Bostall Heath and Woods is an area of 159.1

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ab ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

with areas of

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

located in the

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Abbey Wood Abbey Wood is an area in south east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross. Toponymy The area takes its name from Lesnes Abbey Woo ...

and adjacent to

Lesnes Abbey Woods Lesnes Abbey Woods, sometimes known as Abbey Wood, is a 73 ha ancient woodland in southeast London, England. It is located near to, and named after, the ruined Lesnes Abbey in the London Borough of Bexley and gives its name to the Abbey Wood di ...

. The area to the south of the A206 (Bostall Hill) is Bostall Woods and to the north is Bostall Heath. The wood is owned and maintained by the

, with the exception of the Cooperative Woods, in the north east corner of the site which in 1978 was gifted to the newly formed Bexley and Greenwich Community Hospice by the local community owned

Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society The Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society (RACS) was a large consumer co-operative based in south east London, England. The co-operative took its name from the Royal Arsenal munitions works in Woolwich and its motto was: "Each for all and all for e ...

founded and based at that time just a short journey away serving locals and workers at the

royal arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...

.Bostall Heath and Woods management plan (2008 draft)
Unlike Woodlands Farm, a community inner city farm which preserve ancient woodlands and rolling Kent field, the land at Bostall is no longer owned by the consumer owned

the co-operative group Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care. The Co-op ...

co-op based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. The farm and a few residual tracts of ornamental verges between the homes and streets built below bostall woods and named by that society over a century ago remain the last historically significant landholdings of what had been one of Kent's largest and longest lasting employers. The woods, community housing, parks and amenities remain as a lasting investment in the Bostall Woods, and Abbey Woods community of

Abbey wood Abbey Wood is an area in south east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross. Toponymy The area takes its name from Lesnes Abbey Woo ...

, South

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

.
ref

Sport and recreation facilities

On Bostall Heath there are a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...

cricket nets Cricket nets are used by batters and bowlers to practice their cricketing techniques. They consist of a cricket pitch (natural or artificial) enclosed by netting on either side, behind, and optionally above. The bowling end is left open. Net ...

and casual

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

facilities. It is part of the

Green Chain Walk The South East London Green Chain, also known as the Green Chain Walk, is a linked system of open spaces between the River Thames and Crystal Palace Park in London, England. In 1977 four London boroughs and the Greater London Council created ...

network.

Access

Bostall Heath and Woods is located within a mostly residential area and is accessible to the public from a number of points at all times. There are also

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

links. The nearest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

Abbey Wood railway station Abbey Wood is a National Rail station in Abbey Wood in southeast London, England. It is between and stations on the North Kent Line. It is measured from , with services to central London routed via Greenwich or Lewisham, and Elizabeth line ...

, the heath is served by buses B11 and 99 and the wood by B11, 99, 177, 180, 96, and 422.

References

External links

Friends of Bostall Heath and Woods
s page on Bostall Woods
www.greenchain.com
Parks and open spaces in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Walking in London Forests and woodlands of London Ancient woods of London Geography of the Royal Borough of Greenwich Common land in London {{London-geo-stub