Things to Do in Welling

Danson House
Danson Park Welling
Green Chain Walk
St Michaels Church
Welling FC

Danson House

Danson Park,
Danson Road,
Bexleyheath,
Kent DA6 8JF

General Enquiries: 020 8303 6699
Opening Times: 11am until 5pm - Please check here for details

Danson Park, originally set out as a private estate its design being attributed to Capability Brown and to a Mr Richmond, provides an excellent setting for this 18th Century mansion house. An immensely wealthy merchant, Sir John Boyd, purchased the site and built Danson House, designed by Robert Taylor (who also was the architect of the Bank of England) in the style of a classic Palladian villa, between 1762 and 1767. At the same time the attractive ornamental gardens surrounding Danson House were laid out in a style appropriate to such an important house.

The park became a public open space in the early 20th Century when the Bean family sold the property to the Urban District Council of Bexley. Danson House is now a Grade 1 Listed Building leased to English Heritage, for 999 years from 1997, who have recently completed a major restoration project. The house was re-opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth, in July 2005, the restored interior being open to the public for the first time in thirty years.

www.historicdanson.com

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Danson Park Welling

Danson Park,
Danson Road,
Bexleyheath,
Kent

General Enquiries: see Parks section
Opening Times: The park opens at 07.30 Monday to Fridays and 09.00 Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays. During the winter (November to January), the park closes at 16.30. During spring and summer, closure is at sunset and times are displayed at each gate.

Danson Park is a very popular public park which provides a large number of facilities for both active recreation or for those who simply like to walk and enjoy its many facets. Arguably the park is the most widely-known and appreciated in Bexley and hosts many major annual events which are regarded at national and regional status. The location, size and open landscape of Danson Park have proved an attraction for large outdoor public events such the Danson Festival, Water Festival, Open Air Concert, Firework Display, Fun Run, Craft Fayre, South East Counties Motor Show, Dog Show and a Circus.

A function suite is available for public hire at the Boathouse. The park also has a 7.8-hectare lake which provides for fishing, boating, sailing and other water-based sports. There is a windsurfing school based at the Boathouse.

Danson Park bird sightings

Park's features and facilities:

Old English Garden
Rock Garden
Water Garden
Mansion Garden
Woodlands
Danson Lake
Children's Playground (dog-free)
11 standard football pitches
One junior football pitch
Changing facilities
20 grass tennis courts
Six hard tennis courts
One 18-hole putting green
One 9-hole pitch and putt course
Trim trail and orienteering course
Two bowling greens operated by local clubs under delegated management arrangements
Public car park (priced parking in Summer; free in Winter)
Cafeteria
Toilets

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Green Chain Walk

An extensive and intricate network which should provide many happy days of walking through the dozens of woodlands and open spaces that cover this part of London. The South East London Green Chain, and the network of routes that links them is known simply as the Green Chain Walk.
Find out more about Green Chain Walk..

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St Michaels Church

Upper Wickham Lane
Welling, Kent.
DA16 3AP
020 8304 1212
020 8304 0039

The Vicar of the parish - and the community's priest - is the Reverend David Frith. He leads the community in worship and in the life that flows from it - both individual and corporate. He is available to all who wish to speak with him about any matter. The Vicar works alongside other deacons and priests, as well as Readers and Southwark Pastoral Auxilliaries.

Although East Wickham changed dramatically during the Twentieth Century its roots are ancient, as the continuing presence of the Twelfth Century church bears witness. This long history colours our community, giving it a respect for tradition and a degree of stability now lost to many other urban areas. Even our building - "an uncluttered building of timeless dignity" (Yvette Cook) - conveys a sense of continuity with past Christian generations, though built only in the 1930s. We greatly value our inheritance, and do not lightly cast aside things that have thus far stood the test of time, but we believe in moving forward, building on our past and avoiding the danger of stagnating. St Michael's is not an eclectic/gathered church attracting a narrow range of people but one which seeks to be a true parish church, open to all who desire to journey through life with God in the company of a mixed band of fellow travellers.

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Welling United FC

Park View Road
Welling
Kent
DA16 1SY

Opening Times: Matchdays (various)

Welling United began playing in their Park View Road stadium in 1977 .The stadium was nearly unusable having been vandalised and left to decay when Bexley United folded. In fact it took a lot of work to get the ground safe. Since those days, many improvements have taken place. Crush barriers were placed on the terraces to enable the club to host Gillingham, Reading and most famously Blackburn Rovers in big FA Cup games. Seating was added to the grandstand left by Bexley Utd.

More recently, a second floor has been added to the clubhouse block which now has enabled an Executive Lounge with viewing of the pitch. Most impressive of all is the brand new grandstand on the 'Cricket Club' side which has a clubhouse adjoining for recent ground sharers Erith to use.

The new stand is a joint stand between Welling and Erith. More Work is needed on terracing at both goal ends to bring the capacity up though but there is plenty of space to move the terracing back and up or more ambitiously to install more grandstands