Bexleyheath — Swanley
Bexswa one
Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Bexswa here.
Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Bexswa here.
By a Slow Ways Volunteer on 07 Apr 2021
Description
This is a Slow Ways route connecting Bexleyheath and Swanley.
Know of a better route? Share it here.
This is a Slow Ways route connecting Bexleyheath and Swanley.
Know of a better route? Share it here.
Status
This route has been reviewed by 1 person.
There are no issues flagged.
Photos for Bexswa one
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Information
Route status - Live
Reviews - 1
Average rating -
Is this route good enough? - Yes (1)
There are currently no problems reported with this route.
Downloads - 5
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Geography information system (GIS) data
Total length
Maximum elevation
Minimum elevation
Start and end points
Bexleyheath
Grid Ref
TQ4905175146
Lat / Lon
51.45568° / 0.14392°
Easting / Northing
549,051E / 175,147N
What3Words
water.navy.with
Swanley
Grid Ref
TQ5099368237
Lat / Lon
51.39309° / 0.16891°
Easting / Northing
550,993E / 168,237N
What3Words
boats.making.loudly
Bexswa One's land is
Bexleyheath | |
---|---|
Grid Ref | TQ4905175146 |
Lat / Lon | 51.45568° / 0.14392° |
Easting / Northing | 549,051E / 175,147N |
What3Words | water.navy.with |
Swanley | |
---|---|
Grid Ref | TQ5099368237 |
Lat / Lon | 51.39309° / 0.16891° |
Easting / Northing | 550,993E / 168,237N |
What3Words | boats.making.loudly |
Arable | 6.3% |
Pasture | 13.5% |
Urban | 62.8% |
Woods | 17.3% |
Data: Corine Land Cover (CLC) 2018
review
Daisy C
22 Dec 2022 (edited 01 Jun 2023)On a December day in a week of day-long frosts and freezing fog this was a beautiful and spookily quiet walk. Joyden's Wood was especially atmospheric, with delicate icicles festooning spiders webs and hazel twigs, and whole trees fully silvered by frost, a natural Christmas Grotto. When I rewalked it on a May evening there were a few more people about and it was also very lovely.
Along the way there were stiles, a couple of anti-motorbike and/or anti-horse width restrictions, a kissing gate, prominent tree roots and non-drop kerbs, but it avoids muddy sections despite the bridleways and so many local stables using Joyden's Woods. There was a little no-pavement road walking on Stable Lane and near the golf course (but not golfer traffic), both were very quiet each time I was there.
This route overlaps with SidBex 2 until crossing the A2 then the River Shuttle. Apart from the A2 below you that section is fairly quiet on residential roads. Bexley village is quite pretty, with lots of places to eat, buses and trains. A few short paths later is Stable Lane, which has no pavement but quiet, leading only to various stables. At the end the route goes through Mount Mascal stableyard, through an gate which was open but is motorised and has a keycode entry pad. There's no signage within the yard. This all put me off the first time and I used a winding path through Joyden's Wood instead. I've since checked that it is definitely a Right of Way and a local told me it is always open. On my next visit, approaching from the other end, it was fine.
This route is easy to follow through the woods keeping to the larger tracks. It goes past a picnic site and small area of heathland. Down the eastern edge of the wood the route line is a bit vague, use the footpath close to the edge. It's lovely and you can briefly see the Faesten Dic ancient earthworks. Using the bridleway could be extremely muddy, as on nearby SidSwa 2.
There are many other ways through Joyden's Wood on smaller paths including the Faesten Dic trail. The Woodland Trust's own map is more helpful than than OS maps. https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/joydens-wood/
After Joyden's Wood the route joins SidSwa 2 along footpaths: beside fields, a golf course (another eating option - it's open to anyone) and a garden centre. Next is Swanley Park and there's a chip shop soon after, and then a rather shadowy alleyway. You could take a longer but greener detour following the edge of Swanley Park (OS maps are not that helpful here either, mini map attached). If you don't need the shops etc in Swanley's centre, the station/route meeting point is closer down St Mary's Rd (also shown on the mini-map). Once at the station you can cross over to join another Slow Way without needing a ticket as there are no ticket gates, but the station probably does close at night. Swanley is in the TfL travel zone despite being in Kent and there are also some TfL buses.
The main test was in winter 2022 but Bexleyheath to the River Shuttle was spring 2022. Joyden's Wood to Bexley was rechecked in late spring 2023.
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Daisy C
01 Jun 2023Retested the part of this route between Bexley and the southeastern corner of Joyden's Wood but in reverse order. Pleased to report no problems. Review updated r.e. gates on Stable Lane.
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