Croydon: down the river bank to Bromley

pic: Koos Couvee

This cycle route will take you from Ladywell train station through Ladywell Fields, along the River Ravensbourne and all the way down to Cator Park in Bromley. We recommend this ride, which largely follows the Ravensbourne downstream and is interspersed by some lovely places to have a picnic or just lie on the grass on a sunny day.

Eleven miles in length, the River Ravensbourne is a short river that flows through the boroughs of Bromley, Lewisham and Greenwich. We have mapped the route from Ladywell Fields rail station (bottom of this article), ending at Cator Park, and embedded speeded up video recording of the route at the below. The route is part of route 21 of the National Cycle Network.

Highlights of the route include Ladywell Fields, a lovely place to have a picnic, play football or swing a frisbee around. A mile further south, Bellingham Play Park provides an affordable option for kids to have some fun.

If you live in Lewisham you can start off at Ladywell Fields and cycle southwards, along the River Ravensbourne and Pool Rivers to New Beckenham. At times you will forget you are in London, only to be reminded of that fact when you have to cross a road or the adjacent railway track. However, for large parts of the route you will be able to ride along the river – there have been major developments in the area, but fortunately the cycle route has been prioritised.

Follow the blue signs to Lower Sydenham to end up in New Beckenham and Cator Park, a place with green pastures where you rest your legs on the grass on a sunny day. For those who are hungry we highly recommend paying a visit to The Bricklayers Arms, located on 237 High Street, New Beckenham, for an excellent pub lunch and a refreshing drink.

pic: Koos Couvee

From Cator Park the you can follow the river further south, taking you through Elmers End and South Norwood Country Park, all the way to Addington Hill, to end up at South Croydon rail station. For a map of the continued route please click here.

Route map: down the River Ravensbourne from Ladywell to Bromley

[ell-gmap-iframe mapurl=”http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?t=m&msa=0&msid=210280987356340050217.0004bb2085236912795f5&ie=UTF8&ll=51.434703,-0.032877&spn=0.045294,0.02454&output=embed”]

 

Leave a Reply