21/09/24 - London Spiral - Stage 16 - Penge to Woolwich

Green Corridors to Scary Woolwich

A comprehensively good walk in South East London. Fast disappearing. Most suburbs ending in Ham, as I negotiate Beckenham, Mottingham and Eltham, before finishing up at Woolwich. The Elizabeth Line the quickest and cheapest way to get back into town, leaving a river crossing for the start of the next stage.

Kent House, South Penge is the start of the walk. Waiting for a GPS signal, I am instantly met by the local wildlife.

Parakeets on a Wire

I'm soon picking up existing and official Long Distance Paths - The Capital Ring, The Green Chain Link and St John's Walk take me along green corridors and through some fine walking country. Discovering;

Beckenham Place Park - The Georgian Mansion House

A Woodland Trail

Best views over the City for a long while

Eltham Palace - A Medieval Royal Residence

Severndrrog castle - a folly on Shooters Hill

Both refreshment stops are in Eltham - a traditional gem and a micro.

Its easy to fall in love with the Park Tavern. My arrival is five minutes before opening, so I can wait with increasing expectation for the scrape of the bolt - only to find several punters already bedded in. Lots of maybes. Maybe Google have the wrong hours. Maybe they haven't gone home from last night. Maybe there is an opposite name to a Lock In?  A Crack Open?

Handsome. Proper. Free.

And look at this interior - a modern interpretation of a classic bar counter?

As if I couldnt love it more

Adnams Broadside taken into the last of the 2024 sunshine, wondering if I have enough of the Anthony Bourdain in me to lunch at the Mash and Eel cafe opposite. I don't.

A little bit of Kent is found at the Long Pond. A micro pub, that will be remembered for Kent Ales (Hop Buzz Martello), Kent Crisps and a newspaper on every table.

Micro Pubs in Eltham, Kent

All downhill to Woolwich. I've got to admit, for the first time in my London wanderings, my danger senses are tingling overtime. Groups of men, hanging around on most street corners with cans and jazz cigarettes. Shirtless men howling at the skies and trying to break into church fetes. Architecturally becoming increasingly shanty. Was I correct to be on edge, or has Elon's algorithms polluted my mind to the end of Western civilisation? Possibly, but the day after I wake to the sad news of yet another fatal daylight stabbing in the very next street to where I was plodding.

Once at the the Waterfront, its very handsome.

Walk Information

Distance - 12 Miles

Start - Kent House

Finish - Woolwich

Areas Walked - Beckenham, Mottingham, Eltham, Shooters Hill, Woolwich

Geocaches - 7 and two Adventure Lab Caches

Pubs - 2

Previous Walks - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15