BexleyheathSwanley

Bexswa one
Not verified

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Bexswa here.

By a Slow Ways Volunteer on 07 Apr 2021


Distance

9km/6mi

Ascent

133m

Descent

108m

Download this route

Are you sure you want to download this route?

Using a GPX file for the first time?

No, back to route

Give a hike

Pledge to walk this route and help firm up its place in the network - every walk helps.

So far it has been reviewed by one person and surveyed by zero people and

No other people have pledged to review this route.

Your pledged routes will show up in your pledges Waylist.

Every review and survey pledged and then walked will help make the Slow Ways network better, thank you for your help!

Sign up or log in to pledge to walk this route.

Back to route

Save to Waylist

Sign up or log in to save this route so you can find it more easily or plan a longer journey.

More options

Save to my account

Sign up or log in to save this route so you can find it more easily or plan a longer journey.

Print (via Inkatlas)

Survey this route

Review this route

Suggest a better route

Report a problem

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

Photos of this route will appear when they are added to a review. You can review this route here.


Information

Not verified

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

Surveys

We are working to build-up a picture of what routes look like. To do that we are asking volunteers to survey routes so that we can communicate features, obstacles and challenges that may make a route desirable or not.

Slow Ways surveyors are asked to complete some basic online training, but they are not vetted. If you are dependent on the survey information being correct in order to complete a route, we recommend that you think critically about the information provided. You may also wish to wait until more than one survey has been completed.

Help people know more about this route by volunteering to submit a survey.

  1. Complete the survey training.
  2. Submit a survey for this route.

Sign up or log in to get the link to survey this route for Bexswa.

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

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) Winter

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.

  • Daisy C

    Daisy C

    01 Jun 2023

    Retested 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.

  • Share your thoughts

    Please Sign up or log in to comment.


Share your views about this route, give it a star rating, indicate whether it should be verified or not.

Include information that will be useful to others considering to walk or wheel it.

You can add up to 15 photos.

Overall ratings

1 reviews


1 reviews

0 reviews

0 reviews

0 reviews

0 reviews

Show all


There are no other routes for Bexleyheath — Swanley

If you know a better way, then please let us know.

Review this better route and help establish a trusted network of walking routes.

Suggest a better route if it better meets our methodology.

See all routes from Bexleyheath.

See all routes from Swanley.