Stand on Bourne Road where the River Cray slips under the bridge and you are at the edge of old Bexley: a village street of shops and pubs that still reads as Kent even though the Greater London boundary runs through it. Follow the water north and the topiary figures on the lawn at Hall Place come into view, with the octagonal spire of St. Mary the Virgin Church rising behind the rooftops in the other direction.
Bexley suits travellers who prefer a slow half-day of churches, riverbank paths and a country house to a packed schedule of ticketed attractions. It rewards anyone basing themselves in south-east London or Kent and willing to travel out on the train from London Charing Cross via Sidcup, or on the buses that link the area with Bexleyheath, Crayford, Dartford, Sidcup and Welling.
This guide covers the sights and walks in and around Bexley itself, plus a small number of places in the wider borough and neighbouring districts that the source material names. It is arranged so you can pick two or three items for an afternoon or string the best of them into a single day.
Top things to do in Bexley
1. Hall Place
Hall Place is a former stately home beside the River Cray on the Bourne Road out of Bexley towards Crayford, once home to the Austen baronets. Its two halves are built in sharply contrasting architectural styles, with little attempt to harmonise them, which makes the building itself the main thing to look at. The house and grounds are owned by the London Borough of Bexley and open to the public, and the gardens include a topiary display of traditional heraldic figures.
Three waymarked walking routes pass the site: the council-sponsored Shuttle River Way and Cray River Way, and the Mayor of London's London LOOP, which follows the Cray River Way from Crayford to Foots Cray shortly after its start at Erith. Pair a house visit with a stretch of the river path, and check ahead before travelling, as opening arrangements are not the same every day.
2. St. Mary the Virgin Church, Bexley
St. Mary is Bexley's main landmark, and the electoral ward containing the village takes its name from the church. Its most distinctive exterior feature is the unusual spire, which resembles an octagonal cone balancing on top of a truncated pyramid. The building was originally built in the Middle Ages, its monastic-style interior survived from the Reformation until the 18th century, and it was refurbished in Victorian times.
The churchyard is worth a few minutes in its own right: the German-born scientist Henry Oldenburg was buried here in 1677, and the architect John Shaw, one of the first designers of semi-detached housing in the capital, is also buried at St. Mary's. Combine it with a walk down into the village, since the church sits within the old core rather than out on the main road.
3. Danson House and Danson Park
Danson House and the surrounding Danson Park in Welling are two of the main popular attractions in the London Borough of Bexley. The park is open all hours, while the house opens only occasionally, on Sundays, so plan the day around the grounds unless you have checked that the house is open.
The park is the reliable part of the visit: a large green space with a mansion house and a boating lake at its centre. It works well as a relaxed afternoon rather than a fixed appointment, and it is easily reached from the Welling side of the borough.
4. Red House
Red House on Red House Lane in Bexleyheath is a major building in the history of the Arts and Crafts style and of 19th-century British architecture. William Morris lived here; the architect was Philip Webb, and the house contains wall paintings and stained glass by Edward Burne-Jones. There are also textile displays.
It is not open every day, so check before you set out. The nearest rail station is Bexleyheath, which makes it straightforward to combine with a wander through Bexleyheath rather than with the village sights on the other side of the borough.
5. London Butterfly Gardens
The London Butterfly Gardens sit inside Hall Place and Gardens on Bourne Road. They occupy the main glasshouse, where a carefully controlled tropical environment of high humidity and warm temperatures supports hundreds of free-flying tropical butterflies and the nectar-rich plants they depend on. You walk among the insects and can learn about their life cycles and behaviour.
It is a good fit for nature lovers, families and educational visits, and it pairs naturally with the rest of Hall Place and its grounds. The glasshouse is open 11:00 to 16:00 Monday to Friday and 10:00 to 16:00 at weekends; tickets are £8 on site for adults and £7 online, with reductions for children, so booking ahead saves a little. To get there, take a Southeastern train from central London, for example from London Bridge, to Bexley and then walk about fifteen minutes to Hall Place and Gardens.
6. Green Chain Walk
The Green Chain Walk begins at the gardens by the Thames Barrier and runs as a leafy pedestrian and cycle path deeper into the south-eastern suburbs. It is the most flexible way to see this part of London on foot, since you can join it at several points and walk as much or as little as you like.
It also puts you within reach of the pretty villages of Kent dotted around just outside London, so it suits a day when you would rather keep moving than stop at a single sight. Wear shoes you do not mind getting dusty on the rougher stretches.
7. Thames Path
The Thames Path follows the south bank of the river from Greenwich to Erith, and you can walk or cycle it. Most sections are paved, though there are some gravel and rough stretches, so it is manageable on a bike with a little care.
Use it as a half-day outing rather than a quick stroll, and treat Erith as the natural end point in this direction. It combines well with the Green Chain Walk, which starts near the Thames Barrier at the western end of the route.
8. Lesnes Abbey Woods
Lesnes Abbey Woods, near Abbey Wood, are woods containing a now-ruined Lesnes abbey. The Green Chain Walk passes through them, which makes them an easy addition to a walking day rather than a separate trip.
The nearest rail station is Abbey Wood, and the combination of woodland and ruins gives the walk a destination rather than just a route. Go on a dry day, as the paths are the point of the visit.
9. Crossness Engines
Crossness Engines on Bazalgette Way in Abbey Wood are four vast, elaborately decorated beam engines that pumped Victorian London's sewage. They were too heavy to remove when decommissioned, and one of them is occasionally set in motion.
This is a specialist visit rather than a casual one, and it depends entirely on open days, so check the website before making the journey. Abbey Wood is the nearest rail station, and it is close enough to Lesnes Abbey Woods to pair the two if the dates line up.
10. Woolwich Dockyard
Woolwich Dockyard is a historic area for both ship and weapon making. Little remains of the Arsenal, from which the football club takes its name, though there is an Artillery Museum and a parade ground with an attached garrison for soldiers that is sometimes in use. The area hosted several events during the 2012 Olympics.
Come for the layers of industrial and military history rather than for a single preserved building, and accept that access to parts of the site depends on what the garrison is doing that day. It sits on the same side of the borough as the riverside walks, so it can be folded into a longer route.
11. Charlton House
Charlton House is a Jacobean manor house. It formerly housed a museum and archives, and the mansion is now a community centre, with much of the former pleasure grounds laid out as parks.
Because it operates as a community building rather than a museum, treat it as a place to see from the outside and to walk around, with the surrounding parkland as the main draw. It is a reasonable stop if you are already following the riverside routes towards Greenwich.
12. Watch a football match at Welling United or Charlton Athletic
Welling United and Charlton Athletic both offer the chance to watch a football match while you are in this part of south-east London. It is a straightforward way to spend an afternoon when the weather rules out walking.
Fixtures determine everything here, so pick your date around the match rather than the other way round. Welling is served by the same bus network that connects Bexley with Bexleyheath and the surrounding areas.
13. Bexley Cricket Club and Burnt Ash (Bexley) Hockey Club
Bexley Cricket Club is based on Manor Way, and Burnt Ash (Bexley) Hockey Club is also based at Manor Way, playing home matches there, at Hurstmere School or at Erith School. If you are in the area during the season, a local fixture is an easy way to spend a couple of hours.
Check where the hockey club is playing before you travel, since home matches move between the three venues. The cricket ground on Manor Way is the simpler of the two to plan around.
14. Old Dartfordians' War Memorial clubhouse
The Old Dartfordians' War Memorial clubhouse on Bourne Road is home to the DA5 Club, and it hosts both Dartfordians' Rugby Club and Dartfordians' Cricket Club. It is a local sports and social venue rather than a visitor attraction.
It sits on the same road as Hall Place, so it is worth knowing about if you are walking the Bourne Road stretch and want to understand what the buildings along it are used for. Fixtures, not opening hours, decide when there is anything on.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start at St. Mary the Virgin Church, Bexley, to see the octagonal spire and the churchyard, then walk down into the village. Continue along Bourne Road to Hall Place and spend the rest of the morning between the house, the contrasting two halves of the building and the topiary display of heraldic figures in the gardens.
Afternoon: Stay at Hall Place for the London Butterfly Gardens in the main glasshouse, which is open from 11:00 on weekdays and from 10:00 at weekends. If time allows, follow a stretch of the Cray River Way or the Shuttle River Way, both of which pass the site, before heading back towards the village.
Evening: Finish with a walk on the Green Chain Walk or a stretch of the Thames Path if you have the energy and the light, or simply settle in the village. If you would rather stay indoors, check whether Welling United or Charlton Athletic are playing at home.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get to Bexley?
Bexley railway station has services to London Charing Cross via Sidcup and to Gravesend. Several Transport for London bus services also connect the area with Abbey Wood, Bexleyheath, Bromley, Crayford, Chislehurst, Dartford, Eltham, Erith, North Greenwich, Sidcup, Thamesmead and Welling.
Is Bexley the same as the London Borough of Bexley?
No. Bexley is an area of south-eastern Greater London and part of the London Borough of Bexley, and it is sometimes known as Bexley Village or Old Bexley to distinguish it from the wider borough. Places such as Danson House and Danson Park in Welling, and Red House in Bexleyheath, sit in the borough rather than in Bexley itself.
When can I visit Hall Place and the London Butterfly Gardens?
Hall Place and its grounds are owned by the London Borough of Bexley and open to the public. The London Butterfly Gardens inside the main glasshouse are open 11:00 to 16:00 Monday to Friday and 10:00 to 16:00 at weekends, with adult tickets at £8 on site or £7 online and reductions for children. Other sites in the area keep their own arrangements, so check before travelling.
Can I walk between the sights rather than taking the train?
Several waymarked routes make this practical. The Shuttle River Way, the Cray River Way and the London LOOP all pass Hall Place, and the Green Chain Walk begins at the gardens by the Thames Barrier and continues deeper into the south-eastern suburbs. The Thames Path follows the south bank from Greenwich to Erith, mostly on paved sections with some gravel and rough stretches.
Decide which of these fits the season and the day you have, check the opening arrangements for the sites that are not open daily, and you can put a Bexley itinerary together without much more than a train timetable and a pair of comfortable shoes.