[1] From the domed tower of the foot tunnel go left of the Cutty Sark
.(A) Cutty Sark has travelled across the world, sailing under both the Red Ensign and the Portuguese flag, visiting every major port in the world through the course of her working life. In admiration of her beauty and in recognition of her fame, she was preserved for the nation by Captain Wilfred Dowman in 1922. Since then, the old clipper has been berthed in Falmouth and Greenhithe, finally arriving here in 1954.
Turn right alongside the grounds of the Royal Naval College (B) (now part of Greenwich University). Keep straight ahead as you leave the square, along King William Walk. There are public toilets and tourist information here. Keep straight ahead at the main road junction, continuing up King William Walk to the entrance to Greenwich Park. To your left is the National Maritime Museum and the Queen's House
(C).Queen's House was commissioned by Anne of Denmark, wife of James I (reigned 1603–25). James was often at the Tudor Palace of Greenwich, where the Old Royal Naval College now stands – it was as important a residence of the early Stuart dynasty as it had been for the Tudors. Traditionally he is said to have given the manor of Greenwich to Anne in apology for having sworn at her in public, after she accidentally shot one of his favourite dogs while hunting in 1614.
We are currently walking on the route of The Green Way, a non-waymarked 100 mile walk round London, featuring history, natural history and information about London that you will not find elsewhere, devised by Bob Gilbert.
[2] On entering the park take the walk on the left which is closest to the main drive, signed 'cafe', leading to the building on the hill which is Flamsteed House, the old Greenwich Observatory
(D). The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in London played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of the prime meridian.
At the first junction go right and climb the steep slope up the left hand (eastern) side of the hill to arrive in the eastern hemisphere. The path up to the house is quite steep. For a slower climb take the main drive from the park entrance round the right hand side of the house then at the top turn left.
You may wish to explore Flamsteed House.
To continue the walk, go along the road on the left side of Flamsteed House until you reach the octagonal Pavilion Tea House on your left Turn 90 degrees right, across the main drive and continue along a straight avenue of old oaks in the same direction until you reach the park wall. Turn left here, keeping in the park and walk past The Rangers House(E) and its rose garden, to find an exit at the Chesterfield Gate, just by the corner of the park.
[3] Outside the gate is Charlton Way, used for parking coaches. Cross it, and then cross the A2 (Shooters Hill Road) ahead, using the traffic island.
The A2 is the historic route out of London towards Canterbury, Dover and the rest of the world.
Turn right and walk to the left of the café hut and cross Goffers Road. As you can see, you are now on Blackheath. The heath, whilst full of history, is not particularly full of features to navigate by. Aim diagonally across the grass towards the left hand side of a group of buildings that sticks out into the heath. If the weather is clear you will be able to see the Crystal Palace mast, which is your ultimate destination!
The heath has been the site for rebellions, celebrations, plague pits and highway robberies. For a number of years rich people wanting a house on the heath annexed land to build their homes. It may be that these people, or their descendants, formed the Blackheath Society in the 1930s to stop others doing what they had done. The society is rigorous in protecting the area. Blackheath can be said to be south London’s attempt at Hampstead.
Cross a road and continue in the same direction, heading past the left side of the buildings. You come to a small road, Mounts Pond Road.
[4] Cross over and turn right along this road. At the junction with St Austell Road keep straight ahead down the road that is “no entry” for cars. At the bottom turn left downhill onto Lewisham Hill.
As we go downhill, we are also going down in society. The formerly grand dwellings start to change into something more normal. We are heading for Lewisham.
At the bottom of Lewisham Hill bear left onto Lewisham Road. Go under the railway bridge into the heart of Lewisham. Cross a service road then at the grassy area take the pedestrian crossing right. Go left past the entrance to Lewisham DLR station then cross the entrance to Lewisham railway station, and go immediately left over the pedestrian crossing just before the railway bridge. Turn right and walk under the railway bridge.
It has to be said that our walk does not show the centre of Lewisham in its best light. Once the area you have walked through was the home to two department stores and two cinemas. Now this part of town has been sacrificed to traffic. Lewisham was the birthplace of Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols.
[5] Turn left immediately after the bridge, down a pedestrian walkway.
Ahead is the Glass Mill Leisure Centre, clad in multicolour plastic squares. Inside are some Information panels on the history of the area. We are now on the Waterlink Way, which is also signposted as national cycle route 21. We will follow this until Lower Sydenham. But be warned. In cities some people make a hobby of turning signs round to face the wrong way. A sign that can be turned may have been, so a sign tells you that you are on the route, but not necessarily where you need to go next!
Go left of the Leisure Centre and along the River Ravensbourne. After about 100 metres the pedestrian area ends at Waterway Avenue. Continue ahead down the avenue, next to the river, then turn first right down Pine Tree Way and then left into Elmira Street. Follow the street under the railway. Turn first left into Marsala Road.
Notice the typical late Victorian houses. These are far less grand than the great houses of Blackheath. They are typical of the Victorian developments which the railway made possible. People of fairly modest means were now able to find decent housing further away from their jobs.
[6] Marsala Road bends right and then joins Algernon Road. Turn left here, then bear left to reach Ladywell. Carefully cross right over Algernon Road then left over Ladywell Road at the pedestrian crossing. Go left past the entrance to the station and over the railway bridge.
If you wish for a small deviation, ahead of you on the right is the St Mary's Conservation Area including an interesting set of municipal buildings. In order they are the Parish Hall, looking like a chapel, the public baths with its tower, then the Coroner's Court with its arched stone window, then just round the corner the Police Station. Turn right at the T-junction to find the Fire Station and then St Marys Church (F), which is over 1000 years old. Go to the church door then go up the path to the left to St Marys Gardens. Go left across the bridge into Ladywell Fields then go left.
Immediately after the bridge go right into Ladywell Fields. Take the path left along the river.
There is a cafe and public toilets to the right of the park here. A fine riverside walk ensues. The River Ravensbourne has been allowed to return to its natural state and a great deal of planting to encourage wildlife has gone on. You follow the Ravensbourne, crossing the river from time to time until you reach Catford.
Take the second bridge left over the river, by the running track, then cross the spiral footbridge over the railway. Pass the old Catford Greyhound Stadium on your left then pass under the railway and cross the river then continue left through the park. At the end of the park go left over the river and under the railway to reach Adenmore Road, an almost subterranean area between two railways. Go right, past the once attractive building of Catford Bridge Station, then ahead through the subway under Catford Road. Turn immediately right up a ramp to reach Catford Road, opposite Catford Station.
This is a typical bit of South London railway history. The railway companies laid out a dense network of railways in attempts to grab territory and passengers. It was common for companies to run two lines very close together, as happened here. The growth of London has been such that there has often been enough traffic for both lines.
[7] Keep on across the Halfords entrance and turn left into the Wickes entrance. Be careful of traffic here. At the end of the car park take the path right under the railway, signed 'River Pool Linear Park'. Cross the river then bear left past a grassed area into a pleasant wood. The river divides. Our path now follows the Pool River to the right.
[8] At the railway footbridge go right over the river then follow it left past a children's playground. Cross two more bridges to reach busy Southend Lane.
Opposite is Fambridge Close. You can see the Waterlink Way going straight ahead, but we leave the way here, unless you wish to reach Lower Sydenham station.
Go right past the Railway Tavern to the traffic lights at the entrance to Sainsburys. Cross left over Southend Lane then go right across Kangley Bridge Road and Haseltine Road to come to the imposing Haseltine School.
I’m sure going to school in a building like this has an effect on children. This solid, overbearing style of junior school became common in London after the 1870 education act and persisted for many years. The aim may have been to cram as much school as possible into a small space, but I wonder if it was also designed to impress the children that they were being done good to and ought to be suitably cowed.
[9] There is a small turning to the left in front of the school (Bell Green Lane), but keep on to the main Sydenham Road. Follow the pavement as it bears round to the left. Cross Porthcawe Road and walk past Byron Close flats on your left.
You can see that we are out of the Victorian period. A lot of council housing was built in this part of London as part of the programme to clear slums in inner London. However the design has not changed much from the flats built for the working classes by philanthropic companies in the Victorian era. The typical design was for flats reached by stairs and uncovered walkways, which you can see here. Because it was thought reasonable for people to walk up five floors but no more, five floors was the maximum allowed.
You come to Home Park. Take the first entrance left into the park, just before a toilet block (apparently closed). Walk along the left edge of the park through a majestic line of plane trees. At the end of the park cross the road and take a footpath opposite in the same direction.
Now you can see further examples of different styles of council housing. On our left are small blocks of flats designed in a faintly cottagey style. Perhaps because Britain was the first country to industrialise there seems to have been a great desire to hark back to an earlier, imagined, rural life. On our right is something very different. Many people growing up in British cities before 1940 developed a horror of the slums crammed together with no light or nature to be seen. The technology available in the 1960’s seemed to offer an answer. With lifts becoming more affordable it became possible to consider higher buildings. Higher buildings meant less pressure on land. So people could have green space around them. It didn’t always work. A lift is no substitute for a street for meeting people and grass areas can become a wasteland. But what do you think about the homes you see on both sides here?
Keep on through a car park to reach Kent House Lane, and go right.
Opposite is an elegant old print works of the 1930s. The houses here date from the inter war period and you can see from the width of the road that we have entered the era when car travel became more important. Here again the style of housing is vaguely reminiscent of the country past. Notice the Tudor/Elizabethan style features on some houses. Like the council tower blocks we saw earlier these houses represent a revolt against the darkness of Victorian Housing. Some of them have or had stained glass windows with sunrises or flowers. This style of suburban housing is out of fashion and some of the houses are starting to look run down.
Kent House Road comes in from the right. We continue straight ahead. The houses become a little grander.
[10] On the right hand side, between numbers 148 and 150, there is a small path leading away from the road at right angles. Take this. You can see by the signs that we have joined two routes, the Capital Ring and the Green Chain Walk. We will follow these to the end of the walk.
At the end of the path cross Cator Road and turn right. We are now back in the Victorian era. This time we are in an area of affluent suburban gentility in Penge. Just past number 57 you come to a signed alleyway on the left. Turn down this and, at its end, turn left, walking round the side of the (rather bleak) Alexandra Rec. Bear right round a run-down toilet block then go left past a run-down drinking fountain then right and left down the elegant Maitland Road (more suburban gentility, a little less posh this time). At the end turn right along busy Lennard Road. After 80 metres go left down Newlands Park and over the footbridge at Penge East station.
[11] Having crossed the bridge you may want to make a little diversion to see England’s first co-operative housing. Keep straight ahead after the bridge and then take the first left. This is Lucas Road, built in 1890 by Tenant Co-operators Ltd, with close links to the co-operative movement. Sadly, all the houses are now privately owned. Return the way you came.
To follow the main route turn right after the bridge and then continue along Station Road. Pass the Hollywood East pub with an interesting mural on its rear wall. Take the second turning on the left - Kingswood Road.
For some decades now Victorian houses have been fashionable, with the tide of gentrification sweeping out from central London. Has it reached Kingswood Road yet, or will the street be taken over by short term renting and landlordism? What do you think?
Cross High Street by the pedestrian crossing and follow the sign right up and under two railways (Penge West Station is on your left). See the entrance to Crystal Palace Park (G) ahead of you. Crystal Palace. Martin Spence’s book “The Making of a London Suburb” describes how the palace used for the Great Exhibition of 1851 was rebuilt and expanded on this site in 1852/4 and how the grounds which now form the park were landscaped to give it a grand setting. A major backer was the London Brighton and South Coast Railway, which saw great opportunities for making money from trippers. The palace burnt down in 1936 and the park has never been the same since. For a while there was a motor cycle speedway track here and a racing car track and in the 1960’s a large sports centre was planted in the middle, taking the heart out of the park. With the demise of the Greater London Council the park was handed over to the London Borough of Bromley, not an organisation with a great reputation for parks maintenance and development. In the past the council has attempted various schemes, including the selling of the palace cite for hotels and leisure developments. The latest scheme in 2013 is for a Chinese company to rebuild the palace as it was. Not surprisingly local residents are organised to oppose any abuse of the park.
There are also a maze, a boating lake, a children’s playground and visitor centre and a children’s zoo. You can download a map and guide to the park here. But there are still a lot of things to see. The most interesting part of the park, which our route traverses, is the lakeside exhibition of models of ancient animals, download an audio trail around these onto a tablet or smart phone.
England’s power grew from its navy and the river around here was the site of much of the growth of that navy, so it is not surprising that for 400 years from the 15th Century this was the home of Monarchs. Henry VIII and Elizabeth 1 ran their courts from here. There have been three palaces here. The second, the palace of Pleasuance was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell, but the third, known as the Queens House, remains.
But if you came by train from London you will have seen the way that the railway changed the area of our walk. The London to Greenwich railway was the first railway in London and was planned to be the gateway to Dover and the world. But its progress was halted by the existence of all this ancient buildings. By the time engineers had made the steep tunnel underneath them that led you to Maze Hill it was too late. Other routes had got to Dover first. We will meet lots of railways on the walk. They were vital to the development of the area.
Close by is the Crystal Palace Transmitting Station of 1956
[12] We will be following the Green Chain Walk through the park. It is well way-marked. Initially the route goes up the main drive to public toilets then turns left towards the café, passing through the terrace to the right of the café and out of the opposite gate. Continue past a gorilla statue to join a lake then turn right along the lakeside.
Paths wind through the exhibition of stone models of dinosaurs and other ancient creatures. You may want to divert from the path to see more of the models.
Go first left along the lake past the models of deer, then go right across a small bridge then left to a larger bridge by a display of geological strata. To see the best dinosaurs go left along the lakeside then at the end turn right and go up to the modern Capel Manor College and Children’s farm building. The way-marking disappears again, but bear left along the fence with the sports stadium on your right then fork left uphill to come to the historic Crystal Palace station at the end of the walk.
You may want to extend the walk by visiting the site of the Crystal Palace itself. To do this, do not turn left into the station but head north-east following Green Chain signs. Cross the road. Do not take the road that runs downhill opposite, but instead take a straight path slightly further on. To your left you will see the old terraces which led up to the palace. Turn left to visit the grand staircase which led to the Palace, which was at the top of the hill. You can either retrace your steps to the station or you can walk up the steps and then follow an obvious path which bears slightly left, up the next terrace and then out into the Crystal Palace Parade and the bus station. The parade looks very grand but is suspended in the middle of nowhere. Once the great palace was on one side and the London Chatham and Dover’s railway station on the other.