The Penge and Cator Parks Walk was designed by Keith Rodwell. He created the walk to include all the parks and open spaces in the Penge and surrounding areas, in one single walk. It was created as a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Penge Green Gym, also known as the Friends of Winsford Gardens. Penge Green Gym have now been working for more than a decade to transform Winsford Gardens into a safe and welcoming environment for the local community and urban wildlife.
The walk is a self-guided walking trail. It features all of Penge’s parks in a 2 to 3 hour stroll. There are many points of local and historical interest. The official launch with a guided walk by Keith himself is on Sunday 27th June 2021 as part of the 2021 Penge Festival. This is limited to booked places, with preference given to the members of the many Park Friends groups within Penge, However, a few intrepid souls had been busy testing out the walk during the early part of 2021, and giving their feedback with their suggestions and revisions.
Full instructions for following the route. (Detailed maps created by Ian Bull). These can be downloaded from here:
Download the Whole Route with Photos and Maps
Introduction
The idea for the walking route came about as something to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Friends of Winsford Gardens (aka Penge Green Gym). We began life in 2011 under the auspices of BTCV (now The Conservation Volunteers). The Group is now an independent Community Group, an established Friends Group, and a member of the Friends Forum of Bromley Parks and Green Spaces. In 2019, we were awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
In 2021, five of the parks and open spaces the route passes through now have their own Friends Groups who help to look after and maintain them. The walk takes you around the centre of Penge, with the High Street in the middle, but it attempts to keep you off the main thoroughfares as much as possible. It takes you through each of the park areas which have their individual attractions. The description does not dwell too much on the historical or other aspects of the sites, details of some of which can be found in the splendid Penge Heritage Trail leaflet or in greater detail on their website – Penge Heritage Trail
Part of the route also follows the Green Chain and Capital Ring walks.
The Route
This is a circular walking route connecting the local parks and open spaces in and around Penge. The walk includes: Winsford Gardens, Betts Park, Penge Recreation Ground, Watermen’s Square, Alexandra Recreation Ground, Cator Park and Royston Field.
The route description in these notes is clockwise starting and finishing at Winsford Gardens, Garden Road, London SE20 7RN. (The entrance between Winsford House and No.2 Garden Road).
Start the walk at any point on the circuit. You can joined at any of the parks and open spaces listed above. Alternatively, there are also two shorter walks:
Western circuit, which takes in Royston Field, Winsford Gardens, Betts Park, Penge Recreation Ground and Watermen’s Square.
Eastern circuit, which takes in Watermen’s Square, Alexandra Recreation Ground and Cator Park.
Download the Whole Route with Photos and Maps
