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Crossness Nature Reserve

Belvedere · 1.2 miles

Covering 25.5 hectares on the historic Thames floodplain, Crossness Nature Reserve lies in the Crossness area of the London Borough of Bexley, close to Belvedere. The site forms part of the Erith Marshes Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation and represents one of the few remaining grazing marshes in London. Its landscape includes the borough’s largest reedbeds, a network of ponds and ditches, scrub and rough grassland. Recorded wildlife comprises around 130 bird species, a notable water-vole population, several rare invertebrates such as five water-beetle species and the nationally scarce Shrill Carder bee, together with plants like Borrer’s saltmarsh grass and frog rush, which was once thought extinct in Kent. The reserve was created in 1994 under a Section 106 planning agreement and is owned and managed by Thames Water, with day-to-day stewardship provided by the RSPB. A Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve group assists with the care of protected zones that are not publicly accessible. The western perimeter abuts the Crossness Sewage Treatment Works and the northern edge borders a Cory-operated waste-management facility. Between 2005 and 2011 the Belvedere Green Links project invested one million pounds in restoring the southern marsh and related infrastructure, funded by the Homes & Communities Agency, the European Regional Development Fund and the Greater London Authority, with Bexley Council as a key stakeholder. In the early 2020s a proposal by Cory for a carbon-capture installation covering roughly 11 % of the reserve was approved in November 2025 despite local opposition.

Woodlands Farm

Shooter's Hill · 2.5 miles

The 89-acre Woodlands urban farm lies on the east side of Shooter’s Hill in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, southeast London, just north of the A207. It sits roughly two kilometres south of Plumstead and one and a half kilometres west of Welling, forming part of a protected green corridor that links Eltham, Plumstead and Welling. A small watercourse, the Wogebourne, runs northward across the fields and is fed by several tributaries, adding a natural feature to the landscape. The site borders the Greenwich Equestrian Skills Centre, a legacy of the London Olympic Games, and is managed by the Woodlands Farm Trust, a registered charity. Originally laid out in the early nineteenth century as a 122-acre farm under the Baldock family, the land was bought in 1919 by the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society and later operated as a model pig farm. During the Second World War it served briefly as a prisoner-of-war camp. Threatened in the 1980s by a proposed East London River Crossing, the farm was saved after a European-wide campaign and, in 1997, the Co-operative Group granted the Trust a 999-year lease at a peppercorn rent. Today the farm concentrates on conservation, sustainable agriculture and educational activities, hosting regular farm shows and an education centre that welcomes school groups and other visitors. Entry is free and opening times are published on the farm’s listing.

Boer War Memorial

Woolwich · 2.5 miles

The Boer War Memorial in Woolwich is opposite the Royal Artillery Barracks on Grand Depot Road in Woolwich. The memorial marks the deaths of the 18 soldiers of the 61st Battery Royal Field Artillery who died in the Second Boer War. The memorial is a tall thin pink granite obelisk on a square plinth with a three-step base.

Eastbury Manor House

Thames View · 3.1 miles

A substantial Elizabethan residence survives in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, where Eastbury Manor House stands as a Grade I listed museum. The building occupies land that once formed part of the demesne of Barking Abbey and lies close to the Thames View area of Greater London. Ownership rests with the National Trust while day-to-day management is provided by the borough council; the house welcomes visitors for ten months each year. Construction began in the 1570s after merchant Clement Sisley acquired the former abbey lands. Contemporary records note brickwork bearing the dates 1572 and 1573, and dendrochronology places the timber roof in 1566, indicating a rapid build-up. The house was probably the first brick structure locally, featuring glass windows that may have been imported from Italy and unusually high chimneys, both signs of its original wealth. A later tradition links the house to the Gunpowder Plot, although no documentary evidence supports the claim. Following a period of decline from the late eighteenth century—during which the Great Tower Staircase was removed by 1814 and original flooring and fireplaces disappeared in the 1830s—only the west wing remained habitable by the nineteenth century’s end. The National Trust purchased the property in 1918, restored it, and opened it as the Museum of Barking in 1931. After being listed in 1954, the house benefited from Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restorations, the most recent completed in 2010, which added a permanent exhibition detailing the building’s architectural evolution and succession of owners.

Maryon Park

Charlton Riverside · 3.1 miles

Set on the south-east bank of the Thames, the green space lies within Charlton, part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and is managed by Greenwich London Borough Council. It can be reached from the A206, with entry points on Woolwich Road, Charlton Lane and Thorntree Road, and the nearest settlement is Charlton Riverside. The park forms a component of the Maryon Wilson Park and Gilbert’s Pit Local Nature Reserve. The area was originally known as Hanging Wood, a steeply sloping woodland that later supplied sandpits. In 1891 the Maryon-Wilson family presented the sandpits to the London County Council; one of the former pits was laid out as a public park and opened the same year. The layout, featuring winding paths that follow the hill’s contours, was drawn up by J. J. Sexby, then chief surveyor to the council’s parks department. Within the park, Cox’s Mount marks the site of a Roman hill-fort discovered in 1915 and, in the 1850s, served as a compass-adjustment point for ships navigating the Thames. Grassland supports species such as hawkweed, gorse and broom, while the Capital Ring and Green Chain long-distance footpaths cross the grounds. Recreational facilities include hard tennis courts, a basketball court and a children’s play area. To the south, the Site of Special Scientific Interest known as Gilbert’s Pit lies adjacent, and Maryon Wilson Park continues beyond it. The park also features in the 1966 film *Blowup*, where several scenes were shot on location.

Gilbert's Pit

Charlton Riverside · 3.1 miles

The 5.2-hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest lies on the edge of Charlton Riverside in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, forming part of the Maryon Wilson Park and Gilbert’s Pit Local Nature Reserve. The reserve borders Maryon Park and is reachable on foot from Charlton Lane, with a marked path beginning at the information board in Maryon Park that climbs to Cox’s Mount, offering clear views across the capital. Human activity on the hilltop dates back to the first to fifth centuries, when a Romano-British settlement occupied Cox’s Mount, an area once within the ancient Hanging Wood. The land later formed part of the Maryon-Wilson estate and was quarried for sand from the late eighteenth century until 1889, acquiring the name of a former manager, Mr E. Gilbert. In 1930 the London County Council bought the site, and it has since been recognised for its geological importance. The pit displays a well-preserved Paleogene sequence, including the Thanet and Woolwich Formations of around 55 million years ago, and has yielded fossils of plants, sponges, molluscs, fish and reptiles, attracting scientific study for more than a century. The steeply sloping ground supports birch and oak on the upper levels, with yellow gorse, broom and hawthorn further down, providing nesting sites for birds. Most of the area is fenced, but the publicly accessible section can be explored without charge; the land is owned by the local authority. No dedicated car park or visitor centre is noted, so access is best planned on foot via the existing footpaths.