Date
Sunday 16 November
Organisers
Lisa S and Mark P
Cost
Free to members, £10 supplement for attendees from Meetup. £22 entrance to Crossness; buy tickets via link.
Activity
This 7-mile walk includes vintage buses, a beautiful Victorian pumping station, 12th century abbey and film location for A Clockwork Orange. First we climb onboard the free vintage Routemaster for a journey around the area before joining a narrow-gauge railway to Crossness Pumping Station (the Cathedral of the Marsh). Here, as it's a Steaming Day you'll be able to see the Prince Consort, the magnificent working beam engine, in action and enjoy the restored and gloriously painted ironwork of the hall itself. Please book tickets via link below. Our walk continues via Thames Path to Thamesmead Social Cafe for lunch break. Situated on the banks of Southmere Lake, it has a wide menu including Sunday Roasts at very good prices. Following lunch, we'll walk through the New and Old GLC Thamesmead Estates, an ambitious local authority development on the banks of the Thames, built as the 'town of the future' on reclaimed land, with many innovative architectural ideas and interesting topography. It's an example of Brutalist architecture and featured in the film "A Clockwork Orange". We'll then walk on to the much more historic 12th century Lesnes Abbey and grounds. Now a ruin, it was built in penance for the murder of Thomas Beckett. It's surrounded by ancient woodland and has an ancient mulberry tree in the grounds.
Refreshments
Cafe for lunch. Can bring packed lunch as outside benches. Pub at end.
Travel
Elizabeth line to Abbey Wood
Start
9:50am prompt outside Abbey Wood Station, postcode SE2 9RH
Finish
Around 4:00pm at start point
Please complete the form below, and we'll forward your query to the event organiser. DO NOT use this form for bookings or urgent messages.