Connect Abbey Wood with Slow Ways

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Abbey Wood

Greater London


Slow Ways linking Abbey Wood and Bexleyheath, Erith, Thamesmead, Woolwich

England / Greater London / Abbey Wood

Abbey Wood’s four Slow Ways are 88% checked

Drawn: 4/4
reviewed: 4/4
verified: 4/4
and surveyed: 2/4

Help connect Abbey Wood

Many Slow Ways have several route options. Some will be better than others, or good for different reasons.

Our goal is for each Slow Way to have at least one route that is verified and surveyed. To be verified – and get its snail badge – a route needs at least three positive reviews.

Give a hike and help get a for every one of Abbey Wood’s Slow Ways.

Walk to Abbey Wood from further afield

Slow Way Route To do
Abbey Wood—Bexleyheath
Abbbex one Pioneer me Distance 6km/3mi Ascent 24m Descent 76m
Abbey Wood—Bexleyheath
Abbbex two Survey me Distance 6km/4mi Ascent 92m Descent 38m
Abbey Wood—Erith
Abberi one Verify me Distance 5km/3mi Ascent 51m Descent 52m
Abbey Wood—Erith
Abberi two Survey me Distance 6km/4mi Ascent 90m Descent 97m
Thamesmead—Abbey Wood
Thaabb one Pioneer me Distance 5km/3mi Ascent 18m Descent 15m
Thamesmead—Abbey Wood
Thaabb two Enjoy me Distance 4km/2mi Ascent 26m Descent 26m
Woolwich—Abbey Wood
Wooabb one Review me Distance 4km/3mi Ascent 12m Descent 21m
Woolwich—Abbey Wood
Wooabb two Enjoy me Distance 5km/3mi Ascent 11m Descent 24m

Fancy stretching your legs a bit more?

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This includes the great ring of routes that join its neighbours to each other!

Collective progress

63% of Abbey Wood’s four route options are drawn, reviewed, surveyed and/or verified

8/8

drawn

6/8

reviewed

2/8

surveyed

4/8

verified

7 people have contributed to Abbey Wood’s Slow Ways

4 people have pledged to walk and review a route

2 people have surveyed a route in Abbey Wood

30km out of 40km have been walked and reviewed

90km of reviews have been shared in Abbey Wood

Latest Updates

A few steps, easy to wheel around, but one set on the North side of Southmere needs a reasonably large detour due the steps on the East side of a really very good restaurant (Thamesmead Social, recommended)....

Strider

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Would have been a little monotonous along the Ridgeway if not for the blackberries, Elderberries, dill, mallow, sweet peas & raspberries etc....

Strider

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This was a brilliant varied Slow Way with woods and views and a nice walk along the Thames....

Slow Ways Darren

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It's a fine, easy to follow route. Not particularly exciting or hard to walk. Well connected by the Elizabethan Line at each end....

Slow Ways Darren

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Slow Ways Darren took this photo on Wooabb two

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Derick Rethans took this photo on Abberi two

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After crossing the Bronze Age Way near a church (photo #2), a steepish road brings you into Frank's Park, which is on the top of a little hill. Between Frank's Park and Lesnes Abbey Woods are a few hills, with little traffic on their residential streets (photo #4)....

Derick Rethans

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Walked Abbey Wood to Thamesmead. As the previous reviewer points out, if approaching Abbey Wood from Thamesmead and you want to connect with the Lesnes Abbey area (and maybe even go on to Erith on Abberi) then you can walk straight there by continuing along the Abbey Way footpath, without going all the way to Abbey Wood station and back out again....

Jane Taylor

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As well as the Thames at Erith, highlights are Frank’s Park at Belvedere, and Lesnes Abbey Woods, including the abbey ruins. If continuing to Thamesmead, there is a good linking path from the abbey ruins area directly north, which connects to the Abbey Wood to Thamesmead Slow Way (Thaabb)! Because its not clear whether the Abbey Wood meeting point is at the low (street) or high (station) level, so if you are continuing on you may need a change of level...

Jane Taylor

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The route passes Bexleyheath station; the meeting point is some distance away but with good bus links including the Super Loop bus...

Jane Taylor

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The first third is along quiet residential roads, first following the railway (photo #1), before heading north (photo #2) towards the Ridgeway....

Derick Rethans

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Derick Rethans took this photo on Wooabb two

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After leaving Bexleyheath's centre (photo #1), the first part of this route is mostly along quiet residential streets (photo #3, #4), with occasional highlights such as the Bexleyheath Cemetery (photo #2)....

Derick Rethans

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It is a great tribute to the planners and developers of Thamesmead that there are pedestrian/cycle routes under or over all of the intervening thoroughfares on this 3 mile route right across (not around) Thamesmead. There are even further footbridges which take you over the railway to the ruins of medieval Lesnes Abbey, and the delightful Abbey Wood beyond....

Andrew

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Due to new housing need to follow Green Chain and Thames Path in Erith. Lesnes Abbey Park went to right , when could of gone straight on. Lots of green space....

Lizbiz70

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At the Abbey Wood end there is a lot of walking through some lovely green and wild places, then quiet residential roads punctuated by a station and some shops. I wasn't happy with the vague line that AbbBex 1 took through Lesnes Abbey Woods, which can be very disorienting even if you are following an actual path, or that it missed Bexleyheath Station when there isn't a station at Bexley town centre....

Daisy C

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Abbey Wood—Bexleyheath

Daisy C added Abbbex two, a new walk from Abbey Wood to Bexleyheath

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Once it joined the Green Chain Walk at the eastern end of Lesnes Abbey Woods it was really easy to navigate as there are lots of fingerposts and wooden waymarkers all the way to the Thames and then back around to Erith Station....

Daisy C

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Abbey Wood—Erith

Daisy C added Abberi two, a new walk from Abbey Wood to Erith

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But the problem I think is actually serious is right at the start outside Abbey Wood Station, it looks good on a map but in 3-D reality it's either impossible or off-putting. At the station exit there is a road in front of you so it's the obvious right turn to take, but if you do then you can't turn left onto Abbey Road as per the route unless you jump off the side of the flyover. After that you will get onto Abbey Road and can turn right but it's fairly busy and you'll need to cross, but the good crossing (pelican) is behind you, so you'd need to double back....

Daisy C

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Overall I enjoyed this route, it was easy to navigate and either no- or low- traffic except a short bit between the Plumstead underpass junction and the beginning of the residential developments at Woolwich Arsenal. The Ridgeway path is green and quite wild (not overgrown though) which gives some sense of distance from the sometimes noisy industrial sites either side, they are currently mixed in with wild brownfield sites but that might not last. At the Plumstead end, if you (like me) miss the last turn off then you'll end at the high level end point which leads onto the roads, where you could get a train or buses but it isn't terribly pedestrian friendly and you'll have missed the onward route via Mallard Path, so take the path down and back to the right which soon turns again to the low level exit....

Daisy C

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Follows small canals, small parks and round Southmere Lake, which was beautiful at sunset. The area is designed with pedestrians in mind and I barely saw a road until a few hundred metres before Abbey Wood station....

Daisy C

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Woolwich—Abbey Wood

Daisy C added Wooabb two, a new walk from Woolwich to Abbey Wood

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The western half of this route (Woolwich - Plumstead) is along the A206. The western half runs south of the railway line, much quieter than this route, and the eastern half is close to this route and a fairly similar experience....

Daisy C

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Thamesmead—Abbey Wood

Daisy C added Thaabb two, a new walk from Thamesmead to Abbey Wood

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Abbey Wood

ianmcc1 surveyed Abbey Wood

View facilities
Abbey Wood—Bexleyheath

Slow Ways added Abbbex one, a new walk from Abbey Wood to Bexleyheath

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Abbey Wood—Erith

Slow Ways added Abberi one, a new walk from Abbey Wood to Erith

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Thamesmead—Abbey Wood

Slow Ways added Thaabb one, a new walk from Thamesmead to Abbey Wood

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Woolwich—Abbey Wood

Slow Ways added Wooabb one, a new walk from Woolwich to Abbey Wood

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1

Abbey Wood, Wed 11 December

Overcast

Abbey Wood’s Slow Ways starting point

Grid ref

TQ4738479026

Lat / Lon

51.49098° / 0.12157°

Easting / Northing

547,385E / 179,026N

Fancy stretching your legs a bit more?

If you’ve polished off all of the routes between Abbey Wood and its neighbours, how about walking its whole web?

This includes the great ring of routes that join its neighbours to each other!

Facilities

Users have reported that the following facilities can be found within 1km of Abbey Wood's meeting point

Public toilet

Wheelchair accessible toilet

Supermarket or convenience shop

Restaurant, cafe or pub

Accommodation

Accommodation for under £50 a night

Campsite

Bothy

Free wifi

Mobility scooter hire

Off-road wheelchair hire

Disabled Parking

Train station

Bus stop

Ferry

Official ‘Walkers are Welcome’ town

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