Best Woodland Walks for Families in South East London

I’ve written a few times about our favourite family woodland walks near me. These are our best family walks in South East London. We have found ourselves drawn to the woods, I think they’re one of my absolute favourite place to be most times of the year. So I thought I’d document the best woodland walks in South East London. Woodland Walks for families where there are ‘treasures’ to collect, puddles and mud to stomp through. Everything our little family could need. These are our favourite woodlands near London to visit for a winter walk or a Spring stroll. They’re also the best woods in Kent that mean you’ll be nice and cool in the Summertime – woods are the best place to retreat to if it’s stuffy and hot for kids.

Best Family Woodland Walks in Kent

Some of these family friendly woods are in Kent rather than London but they’re close enough to South London to be reached by a short drive. Woodlands and forests are also the perfect place for kids to wander, go wild and make a lot of noise – something our kids do a lot of. I am regularly saying “can we not be the loudest family in the woods please!” Read here for more fun Outdoor Days out in Kent.

Our kids favourite thing to do in the woods is to collect woodland ‘treasures’. Leaves, acorns, pinecones, conkers, sticks, all of that and more. Their pockets and bag are always bulging and quite frankly I love it. It’s so much fun to see them explore and adventure. If you need ideas of what to do with all those woodland treasures – you can find some ideas in our post on Woodland Crafts for Kids. Here are our favourite things to do on a woodland walk with kids and these are our favourite places for family walks in South East London and Kent.

Best Family Woodland Walks in South East London

Jubilee Country Park

Thornet Wood Rd, London BR5 1DA

This is a smallish woods with a small nature reserve and pond area and plenty of picnic tables. It has a car park which makes it very easy for families and some of the main route is easily accessible with a buggy. It’s great for little legs as you can do a short route round. As a little tip, if it’s been raining in the car park – they have the best puddles to splash in as you can see in this post!

Shorne Woods Country Park

Shorne, Gravesend DA12 3HD

Shorne Woods is a drive out of London but it is worth it! It has a great adventure playground, a lake to walk around and several great family walks ranging from 1km ro 10km. There is also a visitor centre and restaurant – it’s a great place to explore Kent’s countryside.

Best family friendly walks near London — Shorne Woods

Scadbury Park, Chislehurst

Old Perry St, Chislehurst BR7 6LS

Scadbury’s has a useful circular woodland walk and a meadow – this links up with Jubilee Country Park and Petts Wood. There is the Acorn Nature Trail is marked by 20 numbered posts. It is about 2.5 miles long and takes you past little rivers and lakes.

Oxleas and Shooters Hill Wood

Oxleas Wood is 8,000 years old, so you can imagine how old the trees are here. Part of the south east London Green Chain walk, this area is one of the most ancient woodland in London. It comes complete with its own castle – Severndroog castle, built in 1784, and there is a terraced garden in Jack Wood. There’s a cafe/ tearoom here too.

Best Walks South East London

Joyden’s Wood, Bexley

Joyden’s wood has the tallest trees so we refer to this as the ‘tall trees wood’. This is a great wood for Spring time wild flowers. There are a few marked routes – Faesten Dic Trail (3.3km/2 miles) and the Woodland Walk (2.7km/1.7 miles). There’s plenty of history at Joyden’s Wood. There’s hilltop views and a wooded valley to enjoy and a picnic area. It’s easy to park near the entrance on Summerhouse Drive but there isn’t a car park.

Beckenham Place Park

Beckenham BR3 1SY

One of the best woodland walks for families in South East London is Beckenham Place Park. This is our local woods and one of our favourites – it has everything you need to the best family friendly woodland walk in South East London. There are many entrances, the woodland entrance is opposite Ravensbourne station but the best parking is over by the Mansion House. It fills up quickly so there is free parking on Braeside Road. As well as woods where you can see beautiful bluebells in the Spring, there is a paddling river (sometimes with a rope swing depending on kind neighbours!) there is also a lovely playground, a wild swimming lake and a gorgeous Georgian Mansion House. The Mansion now houses artist studios, a yoga/pilates/wellbeing centre, arts and crafts classes and a café. There’s also a pretty walled garden and they hold regular special events and activities like vintage markets, concerts, pop-up cinemas and more! It’s got everything you could need! You can read a full post about Beckenham Place Park here.

Best Walks South East London — Beckenham Place Park

Shepherdleas Woods

Eltham SE9

If you’re looking for a quick woodland walk with the family in South East London – this wood hits the spot. It is a good location for sunsets as there a good views towards London. It’s a small wood with a duck pond and it forms part of the Green Chain Walk.

Croham Hurst Woods

Upper Selsdon Rd, South Croydon CR2 7BL

Croham Hurst woods in Croydon is a lovely woods for a wander with family. It’s a pretty woods to visit with family just outside London. Croham Hurst is tucked away behind residential streets in South Croydon, about 20 minutes’ walk from Lloyd Park tram stop. There is free street parking outside the park. Climb the hill to be rewarded with lovely views across London – and it’s a perfect place to spot mushrooms.

South East London Walks

Cox Hill Walk and Sydenham Hill Woods

This is perfect for a pretty family woodland walk in South East London. What we love about Cox Hill Walk is the Victorian abandoned railway track and ornamental bridge – it’s a real treasure to explore! Enter Sydenham Hill Wood via Crescent Wood Road (opposite Countisbury House) or via Dulwich Wood. Read our post about how pretty Cox Hill Walk is in the Autumn here.

Best family walks near London — Sydenham Hill Walk

Keston Ponds

Fishponds Rd, Bromley, Keston BR2 6HA

For a short family woodland walk near South East London – Keston Ponds is perfect. It has a lake, a short walk in woodlands with lovely trees to climb and it’s a good place for a picnic. You can read our post on one of our many days out in Keston Ponds here.

Lullingstone Country Park

DA4 0JF

For a longer family walk near South East London – try Lullingstone Country Park, there is a 10.6 km walk and a shorter one. The longer walk is a beautiful one! Castles, lavender farm, cute shop, river, muddy trail, horses and donkeys can all be seen on the way. If you want to try the longer walk with kids – check out our post with a ton of activity ideas to make hikes and long walks fun for kids! On the shorter walk there is a Discovery Trail which includes a zip wire and other hidden activities. There is a visitor’s centre which has toilets and a shop and a kid’s playground.

Stunning forest and woodland walks in or near London

High Elms Woods

Shire Lane, Orpington BR6 7JH

One of the Best Woodland Walks for Families in South East London is High Elms Woods. This Local Nature Reserve offers 250 acres of woodland and meadow to explore alongside a 150-acre golf course. There are formal gardens, café, woodlands and chalk grassland with a good sized car park.

The BEECHE (Bromley Environmental Education Centre at High Elms) is a sustainable education and visitor centre situated next to the café which has lots of educational activities going on and helpful toilets, there’s a pretty walled garden so you feel like like you’re exploring ‘The Secret Garden.’

Ruffet and Big Wood

This is a peaceful wood for a family walk close to Coulsdon, Sutton. Head to the north side of the wood on a clear day and you can see fine views out across London.

Family friendly woodland walks in Kent — High Elms Wood

Blackbush & Twenty Acre Shaw Woods

If you’re looking for picturesque woods for a weekend walk near Kent – these woods are a stone’s throw from the pretty village of Cudham in Bromley so you can mix it in with a pub lunch at a pub in Cudham. There is a mixture of ancient and young woodland, and there are beautiful bluebells here each spring. The woods are located close to Down House, home of Charles Darwin so you could tie this in with a visit.

Hope this has helped Best Woodland Walks for Families in South East London If you live in or near London and want some more ideas for Woodland Walks near London – try these great ideas for the best London woodland walks here. Have we missed any? Let us know your favourite family woodland walk near London in the comments! We’ve listed more fun family walks in London here and you’ll love our 100 Nature Crafts to make with the treasures you’ve collected in the forest!