Walking with Keilyn: Abbey Wood to Crossness... and beyond

Lesnes Abbey viewpoint.

Saturday December 27, 2025.

Today marked the last walk of 2025, for Keilyn and I.

It began with a taxi to Watford Underground station, where we caught a train to Finchley Road and, from there, a Jubilee line train to Bond Street. A walk through the various passageways brought us to the Eastbound platforms, where we waited three minutes for a train. We had decided that we would catch the first train, regardless of its destination. As it was, an Abbey Wood-bound train was the first to arrive.

A little while later we had reached the terminus and exited the station onto Harrow Manorway. Within minutes we were entering Lesnes Abbey Woods.

A monk.

We followed the path, which brought us to Monks Close which we followed, until we entered the largest part of Abbey Woods. To our right we noticed the carved figure of a monk with his Crosier, atop a tree stump. After taking a few photos we made our way to the 'Chestnuts Kiosk', where hot drinks were purchased, before we set off to explore the grounds.

The monk's garden.

Lesnes Abbey Monk's Garden, was our first exploration, where various plants that aided in 'healing' the sick were planted. At its centre was a seated area, with, as its focal point, a giant Crosier. We continued our exploration of the garden, before following the path towards Lesnes Abbey itself.

Various information boards were dotted around, but none of them explained, or could adequately convey, the sheer size of the ruins. It wasn't until Keilyn and I were among the various broken walls and foundations that we could appreciate its scale, and what it would have looked like when it was built, in 1178.

Lesnes Abbey ruins.

We explored every inch of it. From the West Door to the Infirmary to the Kitchens and everything in between. Keilyn took notes and 'googled' various words, such as 'Slype' or 'Reredorter'.

Once we had explored the ruins, the view of the London skyline from the edge of the woods, the Mulberry tree planted by King James I, and the mosaic, we made our way out of the park via the footbridge over Abbey Road. (Not the Abbey Road made famous by 'The Beatles', which is in St John's Wood).

A pony on Erith Marshes.

This path flowed through green spaces, between some brutalist concrete buildings, and brought us to South Mere Lake. Here the path split, so we chose to go right, which brought us to South Mere Park and Erith Marshes. It was here that we saw some ponies in a field.

Dagenham.

We continued following various pathways, passing the Erith Town Football Club ground and a new nature reserve, which is on the site of the old 'Thamesview Golf Centre', which closed in 2014. Eventually we ended up beside the 'Crossness Pumping Station'. Across the river we could see the 'Dagenham Oil Storage Depot' and the 'Ford Motor Company' Dagenham Plant. 

Oops. We were now further east than we had expected. So, we simply pointed our feet westward and continued walking.

Family trip to London: Day 2, Greenwich

Looking towards The Shard from onboard Cutty Sark.

Friday October 31, 2025.

As is usual I awoke before everyone else.

So, without waking anyone I got myself together, dressed and sneaked out of the room. Once outside I turned south and went exploring. Tower Bridge Road was busy with traffic, while the paths were empty, except for those getting a morning jog in before work.

The Railway Houses, Page's Walk.

I crossed Tower Bridge Road and headed along Grange Road, before turning down Page's Walk. Here I saw the former stables buildings of the London and Croydon Railway and the South Eastern Railway, which opened a station, The Bricklayers Arms station, near here in 1844. It closed in 1981, with many of the buildings, including the station, demolished. Next to these stables are a row of railway houses, with brightly painted doors and shutters.

St Mary Magdalen Churchyard.

I then headed back to Tower Bridge Road and visited the Bermondsey Antique Market, in Bermondsey Square, which was still being set up as I arrived. This antiques market is on every Friday, from 06:00 till 14:00, and has been operating since 1950. I then walked through St Mary Magdalen Churchyard, where I saw another drinking fountain and a wide variety of tombs and gravestones. A few minutes later and I was back in the hotel room, where Keilyn was dressed and Emma was just waking up.

Breakfast was next, with us all tucking in and eating well. Full English, pancakes, toast, juice and coffee were all devoured, before we headed back to the room to pack and check out. After a visit to an Asda Express, to top up on drinks and snacks for the day ahead, we waited for a North Greenwich-bound 188 bus. 

Deptford Creek.

After boarding the bus, Keilyn and I headed upstairs to grab a seat at the front, while Emma chose to sit downstairs. The route took us down Tooley Street and onto Jamaica Road, where we passed King's Stairs Gardens and Southwark Park, before we moved onto Lower Road and then Surrey Quays Road. This brought us onto Redcliff Road, passing the Greenland Dock Bascule Bridge, and then back onto Lower Road. Evelyn Street, was next, passing Deptford Park as we approached Deptford. Creek Road took us over Deptford Creek and, shortly after, we alighted at Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich.

Cutty Sark.

Greenwich Church Street brought us to Cutty Sark Gardens and today's visit... Cutty Sark. 

The last time that we had been onboard Cutty Sark was Saturday October 13, 2012, when Emma and I had taken Erin, who was eleven months old, aboard. So, we made our way into the gift shop, where we purchased our tickets, and entered this historic vessel from 1869.

The Lower Hold of Cutty Sark.

We began our exploration of what was once the fastest sea vessel in the world by entering the rear of the Lower Hold, via a doorway cut through the starboard side of the hull. The floor of the Lower Hold is painted as though you are walking on the tops of tea boxes and also contains the Michael Edwards Studio Theatre, where a short video tells the history of Cutty Sark. Boxes of tea were also covered in photographs and snippets of the ship's history, which we passed as we made our way forward towards the front hatch, that would allow us to climb up to the 'Tween Deck.

The 'Tween Deck of Cutty Sark.

The first part of the 'Tween Deck, that we explored, was the fo'c's'le, which, considering its small size, was once home to twenty men. Following the ship's second voyage this was abandoned and the men moved into the forward deckhouse.  The deckhouse's previous occupants, the apprentices and petty officers, moved to a new aft deckhouse.

Interactive displays, models, personal items and much more were displayed throughout and along the entire deck, which we all studied. We then headed forward, once again, and climbed the steps to reach the Main Deck.

The view from the Anchor Deck.

Our first visit was to the Anchor Deck, from where we could look out at the views of London from this unique perspective. We then headed to the Weather Deck, where we explored the deckhouse and workshops, before watching some children enjoying climbing the rigging.

Keilyn takes the wheel.

We then moved towards the Poop Deck, where Keilyn and I had our photo taken with the Ship's Wheel. Emma and Keilyn headed down to the Dry Dock, leaving me to explore the Master's Cabin alone.