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), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. A ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), 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 sunli ...

with areas of

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

located in the

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

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 List of areas of London, area in southeast London, England, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and bordering the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross. According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 ...

, west of the adjacent 73-hectare

Lesnes Abbey Woods Lesnes Abbey Woods, sometimes known as Abbey Wood, is a 73-Hectares, hectare 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 th ...

in southeast London. The area to the south of the A206 (Bostall Hill) is Bostall Woods; to the north is Bostall Heath.

Background

The wood is owned and maintained by the

. This excludes the Cooperative Woods, in the north east corner of the site, which in 1988 was gifted to the newly formed Greenwich & Bexley 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 ...

(RACS: founded in 1872 to serve 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, proof test, proofing, and explosives research for ...

).Bostall Heath and Woods management plan (2008 draft)
The farm and a few residual tracts of ornamental verges between the homes and streets built below Bostall Woods and named by the RACS over a century ago remain the last historically significant landholdings of what was once one of Kent's largest and longest lasting employers.

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 ...

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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

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 t ...

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 transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

links. The nearest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

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

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

422 __NOTOC__ Year 422 ( CDXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Theodosius (or, less frequently, year 1175 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominati ...

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 Heaths of London {{London-geo-stub