Inner London
Ramblers

Blackheath to North Greenwich Linear Walk

This walk starts at Blackheath National Rail Station and ends at North Greenwich Underground Station, visiting Blackheath, Greenwich, the Thames Path and the Millennium Dome.

It is an easy walk of about 6 miles (10 km), with some moderate hills in Greenwich Park.

The walk can be extended back to Blackheath by following the North Greenwich to Blackheath walk, which starts at the Millennium Dome and continues through Charlton, Woolwich Common and Kidbrooke, making a complete circuit of 14 miles (23 km).

This is a walk of surprising contrasts. Starting on the airy open spaces of Blackheath, it passes many of the main sites of Maritime Greenwich — a World Heritage Site — before following the Thames Path National Trail and ending by the Millennium Dome.

Many of the Greenwich sites are famous, but this route has been designed to take in some lesser-known sites too.

1. Exit Blackheath Station and turn left. After 50 metres, cross the road and walk up the left-hand side of Montpelier Vale, and in another 80 metres, turn left to go forward into All Saints Drive, passing the church. All Saints Church was designed by Ferrey and built in 1857-67. It reminds one of a postage stamp being stuck on one corner of the heath. Blackheath — the name derives from “bleak heath” — has a long connection with protest and rebellion, being a rallying point in the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381, Cade’s Rebellion in 1450 and the Cornish Rebellion in 1497. This last ended in the Battle of Blackheath when some 2,000 of the rebels were slain. Houses began to encroach on the heath from the late 17th century, and from a barren wilderness and haunt of highwaymen, Blackheath has become one of the most up-market districts in London.

2. Take the forward path across the common, but in 30 metres fork right. At the corner of Talbot Place, veer right again over the common. Continue forward to cross Shooters Hill Road and Charlton Way, and enter Greenwich Park on the drive ahead. Fifty metres on, just past toilets, take the path on the left, eventually swinging right to closely follow the park wall. Ignore a cross-path by the gate and continue on. Greenwich Park, measuring 74 hectares, and originally enclosed by Henry VI in 1433, is the oldest enclosed Royal Park. Later, in the 17th century, Le Nôtre, Louis XIV’s gardener, laid out formal avenues. The public have been admitted since the 18th century.

3. Shortly, on the left, is Queen Caroline’s Bath, so-called, although Caroline was never actually crowned queen. Another irony is that she was notoriously lacking in personal hygiene. This, together with her poor social graces, led to her estrangement from George IV, whom she had married whilst he was still Prince of Wales. Caroline lived at Montague House, which stood here, between 1798 and 1814. The house was demolished in 1815 and the land returned to the park. All that is left now are the blocked windows in the park wall and the remains of this bath.

4. Go forward into the Rose Garden which has display panels identifying the rose species. On your left is the Ranger’s House (originally named Chesterfield House), built in 1723. It now houses the Wernher Collection of medieval and Renaissance works of art, brought together by Sir Julius Wernher, a Victorian diamond magnate. An English Heritage site, it is open to the public. (Admission charge).

5. Continue forward and exit the Rose Garden, then pass tennis courts and a lawn with trees. Just after passing Macartney House, where lived General Wolfe of Quebec fame, take the second path on your right, towards a black-domed building, with the buildings of the Old Royal Observatory over to your left. The low mounds along this path are Saxon Burial mounds. The path comes out on a road opposite public toilets. Go forward now, with this building on your immediate left, to reach a car parking area. Turn left here to the statue of General Wolfe, from where there are spectacular views encompassing the City of London, the Canary Wharf complex and the Millennium Dome; the classical buildings of maritime Greenwich are at your feet. The scars on the statue’s inscription were caused by a wartime V1 flying bomb!

6. Turn left here for free entry to the Old Royal Observatory, or to see the Meridian Line (on the wall through the swing gate slightly to the right of the observatory entrance), then return to the statue. The Old Royal Observatory was built by Christopher Wren for John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal, appointed by Charles II in 1676. With your back to the Old Royal Observatory, go through concrete bollards to take the curved path running along the crest of the hill. Ignore the first cross-path to come out by the caged remains of Queen Elizabeth’s Oak, reputedly over 900 years old! Turn right up the hill and, at the top, turn left on a broad red tarmac path. At the path junction, go forward to the railings on the top of a slight grassy mound to view the scanty remains of a Roman temple.

7. Now retrace your steps for 30 metres and turn right on a downhill path. Ignore all side paths, passing, on the left, the broad sweep of the lawns below the Old Royal Observatory. At the bottom of the hill, at a multiple path junction, go forward still through a short avenue of trees, passing a small lake on the right. Thirty metres before park gates, turn left along flower borders, with the buildings comprising the National Maritime Museum behind a short wall. The National Maritime Museum (again, free entry), is the largest maritime museum in the world. It has, as its centrepiece, the Queen’s House, which was originally part of the Palace of Placentia. Begun in 1616 by Inigo Jones, it was intended to be the home of Anne of Denmark, the consort of James I. She died before it could be completed, however, and the project was eventually resuscitated by Charles I for his queen, Henrietta Maria. The wings were added in 1807-16 as part of the Naval Asylum School.

Greenwich Park

8. Continue to the end of these gardens and, just past a large statue of William IV (originally sited near London Bridge), leave the park through St Mary’s Gate. Go forward down King William Walk, crossing Romney Road by the lights, then continue in the same direction.

9. Opposite College Approach on the one-way system, turn right through the west gate of the Old Royal Naval College. The College site, now part of the University of Greenwich, began life as the Palace of Placentia where both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were born. The palace was swept away by Charles II. The site was then used for the Royal Naval Hospital, established by Royal Charter by Queen Mary, Wren being asked to draw up plans in 1694. The hospital became the Royal Naval College in 1873.

10. Walk forward to enter the central domed building on the right to see the Painted Hall. This contains spectacular wall and ceiling paintings, executed by Sir James Thornhill between 1707 and 1726. Lord Nelson lay in state here after his death at Trafalgar. Leaving the Painted Hall, continue further to the second domed building to see the Chapel of St Peter and St Paul, which again contains fine decoration, executed after a fire in 1779, this time in a rococo style by “Athenian” Stuart and William Newton. Both the Painted Hall and Chapel are open free-of-charge and deserve to be better known.

Also on the college site are a café, toilets and tourist information centre, located in the building near Greenwich Pier.

11. Now retrace your steps back to the main gate, and turn right towards Greenwich Pier, passing the Cutty Sark. The domed building over to your left contains the entrance to the foot tunnel passing under the Thames to Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs. If you have time, a fine view of Greenwich’s riverfront can be gained from there.

The Cutty Sark, built in 1869, gained its fame on the China tea run, where speed of delivery was critical. In later years she plied in the Australian wool trade for a time, before enduring changes of name and fortune after having been sold to the Portuguese. She was eventually restored, and served as a stationary training ship before being brought to Greenwich in 1954. The name Cutty Sark means “short shirt” and derives from Robert Burns’ poem, Tam o’ Shanter.

At the pier, turn right alongside the Thames, passing in front of the Old Royal Naval College, to arrive at the Trafalgar Tavern.

12. Recommended pub: The splendid Trafalgar Tavern was built in 1837 and is worth entering both for its atmosphere and its real ale.

River Thames

13. Pass behind the pub along the pedestrianised Crane Street, then Highbridge Wharf, to arrive at the petite Trinity Hospital, almshouses dating from 1613, and somewhat overshadowed by a redundant power station.

14. Passing under the gantries of the power station, notice the “Thames Tale” set in the wall on the right. The Thames now veers northwards towards the Millennium Dome. By Iron Anchor Wharf, there is a pretty pub, the “Cutty Sark”, which boasts a huge curved bay window. The rest of this street, Ballast Quay, is late Georgian and terminates in the harbourmaster’s house. Several houses display fire insurance plaques, dating from when individual insurance companies ran their own fire brigades.

15. At the end of Ballast Quay, veer left to the riverfront again. There is a distinctly industrial flavour to the route now and, although there is still a lot of redevelopment going on, we are still following a right of way which forms part of the Thames Path National Trail. We weave our way between largely redundant wharves and jetties. Just past the Amylum grain silos, walk along the public jetty to view the information board, and to see how Greenwich sits at the southernmost end of the great loop of the river around the Isle of Dogs.

16. The path now turns briefly away from the river. As circular storage tanks are reached, do not take the forward path, but turn left between metal fences to regain the river and pass through an aggregates loading area. Ships may be unloading here, and you may need to catch the crane operator’s eye in order to be allowed to pass safely.

17. As you draw level with the Canary Wharf complex, there is a realisation that the industrial area has been left behind and some sporadic landscaping has begun. Tranquility reasserts itself, broken only by the occasional aircraft flying out of London City Airport on the opposite bank of the river. Maintain your contact with the river by swinging round to the left of an inlet and the Millennium Dome, the river itself swinging right as it finally finishes with the Isle of Dogs. At the apex of the bend there is a portion of a ship hard-by — an artwork named “A Slice of Reality”, by Richard Wilson. Then comes a large control sign which regulates shipping passing through the Thames Barrier.

18. Once past the Dome, things appear appreciably tidier. A copious reedbed is safely enclosed between the river and a raised walkway, whilst the Dome carpark is similarly confined behind a wire mesh fence. Another artwork, “Quantum Cloud”, by Anthony Gormley, stands on caissons by the Queen Elizabeth II Pier. If you look carefully, you can see the outline of a human figure in the middle. If you wish to end your walk here, continue past the David Beckham Academy and take the signposted path on your right, then right again along East Parkside to North Greenwich Underground Station and bus-stands by the Millennium Dome.

If completing the circuit back to Blackheath Station, continue forward alongside the river and refer to the North Greenwich to Blackheath walk for instructions.

Quantum Cloud

© Mike Biggs, Inner London Area Ramblers’ Association, 2006.

If you have any comments about this walk, or notice that it needs updating to take account of changes on the route, then please contact Mike at mikebiggs4@aol.com.