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Home , Beckton District Park, Capital Ring, Crayford, Crossness, Crossness Nature Reserve, Erith

006282 GUIDE 22/3/05 9:55 am Page 1

FIREPOWER! The Royal Museum Welcome to The Thames Path: Section 2 Section 3 Royal , SE18 6ST FROM SAIL MOTORCARS to Ness Barking Barrier TO STEAM & Tel:020 8855 7755 www.firepower.org.uk Cross Ness Light to Beam Engines Your Guide to ’s Working Crossness Beam to Riverside Engines Gardens The story of munitions, roud history - icons of industry - - from early cannon to modern Pancient wildlife habitats and ever-changing river views: this Exploring London’s Working River missiles. Favourite exhibits E DR section of the Thames Path weaves all these strands together HM OURN IV E S REDB E FAIR include big screens in The 3 V E R T H A M Y W I A A as it follows the of the river for 9 /4 miles from R DRI Y W V CB Crossway E Field of Fire, dedicated to the Thames Barrier near Woolwich downstream to N Lake O IVE T 20th-century conflict, and TP DR C R Crayford Ness, in the shadow of ’s Queen EN R E AV SS OS NH CRO WAY S M to Erith and the “hands-on” Real EE Cycle & Footpath Way W Elizabeth II . on Tripcock GR AY M The Thames Path TN Manorway Harrow U Crayford Ness S The character of ’s working river has been Ness Gallery which Pumping Riverside built up by centuries of “hard graft”. Henry VIII began it, when Golf Club shows how Station Green Cha Y in to Park, THAMESMERE WA W reaches its target – and what he established his royal dockyard at Woolwich to build our first D L Lea Valley & Wood R RA a Walk . T C l EN k naval warships, like the massive Henri, Grâce à Dieu. The C A AY it does when it gets there. R SW (

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famous Royal Arsenal grew up on the site, the Twin Tumps Thamesmead E C c

t Wheelchair access. Admission charge. i

Town Centre R o

and ammunition that fuelled Britain’s military might while ROYAL ALBERT O n A 1 D across the river, giant docks were constructed to handle exotic to Stratford ALBERT ) Crossway BASIN Park Y cargoes from all around the world. The Victorians’ passion for A

B Heritage Centre W D E A pleasure steamers put Erith on a the map as a river resort and H N RO C T E H R Royal Arsenal,Woolwich SE18 4DX A A DE in the 1930s Henry Ford gave business a boost when he set up London KING GEORGE V DOCK E M VE R EL Y B Tel:020 8854 2452 C A L R his on ’s 500 acre site. O City Airport OA A D N W

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A R The Thames Path presents old stories alongside new U O www.greenwich.gov.uk

ICH RD. G N Green Chain Walk W N OL H E ORTH WO T S THAMESMEAD N C to Lesnes , Woods changes, demonstrating that the dynamics of ROA A N D H Bostall Woods & M IO A A new way of exploring the ICH ) L R this hard-working river are still W 5 L R Old Station L 1 O

O M A W history of this fascinating ALBE O lk Gallions Birchmere RT ROA Museum W a G E

on the move. Firepower! and the & Lyle’s D R Royal W . Park D M ( R B Birchmere A

ng Point D ROAD O borough, the Royal Arsenal i T A Sugar Refinery BT Satellite Victoria R PRINCESS OIN U R

al ALICE PWY. R L N

Greenwich Heritage Centre blow pit BL E Y EL a O Gardens C R W – and Arsenal football club,

Station A Y SE R A W the lid off the Royal Arsenal’s W Gallions E W

WOOLWICH OAD Section 1 Section 2 ASTERN A established for the workers

RE ERR Lake Y most closely-guarded secrets ACH PI GALLEONS FROM SAIL Y Section 1 & GUNS TO STEAM WA here. Attractions include the while Thamesmead’s riverside Thames Barrier Royal Arsenal to GALLEONS E D N Inside the Arsenal exhibition to Royal Arsenal Crossness Beam V A R I E apartments continue to widen & GUNS Woolwich R O D T Thames Engines R Thames Barrier Woolwich S S and the family history Search Foot Tunnel U Broadwater E their foothold on its adjoining Flood EB PI T to Royal Arsenal A W ER E Royal R H Room, plus art & craft workshops, Barrier Proposed Route C land. At Crossness, the last word in RA W IN Old Arsenal A Thames Path to RY Y H children’s clubs, talks and tours.

ER . TB W F Victorian disposal sits side-by- Greenwich, Graving P Gardens

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W A Wheelchair access. Admission is free. Hampton Court W WD WF

side with a sleek incinerator in futuristic Docks E

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and the Source N E O R HARLINGER T style; just west of Erith, an industrial landscape of jetties, of the Thames A S ST. Firepower! A D P W Visitor Greenwich D I H D IC A T LW

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Centre E W ST. Heritage W O cranes and mills gives way to a domestic waterfront, set E B E H O A ET R

STRE HIG E LLINGTO N R N . A TO R

N E S R Centre M U T T

A N W A R E B T C CH E

C UR S S A H C

against the slender arch of Dartford’s bridge. Contrast comes H V S E P H E F NU E R Tourist Information Centre T H O Royal Arsenal O S C Waterfront M I PO R E T W R W D S full circle at Crayford’s salt marshes, which mark the end of M O WOO L IS Leisure S S C O T T. &

O RE E For further information about Sections 1 & 2 and R E N

O J T Centre ROAD T Crossness Beam Engines D the Thames Path. The simple, sturdy structure of the barrier H O D R S TEA H A S O M

T PLU Ridgeway Walk accommodation availability, please contact:

P S N O

R D F T E T A E R

E R at Darent Creek is a very low-key affair compared with the R O Woolwich E E R Woolwich A R E T Interim Route T Crossness Works, E N Charter Market S W Greenwich Tourist Information Centre T W E Woolwich Arsenal to Erith hi-tech triumph of the Thames Barrier, which gets the walk C C Dockyard N N a E I O L p S L T H Belvedere Road, SE2 A S G i N C N O I I Tel: 0870 608 2000, Fax: 020 8853 4607 off to an imposing start. Please note: some parts of the route G ta S L E T L H r l R N E W Tel: 020 8311 3711 www.crossness.org.uk IC e L E W O may be subject to flooding at high . To check tide times, call LW e R E O n i T O Email: [email protected] or www.greenwichwhs.org.uk O n S W g W WOOLWICH T Billed as a triumph of Victorian innovation, a the of London Authority on 020 7743 7900 or visit C E R ( h ( C E S a W PL A E e in LLERY T masterpiece of engineering and a cathedral c a RTI www.tidetimes.co.uk t W A i l Distances between location signposts on Charlton o k EACH n a ILLR 1 of ironwork, the Crossness Pumping Station 5 lk H to , ) ) Sections 1 & 2 and TH 2 From Sail to Steam in the corner of Thames Water’s sewage plant HEA LE is an industrial icon that must be seen to be 1 1 TT TB Thames Barrier to /2 mile (+ /2 mile on Maryon LI Wilson believed. Four magnificent steam-driven beam interim route) 1 Galleons & Guns Arsenal to Crossness Beam Engines Station engines, housed here amongst an extravaganza 1 4 WD Woolwich Dockyard to Woolwich Free Ferry Green Chain Walk and Distance 3 / miles. Time: 1 hour 40 minutes. of spectacular ornamental ironwork, were used to Capital Ring to , WF 1 Thames Barrier to the Royal Arsenal pump London’s sewage into a neighbouring – /2 mile 1 1 , Oxleas Wood 4 2 Distance 1/ miles (plus / mile diversion on and Crystal Palace 1 egin with a bang at Firepower! and the Greenwich and from there it was discharged into the Thames on ebb WT Woolwich Foot Tunnel to Royal Arsenal /4 mile interim route inland).Time: 50 minutes. . Opened in 1865, the Pumping Station was a key element in ’s vast new Heritage Centre. With the river on your left, pick up the 1 B RA Royal Arsenal to Broadwater /2 mile sewage system for Victorian London, which is still in operation today. Individual visits can be he ship-shaped peaks of the Thames Barrier TB make an Thames Path near the Pier and follow the Royal Arsenal’s 3 Thames Path Link to station / bus stop booked in advance on Tuesdays or Sundays and the engines can also be viewed on set days for BL Broadwater Lock to Tripcock Ness /4 mile awesome introduction to this section of the Thames beautifully landscaped promenade, past former artillery T Guided Visits and on special days when the beam engine Prince Consort is in steam. Car park, shop, 3 1 Ridgeway Walk Location Signposts TN Tripcock Ness to Thamesmead Pumping Station /4 mile Path, reaching out across /3 mile of water to Tate & Lyle’s (see panel bottom right) TN buildings descending into Thamesmead and on past stylish refreshments. Admission charge. Please note: at the time of going to press, there is no access from the Thames Path. 1 Green Chain Walk BL TP Thamesmead Pumping Station to Harrow Manorway /2 mile sugar refinery. Pick up the signs at the foot of Barrier Gardens Place of interest apartments to Broadwater Lock . Here the river broadens The Gatehouse is approximately 1 mile from the river at the end of Belvedere Road which can be reached by Capital Ring out into Gallions’ Reach, conjuring up visions of ships that following Walk southwards beside the Golf Course. 3 marked Thames Path Extension – Woolwich Dockyard via Interim Viewpoint HM Harrow Manorway to Crossness Beam Engines CB /4 mile Route. Follow the Green Chain Walk signs through pleasant Thames Cycle Route passed this way. Beyond here the unfenced gravel path has an Railway station gardens, past the former Thames Barrier Arms , to reach where it diverges from open, rustic feel. Tucked away on the far bank is the Gallions the Thames Path Bus stop Transport information on Sections 1 & 2 Woolwich Road. Turn left, cross over Warspite Road, left (along other sections, cyclists share Path Entrance to the King George V Dock – big enough to take or use segregated parallel track) Bus routes down Ruston Road then left into Harlinger Street into King Car park even the Mauritania when she visited in 1939. – 16.3.05 The Loss of the Princess Alice TB Spot planes using and on a clear day, • Thames Barrier : 161, 177, 180, 472. Henry’s Wharf estate following the Capital Ring signs. You’re (ask for Eastmoor). Generations of Londoners have loved their day bound to note to the right, the 200ft chimney: a relic of the Approximate Distance look left for distant views of the Post Office Tower, the trips down the Thames. On the evening of 3rd North Woolwich Station for Woolwich Foot 0 1 Mile “Gherkin” and . Ragged timbers of a wooden • dockyard steam factory that once occupied the site. At the September, 1878, a holiday jaunt turned to disaster. Tunnel/Free Ferry WF : 101, 473, 474. end of Harlinger Street turn right then right again to pick up slipway thrusting out of the bank mark another change of The paddle steamer Princess Alice was returning 0 1 Kilometre WF : 51, 96, 99, 161,177,180,472. the Thames Path riverside route. scene: buddleia and willow screens the Path and the cry of upriver from crammed with 800 • Royal Arsenal / Firepower! RA : 51, 53, 54, 96, 99, The Path now leads through the former Woolwich Dockyard Approximate Walking Time gulls gives the river a more jaunty, seaside air. Things could passengers when she collided with the steam • 0 20 mins collier Bywell Castle and sank in under four 122, 161, 177, 178, 180, 244, 291, 380, 386, 422, 469, 472. WD , now a housing estate. Keep eyes right to spot soon look different here. This is the site of the proposed minutes, just yards from the bank off Tripcock Ness. (walk from Woolwich Town Centre). the 18th century Clockhouse, home to Dockyard and Bridge that is awaiting a public enquiry. Some 600 people drowned in the calamity described • Broadwater Lock BL : 244, 380. dockyard’s Admiral-Superintendents, pass Thames Barrier the Royal Arsenal You’re now approaching Tripcock Ness TN , so named in local records as the “Greatest Affliction of the Age”. (ask for Gallions Park). by two cannon preserved from the old in sailing days: vessels heading inland were forbidden to carry The report continues: “The fearful suddenness of the Thamesmead Pumping Station TP : 177, 229, 401, 472, B11. Drill Battery and the old graving I Unity Way, Woolwich SE18 Woolwich Town Centre Manager anchors “cock billed”, or cable hung, beyond this point. The catastrophe, the social condition of many of the victims, • Tel: 020 8305 4188 the awful proportions of the death-roll and the new peril (ask for Linton Mead Primary School or Town Centre). WF Tel: 020 8854 8888 docks. Soon the Woolwich Free Ferry Princess Alice was lost just here, where the river starts its which seemed to come home to all the thousands who were www.environment-agency.gov.uk www.royalarsenal.com Harrow Manorway HM : 177, 229, 401, 472. is reached. The ferry links with North downward turn. Across the river, two 60m towers operate the • wont to travel by water – all contributed to the horror of an event which (ask for Nickleby Close). Woolwich and the vast Royal Albert This mighty feat of modern engineering is the lynchpin of Henry VIII’s greatest warship Henri Grâce à Dieu drop-gate flood barrier that guards the mouth of Barking Creek. shook like an earthquake and sent a shudder vibrating through the world.” defences that protect 1.25 million Londoners, 26 tube stations (the first vessel to carry guns) was built at the Dock and King George V Dock - now the Walk and cycle paths part company soon: inland are the Stations links and ferry services and over 4,000 properties from the increasing risk of flooding Tudor dockyards here and by the early 1700s, site of London City Airport. This free service remains of Tumps - moated magazine stores that were part due to rising water levels and ‘surge tides’. Conceived after 300 hundreds of men were busy building and repairing • Charlton Station to Thames Barrier TB 1 mile for vehicles and foot passengers dates from people died when the Thames flooded in 1953, it finally opened in of the Arsenal site. Take the lower path towards the Pill warships in the sprawling Woolwich yards. The Royal 1 Woolwich Dockyard Station to Woolwich Dockyard WD /4 mile 1889. Pick up signage leading under the arch of the 1982. The Barrier will serve until at least 2030 – by which time, Laboratory munitions factory opened nearby on the Box trained on Barking Creek. From the blank bulk of the • 1 ferry buildings and round the back of the Waterfront Leisure possibly, it may close some 30 times a year. The round-the-clock Woolwich Warren in 1696 and the Royal Brass Foundry Thamesmead Pumping Station TP , head on past Harrow • North Woolwich Station to Woolwich Foot Tunnel WT /4 mile Control Room receives up to 36 hours warning of surge tides from Centre to the river, the ferry pier and the ‘rotunda’ building of designed by Sir John Vanbrugh followed in 1717, to cast all Manor Way HM to join the gravel path again. Oil storage 1 to Royal Arsenal RA /4 mile the Woolwich Foot Tunnel WT . Built in 1912 as an alternative to satellites and other sources and the Barrier closes four hours before guns required for government service. In 1805, George III depots on the far bank signal the approach to Cross Ness: • 3 high tide. Full closure takes 30 minutes, raising six gates and lowering Plumstead Station to Broadwater Lock BL /4 mile the Free Ferry, the tunnel was used by thousands of workers changed the name to Royal Arsenal Woolwich. As declined in its light is visible to shipping for eight miles. • four more, each 15 metres high. The Thames Barrier Information Centre the nearby Dockyard, the Arsenal flourished to reach its peak in the First World War when 80,000 people who had previously lost wages whenever the ferry was delayed The Riverside Golf Club comes after the ness and just beyond The Woolwich Free Ferry operates a regular, daily service. and Education Centre. Wheelchair access. Admission charge. Please note were employed here. In 1967 the Factory closed and much of the 1,200-acre site was • by fog. Continue along the riverside route past the new Royal CB For details visit www.greenwich.gov.uk or call 020 8921 5786. that car park and toilets are accessible only during Information Centre earmarked for the development of Thamesmead housing and industrial project. The Ministry of Defence that you arrive close to the Crossness Beam Engines . Arsenal Gardens. Nearing the historic heart of the Royal Arsenal opening hours. finally vacated Royal Arsenal West in 1994: Firepower! and the Greenwich Heritage Centre are housed RA and the new pier, turn back for superb views of the Dome Refreshments amongst the many historic buildings of the Royal Arsenal preserved on this site. Thames Barrier Visitor Centre, Firepower!, Woolwich Town Centre, and Canary Wharf. Thamesmead Town Centre. 006282 THAMES PATH GUIDE 22/3/05 9:56 am Page 2

A THAMES PATH GUIDE Exploring Victoria4 Erith Pier to QE11 to QE11 Bridge Bridge Branching Out Capital Ring Erith Riverside Gardens to Crayford Ness/ Follow the Capital Ring through the 1 Wildlife on the Thames Distance 2 /4 miles. Time: 1 hour 10 minutes. Woolwich Foot Tunnel to North Ford Woolwich and around the vast expanse London’s Motor Bring your binoculars for any walk Cross Ness Light Works along this Path: after centuries of of the to Beckton. Follow the Section 2 Section 3 ake your bearings from the viewing platform in Erith Working FROM SAIL MOTORCARS , the Thames is now a riverside path to cross over the entrance TO STEAM & MARSHES TRiverside Gardens, looking out over a glorious sweep of locks to the Royal Albert Dock (now a Royal Arsenal to Crossness Beam Engines to living river in every sense of the Crossness Beam Erith Riverside Gardens the Thames to Coldharbour light, marking the tip of Rainham water sports centre) and King George V Dock Engines word. 118 species of fishes are NE DR River BOUR IV F Marshes. Setting out from where the Thames Path coincides with (now adjacent to London City Airport), continue past Gallions Reach RED E AI recorded in its waters, making this Y RW A A to Woolwich DRI Y DLR Station to . Capital Ring walk leaflet No 15 W VE the start of London Loop, enjoy ozone and views at Erith the cleanest big city estuary in the Crossway CB 1 N 2 Lake O Deep Water Jetty EJ . world. For spectacle on a grand scale, covers this section. Total distance 3 / miles. For further information T

C R R E call 0870 240 6094 or visit www.tfl.gov.uk/walking. Lifts in the OS Where the Thames Path leaves the waterfront, follow signage nothing may match the stranded whale SW M AY M Woolwich Foot Tunnel operate daily (call 020 8921 5493 or visit SU heading right into Wheatley Terrace Road and Appold Street, then photographed at North Woolwich in 1899 - yet Crossness left onto Manor Road. East of Road the Cray River this stretch of the Thames is busy with rewarding wildlife of every www.greenwich.gov.uk for details) Alternatively there are 101 steps Ridgeway WalkBeam Engines on the south bank and 126 on the north bank. Riverside House kind. On the water, cormorants, heron, shelduck, grebe, and Golf Club Way starts and all routes then follow the signed footpath diving left Frog EY teal are a common sight while lapwing, dunlin and oystercatchers Island off the road towards the river and Erith Yacht Club . Ridgeway Walk The routes continue on the raised causeway across the dabble in mud exposed at low tides. The damp habitat of the For a complete contrast, pick up the Ridgeway Walk at Broadwater marshes, so perfect for storing volatile ammunition, now provide a Crossness CR ancient landscape of the Crayford and Dartford Marshes, Lock BL on the Thames Path. Follow the route to near Plumstead Sewage Works sheltered hideaway for shy water voles and a winter refuge for teal, Crossness where the slender line of Dartford’s QE 11 Bridge is Station and then along the top of the Incinerator wigeon and a host of visiting birds. Jenningtree etched across the horizon. The landscape here has a wild, embankment. Descend to follow the route by the edge of the Point AD golf course rejoining the Thames Path at Broadwater Lock. RO H estuarine feel. To your left lie Erith Saltings - the last E T 1 ER R Total distance 6 /4 miles. D O E D remaining fragment of salt marshes on London’s inner V N EL E A Still a Busy Waterway

B A O S Crossness Y

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RN Nature Thames. At low tide, remnants of a ghostly forest Green Chain Walk W N

R A W O A Reserve are sometimes visible on the foreshore here. Warships - galleons – liners: this Follow the waymarked Green Chain Walk from the Thames Path at Y M N

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O stretch of the Thames is familiar M Corinthian Manorway in Erith through Frank’s Park to visit the ruins of

N The Thames Path finishes with a flourish at

E Belvedere E with craft of every kind. Erith the 12th century Lesnes Abbey and explore Lesnes R Industrial Estate Crayford Ness by the River Darent Flood T B was a favourite port of call with A Abbey Woods with their displays of daffodils RDY R Barrier, built to protect Crayford and A MA C IC NOR Victorian pleasure steamers 0 1 Mile P Y and bluebells. Continue northwards along the WAY A Darenth from flooding at high tides. From W bound for Margate or Sheerness; Y Green Chain Walk through Crossways Park to Erith MULBE R R here, the Cray River Way and London 0 1 Kilometre Marshes at Woolwich, 18th century tourists rejoin the Thames Path at Harrow Manorway Y Loop head southward along the bank of A even took boat trips to view the and return to Corinthian Manorway. Green W Y Approximate Walking Time A the River Darent linking with a signed D W moored “hulks” of convict ships and Chain Walk route guide leaflets 1 and 2 N 0 20 mins A R O T O route back to the station and buses at N R watch gangs of prisoners building the Arsenal’s cover this area. Total distance 8 miles. AR ANO Y N Church Manorway M A Slade Green. protective walls. Container ships, car , waste disposal , For further information call 020 8921 5028 M Industrial Estate Y R to D B O R R and pilot launches make up most of the traffic today. Keep an N O or visit www.greenchain.com Plumstead A E Walking N C I Z R and E P eye open for the distinctive red-ochre sails of traditional Thames I Thames Path Link to station/bus stop Woolwich A T G H The Thames Path E Sailing Barges – the logo on the Thames Path sign. Once there were Belvedere W Ridgeway Walk Location Signposts CR A Erith over 2,000 of them, trading along the and creeks of the east from The Thames Barrier (see panel bottom right) Y Oil Works Green Chain Walk R coast. A handful remain as pleasure craft and may be spotted heading LOW E Place of interest ER ROAD A Rainham Marshes to Crayford Ness C upstream to moorings at St Katharine Dock, near . Tourist Information Centre London Loop LOWER H RO CORINTHIAN Viewpoint AD MANORWAY For further information about sections 3 and 4 Cray River Way Railway Station Coldharbour Point and accommodation availability, please contact: Green Chain Walk Section 3 Section 4 Thames Cycle Route Green CM MOTORCARS ERITH PIER Light to Lesnes Abbey Chain Tourist Information Centre where it diverges from Bus stop and Lesnes Abbey Wood Wa & MARSHES TO QEII BRIDGE Frank’s (Se lk Crossness Beam Erith Riverside Gardens to the Thames Path ction Section 4 Car park Park 2) Engines to Erith River Darent ERITH PIER Tel: 01322 558676 (along other sections, cyclists share Path D Riverside Gardens A TO QEII BRIDGE or use segregated parallel track) O – 16.3.05 R Erith Riverside Gardens Email: [email protected] E Riverside is reached via a Walking The Thames Path K W to River Darent O E R St. John’s ST William flight of steps here. S www.bexley.gov.uk ERIT B B M E H RO M R S A Crayford Ness A E Norman O TR Cory The cycle route is step free. H M25 M11 & M25 M11 & M25 D P N E T Z E Promenade E R Light Church E T Riverside R I V A10 A12 A Erith View of A406 Of Motor Cars & Marshes G Gardens Stratford Dagenham 3 Of Motor Cars & Marshes E Pier QEII Bridge Distances between location signposts Barking W A501 A CENTRAL Y on Sections 1 and 2 LONDON A13 STONEWOOD EG Deep Water Jetty Thamesmead ROAD CN M25 Crossness Beam Engines to Erith Riverside FR ER Woolwich Erith AS IT 1 ER Erith H EJ CB Crossness Beam Engines to Crabtree Manorway 1 /4 mile Greenwich Gardens Distance 3 miles. Time: 1 hour 30 minutes. ROAD ERITH Darent Section of the Thames Path Y RD.

covered by this guide EXLE H ROA IG Industrial EXLEY D B y 1 M4 Dartford B a CR 4

H Crabtree Manorway to Corinthian Manorway 1 / mile A2 WH Erith y River W Park EATL d Cra S EY Erith n A205 Bexley Q Erith D TER Yacht a Erith Museum U T L R. p 1 E . O o M2 ROAD Saltings E Playhouse Club o Crayford CM Corinthian Manorway to Erith Riverside Gardens /2 mile he opening stage of this section links Victorian engineering & Library N P L ) River Darent ’S P Manford 1 Marshes M25 A n STREET o k Swanley Crossness Works, R Industrial d l Flood Barrier 1 and cutting-edge technology. Turning its back on the RESCENT O EY n a y EG Erith Riverside Gardens to Erith Deep Water Jetty /4 mile A23 T ARK C A o a P Thames Path Belvedere Road, Abbey Wood SE2 D MANOR R Estate L (W D W A20 OAD A r T Crossness Beam Engines, the Thames Path skirts the sewage O ive M20 R R Tel: 020 8311 3711 www.bexleyrspb.org.uk y N EJ Erith Deep Water Jetty to Erith Yacht Club 1 mile M23 & M25 T a E works and the jetty where waste was loaded onto sludge T r E C R D N A A R d Don’t be put off by the address! This “urban S R n D EY CN RO Erith A U Dartford Erith Yacht Club to Crayford Ness 1 mile The Thames Path is one of the six strategic walking routes designated by O boats to be dumped at sea. Crossness Incinerator, the E Y B a

U U R N Recreation L V E Marshes E T I wilderness” on the Erith flood plain is one of V A p the to set high standards for other in the Capital. A H R futuristic building with the curved chimney, changed all that. Ground M o

B o R the last surviving open areas of grazing L

For further information about these walks telephone 0870 240 6094, O W A

The plant incinerates sewage generating power to drive the A n

D D visit www.tfl.gov.uk or email [email protected]. Well served by public in . In recent years, Y o A Transport information on Sections 1 & 2

d O n

sewage works and producing soil fertilizer as a by-product. R o transport, and links to other paths, the Thames Path lends itself to over 130 species of birds have been recorded L

N Bus routes

leisurely walks or getting about on a daily basis. This leaflet presents this Beyond the reedy fringes of the river, there’s more hi-tech on the 20 hectare site, including little egret, E E

R CR part of the Path as four consecutive ‘themed’ sections, any one of which activity at Ford’s Dagenham Plant on the opposite bank. Car sanderling, ringed ousel, Cetti’s warbler and G • Crabtree Manorway : is suited to the casual walker. 180 for bus stop in Crabtree Manor Way North production ended here in 2002 but the new Dagenham Diesel Dartford warbler. A deep-water lagoon attracts DE The route is clearly waymarked throughout with the white logo of the S LA Centre produces a million diesel engines a year using clean wintering visitors such as teal, wigeon, gadwall and Corinthian Manorway CM 229, 469 Thames Sailing which makes it easy to follow in either direction, in H • A (ask for St. Francis Way).

shoveler and winter flooding attracts lapwing, dunlin, Z F

E

part or as a whole. Signage along the Thames Path includes a series of key electricity generated by its own 85-metre wind turbines. Allow D O

L A R O

redshank and gulls. Viewing facilities include a bird hide, sand martin R E

R Location Signposts. These give the distance to the next key location in E S Erith Riverside Gardens ER : 99, 229, 428, 469, B12. time to duck down the eastern side of the sewage works for a O

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D A • wall, bat cave, artificial nesting cliff and the boardwalk around a reedbed frequented by water rail, sedge RI Howbury B D either direction and (where relevant) to nearby stations. They also show detour into Crossness Nature Reserve: bring a bird book, for R Moat (ask for Erith High St. / Cross St.). O warblers, willow warblers and reed buntings. The reserve can be accessed from the Thames Path immediately A links with other waymarked walks. All Location Signposts are marked D this is a real birder’s paradise. E Crayford Ness CR : 89, 428, 469 on the map by their initials and mentioned in the text of the guide. east of the Sewage Works or from Eastern Way and Norman Road. Slade Green T LAN • MOA at Slade Green Station Signposted routes to and from stations are also shown on the map Back on the Path, follow the river past industrial units to together with details of buses serving the Path. Distances between Crabtree Manorway CR . On the opposite bank, at Frog Island, to Dartford Location Points, bus routes and routes to stations, are shown in the the wooden waste disposal building is taking shape. Around the Station links yellow information panels on each side of this leaflet. bend, look out for barges bringing waste to be sorted in the Erith Through the Ages 3 Belvedere Station to path near Norman Road 1 /4 mile giant green shed on the far bank. The whole landscape is green, • This part of the Thames Path is generally accessible to most Hands-on proof of Erith’s grand past begins in the ancient ruins of Lesnes Abbey, founded 1 marking the start of Rainham Marshes - a former shooting Erith Station to Erith Riverside Gardens EG /4 mile users of wheelchairs, buggies and personal mobility vehicles. in 1178 on a hillside overlooking the . Henry VIII switched the focus to the river • 1 range. The RSPB’s Rainham reserve will lure yet more ducks Slade Green Station to Crayford Ness CN 1 /2 miles Cyclists are welcome on the parts of the Path that coincide when he set up part of his naval dockyard on the site of The Riverside Gardens in West • with the Thames Cycle Route, which is part of National Cycle and waders to this part of the river in winter months. Street. Warships built at Woolwich of Kentish timber were fitted out and moored here, Route No.1. The Thames Cycle Route where it diverges from the On towards Erith, you plunge amongst a spidery network including the “Great Harry”, Henri Grâce à Dieu. Under Charles II, the river took a more Thames Path is marked on the map and is clearly way-marked of cranes, chutes and the sort of working wharves that served frivolous turn as yachting came into fashion – a tradition continued by Erith Yacht Club Thames Cycle Route throughout with its own signage. all shipping before the advent of enclosed docks. Snaking up today. Victorian energy created the Riverside Gardens and deep water pier and added National Cycle Route One and down past mill and silos, the Path opens out to views of industries that turned a small port into a big town. Their local , taken on by outgoing details from www.londoncyclenetwork.org ships at Ballast Wharf in West Street, later appeared in buildings at far-flung destinations Erith’s curving waterfront, with modern housing, old church throughout the empire. World War II put Erith in the firing line, for Vickers built their fighter towers and dramatic vistas of the QE II Bridge. Catch up with planes here while Callenders Cables constructed the Channel pipeline that supplied fuel to Refreshments the town at Corinthian Manorway CM , heading past new Erith Town Centre Funded by and published by the of allied vehicles in the D-Day landings of 1944. Unearth more history on the way-marked Erith Greenwich and Bexley, March 2005. Information contained in this leaflet is housing and following Thames Path signage down William Heritage Town Walk, which passes through the Riverside Gardens. Full details from the Tourist correct at the time of publication. Cory Promenade to finish at Erith’s Riverside Gardens EG . Information Centre at in Bexley or www.bexley.gov.uk.