The Ridgeway is a "cycling permitted pedestrian priority"

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

owned by

Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wil ...

in southeast London. It runs between

Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Until 1965, Plumstead was in the historic county of Kent and the detail of much of its early history can ...

and Crossness on an embankment that covers the

Joseph Bazalgette Sir Joseph William Bazalgette CB (; 28 March 181915 March 1891) was a 19th-century English civil engineer. As chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation (in response to the Great Stink of ...

Southern Outfall Sewer The Southern Outfall Sewer is a major sewer taking sewage from the southern area of central London to Crossness in south-east London. Flows from three interceptory sewers combine at a pumping station in Deptford and then run under Greenwich ...

Route

The Ridgeway runs ENE/WSW: the western third between Plumstead railway station and The Link community centre in

Thamesmead Thamesmead is an area of 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, north-east of Woolwich and west of Erith. It mainly consi ...

is in the

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London boroughs, 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 Metr ...

, the remainder of the path towards the

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996. The ...

and

Crossness Pumping Station The Crossness Pumping Station is a former sewage pumping station designed by the Metropolitan Board of Works's chief engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette and architect Charles Henry Driver. It is located at Crossness Sewage Treatment Works, at the e ...

is in the

London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley () is a London borough in south-east London, forming part of Outer London. It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup, Erith, Bexleyheath, Crayford, Welling and Old Bexley. The London Borough ...

. A similar path called the Greenway covers the

Northern Outfall Sewer The Northern Outfall Sewer (NOS) is a major gravity sewer which runs from Wick Lane in Hackney to Beckton sewage treatment works in east London; most of it was designed by Joseph Bazalgette after an outbreak of cholera in 1853 and the " Gre ...

History

The sewers were installed after an outbreak of cholera in 1853 and the " Great Stink" of 1858.

Development

The Greenwich end of the Ridgeway was refurbished in 2010 and the Bexley end of the Ridgeway was refurbished in 2017. The Plumstead entrance to the Ridgeway was also refurbished in 2018, with public art work installed by local artist Sam Skinner and Ninth Seal. The Ridgeway is incorporated in to the Thamesmead 5K and family 1 mile runs organised by the Thamesmead running club and

Peabody Trust The Peabody Trust was founded in 1862 as the Peabody Donation Fund and now brands itself simply as Peabody.

. The Ridgeway and several surrounding areas have been recognised by the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

and the

London boroughs The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at t ...

as a

site of importance for nature conservation Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and regionally important geological site (RIGS) are designations used by local authorities in the United Kingdom for sites of substantive local nature ...

(SINC) since 2016. A

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offic ...

was created by local users of the Ridgeway for litter bins to be installed along its entire length. The

was rejected by Greenwich council in January 2018. There is a Facebook group and Twitter page for Ridgeway Users.

Future proposals

There is an option to extend the new steam railway planned for South London from Crossness car park to Plumstead railway station via the Ridgeway. At the western end of the Ridgeway, the housing association

Peabody Trust The Peabody Trust was founded in 1862 as the Peabody Donation Fund and now brands itself simply as Peabody.

have applied to build 930 homes adjacent to Plumstead bus garage. Improvements to existing public spaces around the development will include improvements to pathways that pass the Ridgeway. Proposals have been put forward by the Pharaoh Project to create a 'biodome' within the underpass at Pettman Crescent adjacent to the Plumstead entrance of the Ridgeway. Planning applications have been submitted for the construction of film studios opposite the entrance to the Ridgeway and Kellner Road, and within the disused Plumstead power station on White Hart Road to the South of the Ridgeway.

Peabody Trust The Peabody Trust was founded in 1862 as the Peabody Donation Fund and now brands itself simply as Peabody.

have been working to open up access to the Ridgeway from the

and have partnered with

Sustrans Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United Ki ...

to work on proposals to develop a route from Southmere Lake via the Ridgeway through the former Thamesview Golf Centre to the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

TfL rail proposals

In a presentation by TfL to the Greenwich Council, they proposed an extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

train service from the new Barking Riverside station to Thamesmead Central and via

to Woolwich Arsenal that would take a route along the eastern section of the Ridgeway or Belvedere station using the eastern section of the Ridgeway. However, other Overground and DLR options would not be using the Ridgeway.

Media

The Ridgeway was the subject of a radio show on

Resonance FM Resonance 104.4 FM is a London based non-profit community radio station specialising in the arts run by the London Musicians' Collective (LMC). The station is staffed by four permanent staff members, including programme controller Ed Baxter and ...

in 2011. It also features in an app produced by

to promote heritage walking trails. To celebrate the launch of the

Elizabeth Line The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of Paddington to and via Whitechapel t ...

on 24th May 2022, the

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influe ...

Runderground Matt featured the Ridgeway in his run across the core section of the line from

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 ...

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

Gallery

Ridgeway sign outside Plumstead entrance.jpg, Sign outside Ridgeway

lower entrance Ridgeway upper level looking towards Plumstead.jpg, Ridgeway upper level looking towards

and Nathan Road exit. Close to the site of the Manor Ground arena Ridgeway entrance on the Thames Path.jpg, Ridgeway entrance on the

Ridgeway at Cory Bridge outside The Link Thamesmead.jpg, Example of arch signs along the route

References

Start and end points

* The route's western start point * The route's eastern end point {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridgeway Cycleways in London Greenways Footpaths in London London water infrastructure Elevated parks