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| Ferry leaving Woolwich |
I seem to be forever buying books on walks these days, the latest being The Capital Ring. This 78 mile circular footpath is split into 15 walks varying from three and half to almost eight miles long. While you can do the walks in any order, I decided to start with walk one, described as 6.2 miles. This turned out to be a little longer as you have to add on walking to stations and to starting points, and with me, getting lost twice in the woods. In fact when my son looked at the map of where I walked (Google Maps), we could see where I walked around in a circle trying to find my way. We did laugh!
I used the Elizabeth Line to get me to Woolwich. This was much more pleasant that using other routes as the Elizabeth Line is air conditioned and less busy. I had my usual trouble deciding which way to go from the station. My sense of direction is hopeless until I get my bearings. I headed down towards the river, coming out by Woolwich Royal Arsenal Pier.
The walk begins at the Woolwich Foot Tunnel and takes you along by the River Thames until you come to the Thames Barrier. Finally leaving the Thames, there are some gardens to walk through before reaching Maryon Park and Maryon Wilson Park with small animal enclosures.
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| Thames Barrier |
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| Maryon Park Animal Enclosures |
Soon I entered Charlton Park which has a children's playground and a cafe. Hold on if you need refreshment because I was not impressed with the hygiene standards at the cafe, and had I known that Charlton House had a cafe, I would have hung on.
Charlton House is a stone's throw from the park. It is a beautiful building. I was able to see the library, but the house is mainly used for events. The house is supposed to be open daily, but I didn't see an entry to the house unless it's through the cafe. Something to explore another time, perhaps. However, the gardens are beautiful and well worth walking around.
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| Charlton House |
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| The Gardens |
Setting off again, I crossed a couple of roads before entering Hornfair Park which has a BMX track but little else. And then I entered Woolwich Common which was a delight. The views are rather nice across London. I admit I had no idea Woolwich had a common. There's so much about London I still don't know.
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| Hornfair Park BMX track |
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| Woolwich Common |
There are several busy roads to cross, including Shooters Hill, but then I was soon in a succession of woods - Eltham Common, Jackwood (
Jackwood House), Oxleas Wood and Eltham Park. Between Eltham Common and Jackwood is
Severndroog Castle. This was closed but opens on Sundays. There is a tea room which was also closed but is open from Thursdays to Sundays. This was a lovely part of the walk with lots of tree cover, fields and a rose garden. This was also the place I got lost and ending up back where I started, but hey ho, all good fun.
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| Severndroog Castle |
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| Rose Garden |
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| Jackwood House |
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| The Cafe and toilets! |
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| Oxlea Woods |
When I exited Eltham Park I realised I'd gone wrong again and had to double back and eventually found the right exist and the way to Falconwood Station.
You can find details of this walk in The Capital Ring Book (£14.99) Arum Press, or you can download the walk (and all the others) off the website. There is also an App you can download. I took the book (which gives history and other facts as well as maps), and a printed copy from the website (which has better maps - for me!) and includes updates.
The Capital Ring shares its route with others like The Capital Loop and Jubilee Greenway. There are many ways of walking London, and there is so much of it to walk!
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| The wrong turning! (Eltham Park) |
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| The right turning! (Eltham Park) |
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