Lewisham parks and open spaces

The London Borough of Lewisham, like all the London boroughs has many parks and open spaces within its boundaries, part of the "green lung" of London. Management of the borough-owned parks and their facilities is contracted out to Glendale Grounds Management. The major sites are:

Nature conservation sites

• Beckenham Place Park
• Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries
• Blackheath - the common
• the Thames/Deptford Creek area
• Hither Green Nature Reserve
• Sue Godfrey Nature Reserve at Deptford - reclaimed from industrial wasteland

Together with other smaller sites, such as ponds, woods, and railside areas there is a total of 1185 acres (474ha) of land defined as Sites of Nature Conservation Importance.

Local Parks

There are a total of 45 parks in Lewisham. Apart from those shown above as nature conservation areas, the main other parks are as follows; the complete list is shown here:

• Brookmill Park: on the River Ravensbourne, new site and part of the National Cycle Route 21 (the Waterlink Way) to the Sussex coast
• Chinbrook Meadows: on the River Quaggy east of Grove Park railway station; part of the South East London Green Chain
• Deptford Park: owned by the Borough since 1897
• Forster Memorial Park: east of the A21 road in the Whitefoot and Bellingham area.
• Ladywell Fields: situated alongside the railway line between Ladywell and the Catford Bridge and Catford railway stations; a large area containing sports facilities (athletics track, tennis courts, and a sports hall), together with a small nature reserve
• Mayow Park, Lower Sydenham: oldest municipal park, opened 1878
• Mountsfield Park, Catford: opened 1905, once used by Charlton Athletic F.C. for two seasons.
• Sayes Court Park, Deptford: Park in Deptford on the Thames Path
• Sydenham Wells Park, Upper Sydenham: medicinal springs, water features and formal gardens; multi sports ball court and tennis courts
• Telegraph Hill Park, New Cross: named after semaphore telegraph once placed there; refurbished 2004, includes a lake

External links

• Lewisham borough: details of parks