Discover Bromley: Holiday Apartments, Nature Trails and History

Bromley combines signposted circular walks with expansive landscapes, special natural areas and historic sites. The circular walks usually take two to four hours and are suitable for walkers of all ability levels. In addition, Bromley has an extensive network of walking routes through parks, recreational areas, open landscapes, the Green Belt and public rights of way.

Trails and Landscape

Several long-distance trails pass through the Bromley area. The Green Chain Walk is a 50-mile network of green routes in southeast London and crosses Bromley from Chislehurst Common to Crystal Palace Park. The London Outer Orbital Path is a 150-mile circular route around Outer London; it passes through three Local Nature Reserves in Bromley as well as over West Wickham Common. The Capital Ring Walk runs as a 78-mile circular route around Greater London through Cator Park and Crystal Palace Park.

The Darwin’s Footsteps Trails also run through the landscape in and around Downe, which inspired Charles Darwin’s work. This brings together different types of routes: signposted circular walks usually taking two to four hours, far-reaching circular routes and a network connecting parks, open landscapes and public rights of way.

Nature

High Elms Country Park lies on the North Downs ridge at the edge of the Thames Basin and offers 250 acres of landscape to explore. High Elms is both a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Local Nature Reserve. Its chalk grasslands and woodlands provide habitats for various wildlife, including species that are rare in London.

History

Down House was Charles Darwin’s family home for 40 years. He worked on his theories there and wrote On the Origin of Species. The extensive gardens at Down House served Darwin as an „outdoor laboratory“ and as the setting for many of his discoveries. On the ground floor, the rooms were reconstructed using photographs from the 1870s and many original objects to look as they did in Darwin’s time. The original objects returned there after the house was converted into a museum in 1929.

The Chislehurst Caves were hollowed out over centuries for the extraction of chalk for lime burning and brickmaking, as well as flint. During the Blitz, they served as a deep air-raid shelter and protected more than 15,000 people every night. The Chislehurst Caves are open for tourism and as an education centre; admission is only possible as part of a guided tour.

Crofton Roman Villa also includes excavated, consolidated and preserved standing remains. Priory Gardens were converted into public gardens in 1952 and display influences of the Arts-and-Crafts movement.

Culture and Places to Visit

At Crystal Palace Park, the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs comprise around 30 figures, including amphibians, reptiles and mammals. They are installed on islands in the park’s lakes on the Penge side. The park also includes a dinosaur trail, a boating lake and the Italian Terraces. The maze is 49 metres wide and has entertained visitors there since the 1870s. Crystal Palace Subway is a Grade II* listed relic of Victorian architecture.

Many areas of Crystal Palace Park are accessible to people with disabilities. There are paths with asphalt or level, compacted gravel, as well as an accessible toilet and accessible parking spaces.

The RAF Biggin Hill Museum & Chapel tells the story of RAF Biggin Hill through the personal experiences of former personnel who served there and the community that supported them. Bus route 320 departs from Bromley South and stops outside the RAF Biggin Hill Museum. The RAF Biggin Hill Walking Trail is 1.6 miles long and suitable for walkers of all ability levels. The museum’s Nightingale Café serves lunch, tea and cake.

More local pages: Hayes, Chislehurst, Bromley, Biggin Hill, Beckenham, West Wickham.

To the higher-level travel overview: Greater London.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Southwark, Kingston Upon Thames.