Winns Common

Winns Common

Plumstead · 0.1 miles

Set within the suburb of Plumstead in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Winn's Common provides a public open space that has been shaped by centuries of human activity. Archaeological evidence points to settlement by ancient Britons, and the area once contained several Bronze Age burial mounds together with Roman artefacts; a surviving tumulus, known as the Winn's Common Tumulus, remains visible today. During the Second World War the common hosted a line of barrage balloons intended to protect the nearby Royal Arsenal at Woolwich from aerial attack. Across Kings Highway a memorial to George Webb, former headmaster of Burrage Grove Boys School in 1896, marks the site of a former drinking fountain whose fittings have since been removed. After the war, prefabricated houses were erected on the common to accommodate displaced residents; these structures were cleared in the late 1950s and the land was replanted as open ground with football pitches. An old hut at the north end, adjacent to Kings Highway, continues to serve as a changing-room facility, equipped with a tin trough and cold taps. Access to Winn's Common is unrestricted, and visitors can make use of the pitches and the modest changing amenities.

Plumstead Common

Plumstead · 0.6 miles

Plumstead Common provides a sizeable green space within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, positioned just south of the town of Plumstead. The park is bounded to the north by Old Mill Road, to the south by Plumstead Common Road and abuts Winn’s Common on its eastern side. Within its grounds, deposits of puddingstone – a conglomerate rock formed around 60 million years ago during a warm period – can be observed, a geological feature otherwise more typical of Hertfordshire. The site also incorporates the remains of an old mill, now part of a public house that bears the same name, and the former Prince of Wales pub stands on the south-west corner, while Plumstead Manor School lies nearby. First recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as “Plumstede”, the area originally referred to a place where plums grew. Throughout the nineteenth century, increasing pressure from housing development linked to the Royal Arsenal led to the sale of common land, prompting local protests in 1876 that culminated in the Plumstead Common Act of 1878, which secured one hundred acres as permanent public open space. The common also hosted the early matches of Royal Arsenal Football Club. Today, it serves as the venue for community events such as the Plumstead Make Merry festival – noted as the longest-running local festival in the borough – and the popular Asian Mela, often likened to an “Asian Notting Hill Carnival”. Access is via the surrounding roads, and as a public park it remains freely available for recreation and sport.

Woodlands Farm

Shooter's Hill · 1.2 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 · 1.2 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.

Maryon Park

Charlton Riverside · 2.5 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 · 2.5 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.