Woolwich to Falconwood on the Capital Ring

Travelling to the start of this walk on the Docklands Light Railway, as I passed through West Silvertown, I thought of Melanie McGrath’s memoir of her grandmother’s life: ‘Silvertown’. It has a harrowing tale of the unfortunate girl having all her teeth pulled so that her future husband would not be burdened with dental expenses. I’d also recently read Peter Ackroyd’s ‘Biography’ of London and been shocked to read the chapter on the destruction of this dockland area in the Second World War.

There’s plenty of evidence of the past in Woolwich where the former buildings of the Royal Arsenal stand proudly in a new ‘development’

As I walked down the broad no 1 street, I came upon ‘Assembly’ a set of sculptures by Peter Burke. He had an engineering background and I feel these contemporary sculptures blend well into this historical setting.

'Assembly' by Peter Burke

And so once more to the Thames with views of the barrier and of Canary Wharf on a grey day.

view of the Thames from the Woolwich Dockyard Promenade

Across the river is the Tate and Lyle Sugar Refinery in Silvertown

Tate and Lyle Sugar Refinery

Reminders that this area was home to the Royal Naval Dockyard are two nineteenth century cannon:

The Capital Ring leaves the Thames and heads inland, winding through streets, with a view of the old chimney of the Royal Naval Dockyard’s steam factory.

chimney of the Royal Naval Dockyard Steam Factory

The route now heads south and  joins that of the Green Chain Walk, linking a series of woods and open spaces. The first of these was donated to London County Council by the Maryon Wilson family in 1891. It had been a sand pit: sand having been used as a floor-covering before wool carpets were widely available. Maryon Park and the adjacent Maryon Wilson Park  are attractive and the former was used as the main location for Antonioni’s 1966 film :’Blow Up’.

Maryon Park

Here I had my lunch on a bench dedicated to the memory of human rights campaigner, Denis Alan  Player, before climbing steps at the end of the park into Maryon Wilson Park.

 Having made my way through this and past a children’s zoo, which was still open despite an unfortunate infection of e-coli from a similar farm in the west country, I came to Charlton Park. Down a lime-tree lined walk was Charlton House, affording a much better view of this fine Jacobean mansion than that from the road(See November 1st 2008 post : The Thames Barrier)    

I reflected on the unintended consequences of inequality. Clearly certain families had been able to amass great wealth and build themselves large mansions which dwarfed the cottage dwellings where most people lived. Some, as in the case of Sir Adam Newton, who built Charlton House , did so because of the rewards of  high office, some, as in the case of the Maryon Wilsons, who succeeded him,  had invested in a commodity (sand) which other people needed. Estates such as these  often form the basis for much loved parks, sometimes  as a result of  public campaigns to keep them as open spaces for the benefit of the community. On this day, when I walked through so many formerly privately owned parks, I could not help but wonder if there would have been so many public parks  if they hadn’t previously existed as private parks. 

Once through Charlton Park, it was necessary to cross a road and then go through  Hornfair Park. After crossing another road, I reached Woolwich Common, a wild place, which, presumably escaped enclosure owing to its use as a place of assembly for the military.

Woolwich common

 After this comes a continuous belt of ancient woodland beginning with Eltham Common and going on through Castlewood, Jackwood and Oxleas wood. These woods have been designated a site of special scientific interest because of the variety of plants and animals.

Severndroog Castle

In the midst of Castle Wood on the highest point in South London, indeed on the highest point between London and Paris, lies Severndroog Castle. This was erected by his widow in memory of William James, who had distinguished himself at the battle of Severndroog in the eighteenth century. He defeated troublesome Arab pirates off the coast of Malabar. James came home from service with the East India company a rich man and bought this land. A valiant preservation society has fought off the sale of the building to developers and is fund-raising to open the building to the public once again. 

The path continues down some steps and over the site of Castle Wood house from where you get a wonderful view.

The path winds  through Jackwood and if ever one wanted to lose any sign of the city this is the place to do it. Apart from one dog walker I saw no-one.  

Then the route passes the site of the former Jackwood house

site of Jackwood house : from 1860s to 1920s

 and comes to Oxlea Meadows and its cafe. From here the view stretches out over south-east London:

looking out from Oxlea Meadows

More woods follow : firstly Oxlea Woods and then Shepherdleas Wood.

Oxleas woods

Soon after an open space in Eltham Park is reached. Going past the Long Pond I had an excellent view of a heron:

The Long Pond in Eltham Park North

The end of this walk soon follows at Falconwood Footbridge.  I felt somewhat amazed by the number of  (mostly deserted) green spaces I had walked through. With station links I had added 7.3 miles to the total.