Walks Day walks # 215

Blackheath to Canary Wharf walk

Blackheath, Greenwich Royal Park, its Observatory and Meridian, the London skyline, the Cutty Sark, a Thames foot tunnel and Canary Wharf skyscrapers.

History

This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.

Updated: Tue, 29-Jan-19

Date	#	Post
Sat, 18-Feb-17	13	Sean Saturday Walk – Maritime Greenwich Extra Walk 215 – Blackheath to Canary Wharf Length: 12 km (7.5 miles). Toughness: 1/10 10:39 Gillingham train from Charing Cross (Waterloo East 10:42, London Bridge 10:47), arriving Blackheath at 11:00. I suggest loitering on the platform for a few minutes as some might choose to travel on the 10:39 Dartford train from Victoria, arriving at 11:04. Blackheath is in TfL Zone 3 and Canary Wharf (Jubilee Line and DLR) is in Zone 2. A short urban walk for those who don't quite see the appeal of long muddy walks in winter. This one is really an excuse for sightseeing in and around the Greenwich World Heritage Site: the free attractions include an Astronomy photo exhibition at the Royal Observatory, the art collection in the Queen's House, the Painted Hall and Chapel of the Royal Naval College and the exhibits in the Maritime Museum. After crossing under the Thames in the foot tunnel you'll also get to see the site of Brunel's ill-fated attempt to launch his largest ship, the SS Great Eastern. There are many possible lunch places in Greenwich but the midweek evening walkers (who do a shorter version of this walk in summer) traditionally opt for the Plume of Feathers, just outside one of the park's gates. At the end of the walk you'll find plenty of refreshment opportunities in Canary Wharf. You'll need to print the walk directions (with maps) from the Extra Walk 215 page. T=swc.215 Mike A, 15-Feb-17 And just to mention, if walkers haven't had enough walking when they arrive Canary wharf, they may stroll along the Thames Path to Limehouse Basin (and catch a DLR) or continue up the Regents Canal to Mile End and catch a Central or District Line Tube there. Bridie, 20-Feb-17 13 met at the station arriving by almost as many different routes as Blackheath seems to be very easily accessible. The weather started grey but changed in the afternoon to bright sunshine. A lovely parkland walk for a bleak winters day with numerous points to pique ones interest including Caroline's bath and the barrows causing a lot of discussion and wondering, (both checked out on Wiki later to much amusement) and wandering. Greenwich park is also famous for birdlife ( one said that they saw an owl though nobody else confirmed it ) and red and fallow deer seen by all and a rose garden that would be better in the summer months. Lunch was a somewhat long and relaxed affair primarily due to some sort of upset in the kitchen ( maybe the cook had a hissy fit at 10 of us arriving at once ) but it did mean that lunch lasted something like 80 minutes at The Plume of Feathers but the food was very nice and reasonable. After lunch the group broke up with us now being only 7, others having left early or staying on. This was a cultural tour in that we also visited the Queens House, Royal Observatory ( free part ) and some other bits.The chapel was magnificent in it's decoration and splendour ( lots of discussion about how the balconies were supported something IKEA does today with discreet fixings but not on this scale which would hold a third of the congregation ) The painted hall was closed for renovation and will reopen in April. (At that time the scaffolding will remain for a while allowing visitors with a head for heights to get within 8 foot of the ceiling). Hopefully this walk will be reposted with a view to view the painted ceiling and rose garden splendour. The 7 of us walked through the foot tunnel (with a busker strumming "Stand by Me" the old Ben E King classic though everybody seemed to 'Walk on by') before emerging into Island Gardens where another 4 deserted the group I was one of them and now they were 3 though rumour has it that all 3 actually finished the walk. Amazing no mud all day thus dry boots and no slipping over and no need for poles one day all walks will be this good. River Lady, 20-Feb-17 Two who left the lunch pub before the main group, having ordered sandwiches which arrived quite quickly, also completed this interesting and enjoyable walk. We caught the tube from Canary Wharf after a coffee at Smollenskys. Jennifer, 20-Feb-17 Very enjoyable walk on a beautiful sunny spring like day with plenty of culture thrown in. I would like to see more of these shorter walks of 7 9 miles for those of us who are not getting any younger! There were 13 people on the walk so there is definitely a call for this. Thank you Sean Anonymous, 20-Feb-17 reluctantly have to agree with Jennifer on the mileage, and say shorter distances also good for some of us who aren't v.fit
Sat, 31-Oct-15	7	Sean Saturday Third Walk – through Britain's maritime history Extra Walk 215 – Blackheath to Canary Wharf Length: 12 km (7.5 miles). Toughness: 1/10 10:24 Slade Green train from Cannon Street (London Bridge 10:28, New Cross 10:33), arriving Blackheath at 10:41. There are other services to Blackheath from Charing Cross and Victoria (both departing at 10:09) arriving 5-10 minutes earlier, if either of those are more convenient. Blackheath is in TfL Zone 3 and Canary Wharf (Jubilee Line and DLR) is in Zone 2. This urban walk had an inauspicious début 18 months ago, when gloomy weather and unfounded rumours of train cancellations put off all but a couple of locals. It's basically an extension of one of the club's summer evening walks in Greenwich Park, with bits tacked on at each end. The advantage of doing it in daylight hours is that you can break off to visit some of the many (free) attractions in the Greenwich World Heritage Site: see the walk document for details. Or you can simply clock off the miles and get back in time to watch the rugby (or put in half a day's overtime at your Docklands office). There are many possible lunch places in Greenwich but the midweek evening walkers traditionally opt for the Plume of Feathers, just outside one of the park's gates. If you do the final section along the Thames Path you'll find plenty of choice in Canary Wharf too. You'll need to print the walk directions (with maps) from the Extra Walk 215 page.T=swc.215 Sean, 11-Nov-15 On a sunny day 7 walkers enjoyed the autumn colours without venturing too far from the Greenwich Meridian. Watches were synchronised with GMT when the time ball fell at 1pm. It wasn't quite warm enough to have lunch outdoors at the Plume of Feathers but we did anyway (one in T shirt, the others shivering in multiple layers of clothing). With plenty of little detours for sightseeing we didn't get to Canary Wharf until about 4.30pm, where at least one enjoyed the second half of the rugby.
Sun, 06-Apr-14	3	Blackheath to Canary Wharf