Beckenham

Beckenham Place Park ‘reopens’ – and looks great
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Beckenham Place Park ‘reopens’ – and looks great

This Saturday (20 July) is the official opening of Beckenham Place Park, south-east London’s largest green space (well, before you get to Petts Wood). There’s a fantastic new 283-metre-long lake fed by water from an aquifer 50-odd metres down via a bore hole, which will be available for open-air swimming, canoeing and paddleboarding (swimming will be £3 per session). Aquatic plants around the lake should help to absorb nutrients, thus purifying the water, and oxygen pumps will help keep it clear of unwanted weeds and algae. A family of egyptian geese and another of mallards has already moved in and egrets have been spotted stalking around. Still loads of bloody noisy parakeets though.

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It all looks fantastic, in an area lacking open air swimming facilities since the 1980s but, slightly worryingly, some people have jumped the gun and each evening push aside the barriers to take to the waters. Dogs are another issue with owners allowing their pooches to enter the water – this will not be permitted after the opening, which is good, much as I love dogs.

I’ve walked around lots lately and loved the feel of the place in Friday evening’s drizzle and low cloud. It was quiet, the meadows were gorgeous under the grey sky and there weren’t many in the delightful little bar that’s popped up in the mansion.

Triathlons will be held in the park from autumn onwards. A concert featuring Neneh Cherry and a host of DJs and pretty cool nu-jazz acts will take place in the park on 27 July, tickets (£45 adults) here.

Read more about it in my article for the Guardian Travel website

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Beckenham Place Park – great for a local stroll

Sadly for us south-east London golfers the 18-hole Beckenham course – once the UK’s busiest – has gone; happily for us south-east London walkers the space now opened up is superb! There are expansive grass areas, a mildly hilly terrain, footpaths through woods adorned with bluebells just now, plus excellent birdwatching and a no-nonsense cafe in the striking, though decaying, 18th-century mansion (where there are also yoga classes and an artist’s studio). If you can’t make it out to the countryside or to Chislehurst/Petts Wood, the park is a great place to get some exercise locally: it’s possible to do a three-mile walk within and around it.

Beckenham Place Park mansion

Beckenham Place Park mansion

Access

You can enter it from opposite Ravensbourne Station or from several points on Beckenham Hill Rd and from Westgate Rd. If you get off the train at Beckenham Junction or New Beckenham, just walk up to Foxgrove Rd and take the lane off to the left with rather grandiose houses on it called Beckenham Place Park. It’s also a short walk from Beckenham Hill station on the Thameslink (like Ravensbourne).

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Development

There are no plans to build on the park yet thankfully – but maximum vigilance is urged on that score. The only development at present will be flood defences (the Ravensbourne, Quaggy, Pool and Honor Oak rivers have been known to flood houses in the past), so bore holes and the creation of a water meadow kind of thing are on the cards. There has also been a lot of tree planting (native species).
The Friends of Beckenham Place Park website provides more details on events, development plans and amenities in the park. It’s possible to do a good urban walk linking Beckenham Place with the excellent Kelsey Park and South Norwood Country Park without too much pavement stomping. Oh, and there are kingfishers regularly seen on the Ravensbourne river.