Ridgeway (London)

Sign marking the Ridgeway where it meets the Thames Path

The Ridgeway is a 3.5-mile (5.6 km)[1][2][3] "cycling permitted pedestrian priority" footpath owned by Thames Water in southeast London. It runs between Plumstead and Crossness on an embankment that covers the Joseph Bazalgette Southern Outfall Sewer.

Route

Ridgeway footpath, London
 Plumstead National Rail
 Pettman Cresent  A206 [4]
 Elizabeth line depot[5][6][7]
 HM Prison Belmarsh
 White Hart Avenue[8]
 Nathan Way/Sewell Road (East)
 Sewell Road (West)
 Thamesmead
 Harrow Manor Way  A2041 
Greenwich
Bexley
border
 Green Chain walk[9]
 The Link Thamesmead[10]
 Southmere lake[11][12]
 Lakeside Centre[13][14][15]
 Southmere Boat Club[16][17]
 Bazalgette Way
 Eastern Way  A2016 
 Crossway Park[18]
 Sporting Club Thamesmead F.C.
 Crossness Pumping Station[19]
 Thames Path[20]

The Ridgeway runs ENE/WSW:[21] the western two thirds between Plumstead railway station and The Link Thamesmead, home of the London College of Performing Arts,[22][23] is in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

The remainder of the Ridgeway towards the Thames Path and Crossness Pumping Station is in the London Borough of Bexley.

A similar path called the Greenway covers the Northern Outfall Sewer.

History

The sewers were installed after an outbreak of cholera in 1853 and the "Great Stink" of 1858.[24][25]

Development

The pathway at the Greenwich end of the Ridgeway was refurbished in 2010[26][27] and the pathway at the Bexley end of the Ridgeway was refurbished in 2017.[28][29][30]

The Ridgeway is incorporated in to the Thamesmead 5K and family 1 mile runs organised by the Thamesmead running club and Peabody Trust.[31][32]

The Ridgeway and several surrounding areas have been recognised by the Mayor of London and the London boroughs as a site of importance for nature conservation (SINC) since 2016.[33][34][35]

In 2018, the Plumstead entrance to the Ridgeway was refurbished, with public art work installed by local artist Sam Skinner and Ninth Seal.[36][37] Further changes to the Plumstead entrance and surrounding public realm are planned in 2024 as a result of issues highlighted in the Plumstead Area Framework conducted by Greenwich council in 2016.[38][39][40]

A petition was created by local users of the Ridgeway for litter bins to be installed along its length. The petition was rejected by Greenwich council in January 2018.[41][42][43]

In 2018, the American artist Duke Riley installed a temporary art installations at the end of the Ridgeway, on land previously used as the driving range for the Thamesview Golf centre. The event organised as part of the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) 2018 was called 'Fly By Night' and featured 1,500 LED-lit, trained pigeons flying above the River Thames.[44][45][46]

In 2023, the Ridgeway featured in the 'Thamesmead Light Festival: Light The Way' which incorporated a number of light sculptures on a walking trail between the Lakeside Arts Centre, Crossway Park and Sporting Club Thamesmead.[47][48] That year, the Ridgeway was also included as one of the 22 sites selected by the Mayor of London for the second round of his Rewild London Fund.[49] The funding aimed to create a 'Thamesmead Pollinator Corridor' and was led by the North West Kent Countryside Partnership in collaboration with the BumbleBee Conservation Trust, Bow Arts, University of East London and the Ridgeway Users community group.[50][51][52][53] Subsequently, the rare brown-banded carder bee has been recorded on sites that had been planted as part of the pollinator corridor project.[54][55] As part of the Thamesmead Pollinator Corridor project, the artist, Ellen Strachan was commissioned to create two interpretation boards on the Ridgeway.[56][57][58] These boards were unveiled by the Mayor of Bexley on 8 April 2024.[59][60]

In 2023, the Belgium artist and film-maker, Elise Guillaume held a 'Listening to the Bees' workshop on the Ridgeway organised as part of the Three Rivers Bexley Alliance with the BumbleBee Conservation Trust and the Ridgeway Users community group.[61][62][63][64][65]

In 2025, Gallery No. 32 held a winter sculpture park at the end of the Ridgeway, on the former Thamesview golf centre.[66][67][68]

Between 2024 - 2029 the Ridgeway Biodiversity Project will be undertaken. It is funded through a biodiversity offsetting agreement between Thames Water, the landowner and Cory Riverside Energy. It will involve 'removing denser areas of scrub and non-native species, while restoring and extending the areas of more open habitats such as grassland, wildflowers and bare ground' and will take place in two phases over five years.[69][70]

At the western end of the Ridgeway, the housing association Peabody Trust in association with Berkeley Group built 1,964 homes adjacent to Plumstead bus garage.[71][72] As part of the planning process for this development, extensive archaeological excavations were carried out along Pettman Crescent adjacent to the Plumstead end of the Ridgeway.[73] Improvements to existing public spaces around the development included improvements to pathways that pass the Ridgeway and the creation of the 'ColourWay' by the artist Adam Nathaniel Furman, Adams & Sutherland Architects, Many Hands Murals and Make:Good design studios in 2026.[74][75][76][77][78][79][80]

There is a Facebook group,[81] Instagram page,[82] and Twitter page [83] for Ridgeway Users.

Future proposals

There is an option to extend the Royal Arsenal Narrow Gauge (RANG) steam railway [84][85][86] from Crossness car park to Plumstead railway station via the Ridgeway.[87][88]

Proposals have been put forward by the Pharaoh Project to create a 'biodome' within the underpass at Pettman Crescent adjacent to the Plumstead entrance of the Ridgeway.[89][90]

Planning applications have been submitted for the construction of film studios opposite the entrance to the Ridgeway and Kellner Road,[91] and within the disused Plumstead power station on White Hart Road to the South of the Ridgeway.[92][93]

Devon and Cornwall Railways Limited have had plans approved to reinstate the Plumstead Goods Yard next to the Ridgeway as a fully active freight site to receive aggregate and other rail imported material to serve London.[94][95][96][97]

Peabody Trust have been working to open up access to the Ridgeway from the Thames Path and have partnered with Sustrans to work on proposals to develop a route from Southmere Lake via the Ridgeway through the former Thamesview Golf Centre to the River Thames.[98][99]

Greenwich Council have put forward plans to construct a new traveller site on a triangular area of land off Church Manorway near Sewell Road next to the Ridgeway.[100]

TfL rail proposals

In a presentation by TfL to the Greenwich Council, they proposed an extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking London Overground train service from the new Barking Riverside station to Thamesmead Central and via Plumstead to Woolwich Arsenal that would take a route along the eastern section of the Ridgeway or Belvedere station using the eastern section of the Ridgeway. However, other Overground and DLR options would not be using the Ridgeway.[101]

Media

The Ridgeway was the subject of a radio show on Resonance FM in 2011.[102] It also features in an app produced by London Borough of Bexley to promote heritage walking trails. To celebrate the launch of the Elizabeth line on 24 May 2022, the YouTuber Runderground Matt featured the Ridgeway in his run across the core section of the line from Abbey Wood to Paddington.[103] The YouTube channel called 'Cripple Cruise' has featured the Ridgeway in several of their POV style videos taken from the perspective of a mobility scooter user.[104] The Ridgeway is featured in the book, Everything from the Egg, by the British artist Stephen Turner and published by The Artist Agency in 2023.[105][106][107] The book describes the journey of his art installation, the Exbury Egg, including its residency at the Lakeside Centre in Thamesmead in 2019, next to the Ridgeway.[108][109]

References

  1. ↑ "London's Ridgeway: Plumstead to Abbey Wood". Alltrails. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "Relation: The Ridgeway (174515)". OpenStreetMap. 20 December 2022.
  3. ↑ "Ridgeway". Wikidata. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  4. ↑ "Pettman Crescent". Layers of London. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  5. ↑ Morbey, Aaron (27 March 2015). "Crossrail starts race for 30m sidings depot at Plumstead". Construction Enquirer News. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "The Crossrail (Plumstead Sidings) Order 2015". legislation.gov.uk. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "TSO completes Plumstead maintenance depot". RailEngineer. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  8. ↑ "White Hart Triangle". Mayor of London & London Assembly. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "Green Chain Walk, Section 1: Thamesmead to Lesnes Abbey". Transport for London. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  10. ↑ "London College of Performing Arts". Archived from the original on 18 March 2023.
  11. ↑ Tēcutli, Mictlān (7 January 2022). "Southmere Lake". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "Southmere Lake Map". Bow Arts. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "Lakeside Centre". Architecture 00. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "Bow Arts Awarded £382,000 by Arts Council England to Upgrade the Lakeside Centre". Bow Arts. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  15. ↑ "Lakeside Centre". Bow Arts. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "Southmere Water Sports Centre". ThamesmeadNow. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "Southmere Boat Club". Architecture 00. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "Crossway Park and Tump 52". GiGL. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "Crossness Engines Trust". Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "The Thames Path, south bank, section 4b:Tripcock Ness to Crossness Incinerator". Transport for London. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  21. ↑ "Diamond Geezer". Diamondgeezer.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  22. ↑ "London College of Performing Arts". www.londoncollegeofperformingarts.com. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  23. ↑ "Theatre Street Performing Arts". theatrestreet.squarespace.com. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  24. ↑ "SIR JOSEPH BAZALGETTE and LONDON'S INTERCEPTING SEWER SYSTEM" (PDF). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  25. ↑ "View: London (Edition of 1894-96) XCV (Borough Of Woolwich) - Ordnance Survey 25 inch England and Wales, 1841-1952". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  26. ↑ "The Ridgeway". Issuu.com. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  27. ↑ "Royal Borough of Greenwich - Consultations". Consultations.royalgreenwich.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  28. ↑ King, Emily. "12 weeks of improvement works to Ridgeway path begin next week". Bexleytimes.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  29. ↑ "Improvements to deliver lasting benefit to Ridgeway Path". Corporate.thameswater.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  30. ↑ "The Thamesmead Grump". Thethamesmeadgrump.blogspot.co.uk. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  31. ↑ "Thamesmead 5K and Family 1 Mile : Thamesmead". Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  32. ↑ "Thamesmead 5km Race - Thamesmead 5km". 14 September 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  33. ↑ "Biodiversity". Mayor of London & London Assembly.
  34. ↑ "GiGL SINCs Open Data – London Datastore". Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  35. ↑ "Planning Data Map". Mayor of London. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  36. ↑ "More Plumstead murals appear". From The Murky Depths. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  37. 1 2 "Royal Borough of Greenwich". www.facebook.com.
  38. ↑ "Changes planned around Plumstead station and underpass: New consultation begins". From The Murky Depths. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  39. ↑ "Have Your Say Today". Archived from the original on 23 November 2023.
  40. ↑ Chamberlain, Darryl (23 November 2023). "Plumstead's dingy underpass could get pop-up markets in council revamp". The Greenwich Wire. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  41. ↑ Morrow, Matt (18 October 2017). "Pleased to present petition on behalf of @RidgewayUsers at full Council in #Greenwich calling for instillation [sic] of litter bins on the Ridgeway #Plumstead".
  42. ↑ Ridgeways Users (17 November 2017). "@Ridgewayusers hand in a petition to @tpearce003. Thanks go to all who signed. @LBofBexley @thameswaterpic.twitter.com/tH2jCkNYYy".
  43. ↑ "Agenda for Council on Wednesday, 31st January, 2018, 7.00 pm". committees.royalgreenwich.gov.uk. 31 January 2018.
  44. ↑ Thompson, Jessie (22 June 2018). "8 shows you should see at this year's LIFT Festival". The Standard. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  45. ↑ Lukowski, Andrzej (28 February 2018). "1,500 glowing pigeons, a new Punchdrunk show, and a party in the Tower of London moat feature in the 2018 LIFT Festival". Time Out London.
  46. ↑ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  47. ↑ "Light the Way: Thamesmead Light Festival". ThamesmeadNow. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  48. ↑ "Thamesmead light festival returns with showstopping water screen". ThamesmeadNow. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  49. ↑ "Mayor brings back beavers in Ealing, bees in Bexley and bats in Barnes as he sets out plans to rewild London". Mayor of London & London Assembly. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  50. ↑ "The Rewild London Fund". London Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  51. ↑ "Rewild London Fund 2022". Mayor of London & London Assembly. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  52. ↑ "Buzzing in the East End (B.E.E) Interim Report 2024" (PDF). Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  53. ↑ "Thamesmead Pollinator Corridor Project". North West Kent Countryside Partnership. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  54. ↑ "BuzzingSouthEast (@nikkigammans) on X". X (formerly Twitter).
  55. ↑ "BuzzingSouthEast Instagram post". 9 August 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  56. 1 2 "Ridgeway Users". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  57. 1 2 "Ellen Strachan". LinkedIn.
  58. ↑ "Thamesmead Pollinator Corridor case study". Pigeon Loft Murals. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  59. ↑ "Instagram".
  60. ↑ "x.com". twitter.com. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  61. ↑ "Instagram".
  62. ↑ "Fout". m.facebook.com. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  63. ↑ "Home | Three Rivers | Bexley". threeriversbexley.org. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  64. ↑ "Elise Guillaume". www.eliseguillaumeart.com. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  65. ↑ "Instagram".
  66. ↑ "Instagram".
  67. ↑ "Winter Sculpture Park 2025". Gallery No.32. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  68. ↑ Forge, Katie (3 March 2025). "The City's Largest Sculpture Park Is Coming To South London". secretldn.com. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  69. ↑ "Talk of Thamesmead" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2023.
  70. ↑ "Ridgeway goes wild". ThamesmeadNow. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  71. ↑ "Housing increase planned at Lombard Square near Plumstead station". Fromthemurkydepths. 17 September 2025. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  72. ↑ "Homepage | Lombard Square Community". www.lombardsquarecommunity.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  73. ↑ "Plumstead West Thamesmead - Plot 1: Mitigation Strategy" (PDF). planning.org.uk.
  74. ↑ "Pettman Underpass". Make Good Architects. 28 June 2026. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  75. ↑ "ColourWay". Adam Nathaniel Furman. 28 June 2026. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  76. ↑ "ColourWay". Gareth Gardner Photography. 28 June 2026. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  77. ↑ "A trip from Plumstead on the Ridgeway as thousands of homes rise". Fromthemurkydepths. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  78. ↑ "Plumstead station area changes: Update from Greenwich Council". Fromthemurkydepths. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  79. ↑ "Pettman Underpass improvements". loveplumstead.commonplace.is.
  80. ↑ "New report on Plumstead road and underpass changes due next year". Fromthemurkydepths. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  81. ↑ "Ridgeway Users Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  82. ↑ "Ridgeway Users (@ridgewayusers) • Instagram photos and videos".
  83. ↑ "Ridgeway Users Twitter". Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  84. ↑ "16/02241/FUL | Installation of a narrow gauge railway and modification to an existing industrial building for use as depot facilities for the railway. | The Old Works Crossness Sewage Treatment Works Bazalgette Way London SE2 9AQ". Pa.bexley.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  85. ↑ "Support a new steam railway for South-East London". www.ianvisits.co.uk. 19 December 2018.
  86. ↑ "RANG Railway". Crowdfunder UK.
  87. ↑ "New light railway approved for South-East London". Ianvisits.co.uk. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  88. ↑ O'Mahony, Daniel (25 January 2019). "Volunteers build 700-metre track to historic Victorian pumping station". Evening Standard.
  89. ↑ "Building BioDomes for everyone. The Pharaoh Project: Change.org Petition". Pettman Underpass Social Space Garden Creation Biodome Pyramid Plumstead. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  90. ↑ "PharaohProject". www.facebook.com.
  91. ↑ "Thamesmead film studio set to replace church". Fromthemurkydepths. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  92. ↑ Chamberlain, Darryl (16 February 2022). "Film studio planned for Plumstead in power station redevelopment". The Greenwich Wire. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  93. ↑ Chamberlain, Darryl (16 October 2024). "£8m Plumstead film studio project collapses after council pulls out". The Greenwich Wire. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  94. ↑ "Long closed Plumstead Goods Yard beside Southeastern sidings could reopen". Fromthemurkydepths. 2 September 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  95. ↑ "24/2855/F | Construction of a rail served concrete batching plant with associated ancillary structures and facilities including: Messroom/Welfare Building, cycle, car and HGV parking. | Land at Former Plumstead Coal Yard, White Hart Road, Plumstead, SE28 1DF". Royal Borough of Greenwich. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  96. ↑ "More rail freight for the North Kent Line with proposed Plumstead terminal". Ianvisits. 10 September 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  97. ↑ "New Plumstead railway yard approved". Fromthemurkydepths. 1 April 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  98. ↑ "Pathways to the Thames". ThamesmeadNow. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  99. ↑ "Thamesview Golf Centre, Thamesmead. (1991 – 2014)". Golf's Missing Links. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  100. ↑ "New traveller site proposed by Greenwich Council in Abbey Wood". Fromthemurkydepths. 6 May 2026. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  101. ↑ Chamberlain, Darryl (15 February 2019). "TfL lifts lid on possible Thamesmead DLR extension". The Greenwich Wire. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  102. ↑ deeplibrary (13 January 2011). "Plumstead to Cross Ness along the Southern Outfall Sewer". Ventures & Adventures in Topography. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  103. ↑ "I Ran the Elizabeth Line! 🏃🏻‍♂️🚂". YouTube. 31 May 2022.
  104. ↑ "Cripple Cruise". YouTube.
  105. ↑ "Stephen Turner - Everything from the Egg". Art Data. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  106. ↑ "Stephen Turner". The Artists Agency. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  107. ↑ "Stephen Turner". Archived from the original on 10 August 2018.
  108. ↑ "everything comes from the egg". www.exburyeggtour.com. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  109. ↑ "A good egg finds new home on Southmere Lake : Thamesmead".
  110. ↑ "More Plumstead murals appear". Fromthemurkydepths. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  111. ↑ "Instagram".

Start and end points

51°29′48″N 0°06′29″E / 51.496686°N 0.1079209°E / 51.496686; 0.1079209

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