Pool River and National Cycle Route 21 - geograph

The River Pool, or Pool River, is an urban river in south London, England. It is a tributary of the

River Ravensbourne The River Ravensbourne is a tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. It flows north from near Bromley into the tidal River Thames at Deptford, where its tidal reach is known as Deptford Creek. Geography The Ravensbourne is ...

Geography

The River Pool is in length, and rises with its tributaries between Shirley and

West Wickham West Wickham is an area of South East Greater London, London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies south of Park Langley, Eden Park, London, Eden Park, Beckenham and Bromley town centre, west of Hayes, Bromley, Hayes and north o ...

in the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough, borough in South London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of and had a population of 397,741 as of mid-2023, making it the most populous London borough. It is London's southernmost ...

. It then flows northwards through

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

in the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is a London Borough, borough in London, England. It is the largest and southeasternmost borough in London, and borders the county of Kent, of which it formed part until 1965. The borough's population in the 2021 ...

, and

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...

in the

London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London, England. It forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The ...

, to join the Ravensbourne in

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdivi ...

. Two of its tributaries are the River Beck and the Chaffinch Brook. For much of its length the river lies in a

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

. Land on either side is given up to sports grounds and a flood watch is kept continually on it. In New

, the River Pool Walkway, running north from Lennard Road near the Midland Bank Sports Ground and

Cator Park Cator Park is a park in Kidbrooke, Greenwich. It has been won awards for placemaking, biodiversity, and landscape. It was resigned by HTA Design in collaboration with the London Wildlife Trust London Wildlife Trust is an English wildlife c ...

, includes a conservation site and naturalised areas; the route is part of the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...

. At Sydenham, the section of the river that ran in a culvert under the gas works has been opened up and landscaped. In June 2009, London Mayor

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

fell into the River Pool whilst promoting volunteering to clean up the waterway.''
Boris Johnson stumbles into river
'', BBC News, 4 June 2009 (Accessed 22 Jul 2010)

References

External links

Details of London's rivers, including River Pool

Environment Agency Flood Report

Pool Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

{{England-river-stub