Many of you will know that the Green Chain Walk footpath passes through Sydenham. It opened between Nunhead and Crystal Palace in September 2010 and many took part in the inaugural and pre-inaugural walks along the route. By ‘many’ I mean many hundreds and Sydenham Town users were well to the fore.
The Green Chain Walk was the responsibility of a consortium of five South East London Boroughs led by Greenwich who employed the staff.
You may not know that in 2016 Greenwich abandoned their role without notice or reason, the consortium thus collapsed and the footpath has had no maintenance, management or promotion since. The waymarking is very robust and is holding up well but cannot last forever.
Since 2017 the Ramblers have been looking after two other London footpath networks with considerable success. In 2022 Transport for London, who had had largely born the cost of laying-out the Nunhead to Crystal Palace path, asked if the Ramblers would be prepared to do the same for the Green Chain Walk. They agreed.
In April 2023 the Ramblers will publish comprehensive new directions to the Green Chain Walk. Transport for London will be approaching the boroughs towards conducting maintenance.
This new regime cannot wholly reinstate what the former consortium offered, notably the promotion, education programme and guided walks. Yet it will ensure that the entire 52 mile Green Chain network remains wholly usable for many years to come.
I will write again when the new directions are published and if you’re interested in recreational walking I think you’ll rather like them!
Green Chain Walk
Re: Green Chain Walk
A quick reply so that I can click the 'Notify me when a reply is posted' box!
Re: Green Chain Walk
Thanks Ian. We walked part of the Green Chain as part of TfL's Capital Ring walk which I do recommend - along with the London Loop. All change the way you look at London. Here is some combined signage for both on the Lower Sydenham/New Beckenham frontier:
Stuart
Stuart
Re: Green Chain Walk
Thank-you, Stuart.
The Capital Ring and the London Loop are the two footpaths that the Ramblers have been working on. There will be considerable upgrades to the Capital Ring's waymarking between Crystal Palace and Wimbledon in 2023. Since the lockdowns a great deal of new waymarking has been applied to other parts of the route and new directions have been produced which are kept up to date.
https://innerlondonramblers.org.uk/idea ... uides.html
https://innerlondonramblers.org.uk/idea ... uides.html
The forthcoming directions to the Green Chain will be similar to the above but feature a higher level of detail and information. Nunhead to Crystal Palace via Sydenham Hill Wood will be 17 pages and contain nine maps, seven at large scale. They'll be published in conjunction with TfL. The Green Chain Walk was opened between Crystal Palace and Erith in 1977 and the Capital Ring and London Loop were conceived as extensions of it, they opened in 2000.
By the way, every waymark on the Green Chain has a 'name' and the one you've photographed is called GCMS10.4!
The Capital Ring and the London Loop are the two footpaths that the Ramblers have been working on. There will be considerable upgrades to the Capital Ring's waymarking between Crystal Palace and Wimbledon in 2023. Since the lockdowns a great deal of new waymarking has been applied to other parts of the route and new directions have been produced which are kept up to date.
https://innerlondonramblers.org.uk/idea ... uides.html
https://innerlondonramblers.org.uk/idea ... uides.html
The forthcoming directions to the Green Chain will be similar to the above but feature a higher level of detail and information. Nunhead to Crystal Palace via Sydenham Hill Wood will be 17 pages and contain nine maps, seven at large scale. They'll be published in conjunction with TfL. The Green Chain Walk was opened between Crystal Palace and Erith in 1977 and the Capital Ring and London Loop were conceived as extensions of it, they opened in 2000.
By the way, every waymark on the Green Chain has a 'name' and the one you've photographed is called GCMS10.4!
Re: Green Chain Walk
Hullo!
As the first stage in the relaunch of the Green Chain Walk new directions have just been published. They might be the best yet seen and can be had here...
https://innerlondonramblers.org.uk/idea ... ides.html
The Sydenham part is section 11.
These directions are part of a joint effort between the Ramblers and TfL following the collapse of local borough support in 2016. Whilst neither organisation has any money to spare TfL are determined to do whatever they can to assist the path and of course, the Ramblers always will. The footpath makes the very best of South East London’s landscape and is most attractive, superbly so for much of its length. There’s a general overview of the network here…
https://innerlondonramblers.org.uk/imag ... Mar23.pdf
The waymarking is generally excellent but damage or losses can occur. If you’d like to mention any defects please write to...
green-chain@innerlondonramblers.org.uk
The path is a true asset to the whole of South East London and is well worth keeping. Any assistance would be most welcome and please do write to the above address if you'd like to adopt and keep an eye on a part of it.
The Green Chain Walk is certainly London’s first long distance footpath and many consider it to be the best. It's a lovely series of routes and you’d not regret walking all of it!
All the best
Ian
As the first stage in the relaunch of the Green Chain Walk new directions have just been published. They might be the best yet seen and can be had here...
https://innerlondonramblers.org.uk/idea ... ides.html
The Sydenham part is section 11.
These directions are part of a joint effort between the Ramblers and TfL following the collapse of local borough support in 2016. Whilst neither organisation has any money to spare TfL are determined to do whatever they can to assist the path and of course, the Ramblers always will. The footpath makes the very best of South East London’s landscape and is most attractive, superbly so for much of its length. There’s a general overview of the network here…
https://innerlondonramblers.org.uk/imag ... Mar23.pdf
The waymarking is generally excellent but damage or losses can occur. If you’d like to mention any defects please write to...
green-chain@innerlondonramblers.org.uk
The path is a true asset to the whole of South East London and is well worth keeping. Any assistance would be most welcome and please do write to the above address if you'd like to adopt and keep an eye on a part of it.
The Green Chain Walk is certainly London’s first long distance footpath and many consider it to be the best. It's a lovely series of routes and you’d not regret walking all of it!
All the best
Ian