'Assembly' by Peter Burke

Sculptures... Assemble.

On the Thames Path, in Woolwich, you will find sixteen metal men, congregating together as if they are about to attend a meeting. These curious figures, who would not appear out of place in an episode of Doctor Who, are actually a public art project, by the sculptor Peter Burke.

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.

St George's Garrison Church, Woolwich

St George's Garrison Church.

I had read quite a bit about St George's Garrison Church and its history, but I had never been to visit it, until now.

As it is only open to the public on Sundays, unless for an exhibition or special event, it has always been difficult to find the time to get there. Fortunately, I was in the area as I had just visited Severndroog Castle, just down the road, which has a viewing platform that is only accessible on, you guessed it, a Sunday.

One of the church gates.

It was beautiful noon day as Keilyn and I wandered through the gates into the garden of this ruined church, the sun illuminating the gold mosaic above the altar, ahead of us. The canopy, above the remains, filtered the light making the whole place glow.

The canopy protecting the ruins.

The mosaics are stunning, with the St George mosaic being my favourite along with the Victoria Cross Memorial.

The mosaics glinting in the diffused light.

The walls, pillars and columns are all still in place creating a wonderful place to reflect.

Woolwich Free Ferry

Looking from the south terminal to the north.

Although you can traverse the River Thames by foot, either by bridge, tunnel or cable car, you can also choose to go by train, by road or boat.

The Woolwich Free Ferry, however, is only suitable if travelling from South Woolwich to North Woolwich, but it is still a fun way of travelling and offers some great views along the Thames. Plus, it is completely free to use.

Walking with Keilyn: Greenwich Peninsula to Woolwich Foot Tunnel... and beyond

Our starting point for the day.

Friday June 3, 2022.

Having been to London, as a family, the previous day, Keilyn decided that she hadn't seen enough and wanted another walk. So, following an early start we made our way to North Greenwich, from where our walk eastward was to begin.

We made our way from the station to The Tide, a raised walkway that allows for great views over Peninsula Square and leads you to Olympian Way beside the River Thames.

The Mermaid by Damien Hirst.

The first sculpture we saw was 'The Mermaid' by Damien Hirst, quickly followed by Anthony Gormley's 'Quantum Cloud'.

The riverside has changed a lot, since I last walked along it. With its landscaped gardens, seating and barbeque areas it has become a nice place to relax on a summer's evening.

Thames Pathway.

Keilyn takes a rest.

We followed Olympian Way towards the Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park, spotting the 'Hydra & kira' sculpture enroute.

Hydra and Kali by Damien Hirst.

After we passed the Greenwich Yacht Club the area became more industrial and unkept, harking back to this areas commercial and manufacturing past.

Tarmac Charlton Concrete Plant.

Moving on to Riverside the sun had begun to beat down on us and the breeze, which had kept us cool earlier, had now disappeared. 

Woolwich Foot Tunnel

 

The south entrance to the Woolwich foot tunnel.

Of the roughly 40 tunnels beneath the River Thames, the majority of which carry utilities, railway lines and motor vehicles, only three allow pedestrians to use them: The Greenwich foot tunnel, the Woolwich foot tunnel and the Rotherhithe tunnel, although the latter is not advisable, unless you want to look like a chimney sweep and breathe in noxious fumes.

Friday June 3, 2022

I finally managed to get myself to Woolwich, so that I could walk through the foot tunnel, leaving only the Rotherhithe Tunnel for me to walk through.

It was a beautiful morning as Keilyn and I made our way along the Thames Path from North Greenwich to Woolwich, taking in the sights and atmosphere of the four-day Jubilee weekend.

With lots of building work going on along the River Thames, at Woolwich, the entrance to the foot tunnel was difficult to locate, at first, being sited behind the Waterfront Leisure Centre.

Once we discovered the entrance, which is the oldest remaining building in the riverside area, we made our way down the 94 steps of the spiral staircase to the tunnel itself.

The lift shaft in the south entrance.

Once we reached the tunnel we began the walk towards the north bank. There were few pedestrians using the tunnel, but there were plenty of cyclists, disobeying the rules by cycling through the tunnel. 

Looking back towards the south entrance.