Easy-paced 2 hour ride, this one mostly quiet roads with a few path sections through parks. Some gentle hills, nothing extreme.
The Quaggy meets the Ravensbourne close to Lewisham station where much new development is taking place. The opportunity has been taken to open up this built-in water feature as “Confluence Park”. The ride will follow the Quaggy, mostly hidden behind buildings in a sad concrete culvert. At Manor Park the river emerges, but is still hidden away to start with, although at the south end of the park you can get close on natural banks. Then to Manor House Gardens where the Quaggy is kept in a channel, behind railings. What a contrast to the Ravensbourne in Brookmill Park which we will have seen earlier in the ride. Lots of information about the Quaggy on the web site of QWAG (Quaggy Waterways Action Group, https://qwag.org.uk/river-quaggy/) whose “goal is to demonstrate, using the Quaggy, that rivers can be major assets to an urban environment – bringing natural beauty, educational facilities and wildlife value into urban landscapes and urban lives.”
Route is at https://goo.gl/svHy65. Outward leg goes via Brookmill Park, return leg goes past the Lewisham Leisure Centre, Brockley Station and Nunhead. 16.5km, just over 10 miles.
This ride is part of the regular Saturday morning Healthy Rides organised by Southwark Cyclists, the local branch of the London Cycling Campaign. More info at https://southwarkcyclists.org.uk/healthy-rides/