way and turn right (D)

[12] Continue on Bonney Way and turn left into Sycamore Drive and forward onto Bartholomew Way to roundabout (D)

[13] Go forward onto St. Mary's Road (E)

[14] Take left entrance into Civic Centre car park to take footpath by side of recreation ground. (Take care as there is a short area where there is no footpath and you will be walking in the car park so watch out of cars entering and leaving)

[15] Follow footpath to end to The Oaks Surgery.

A. Bonney Way was the site of the laundry which served  St Bartholomew's hospital, London. (1885 -2004)

B. Five Wents Hall was built in 1918 in the grounds of St Mary's Church, Swanley, as a memorial hall  to celebrate the end of WWI along with the monument there. It was originally a brick hut  60 ft x 25 ft and was dismantled brick by brick to be reconstructed at Five Wents having had several refurbishments and extensions.

C. Look out for the heron who frequents the lake. The miniature railway is managed by volunteers and runs in the Summer months.

D. St Bartholomew's church is on the sight  of the Kettlewell's hospital's chapel - one of three hospitals that were in Swanley and closed in 1959 with the development of the NHS.  The Kettlewell hospital stood on what now is the Asda car park.  Parkwood hospital was closed in the early 1960s but the building remains as Parkwood Hall School, Swanley village.  All three hospitals were used by the military in both world wars

E. St Mary's church built in 1901  to replace the small corrugated iron church known as St Philip's and St James'). Note the odd shape of the building as it was intended to be built as a much larger church to accommodate the expanding Swanley population.