Places to Visit

Priory Park Gardens Church Hill, Orpington, BR6 2QY Orpington is well known for the picturesque Priory Gardens. Facilities include a library, church, museum, large children's play area and rose garden as well as the Priory itself - linked to King Cnut. The park is mostly dog-free although there are areas for dogs to run around in. There are disabled facilities and the park is wheelchair friendly with wide paths and gentle path gradients. It is a beautiful oasis just minutes from the busy town centre. The pond in the gardens is the source of the river Cray.

Scadbury Nature Reserve St Pauls Cray Scadbury Nature Reserve is an extensive area of magical, hidden woodlands and open, untouched fields. It is home to many horses and ponies as well as an abundance of wildlife. Hidden in the woods is a Moted Manor House where you will often find bats flying around at dusk. There is also a pond, open fields for picnics and a nature centre for schools.

Foots Cray Meadows and the 5 Arches Bridge North Cray Road, Foots Cray Foots Cray Meadows is a beautiful expanse of fields and meadows that the River Cray flows through. In summer you will often find children playing and having fun in the lower part of the river while the upper part is a protected nature reserve for you to walk around and enjoy. It is full of wild birds, ducks and swans as well as other wildlife. You can visit the Ancient North Cray Woods whilst in the area as well as the stable blocks from Foots Cray Place. Foots Cray Place was historically one of the largest estates in the area.

North Cray Woods North Cray The North Cray Woods are classified by English Nature as Ancient Woodland, which means there has been continuous woodland here since at least 1600AD. This continuous cover means that this area is an extremely long established habitat for many birds, wildlife and plant species. Much of this Ancient Woodland was managed for centuries by coppicing, whereby the stems of the trees were repeatedly cut down to provide firewood for fuel and poles for hops as well as many other things. From the cut base of the tree new shoots would develop and grow to form 'new trees'. This type of management is no longer used but many coppice trees still stand today. You can enjoy a walk through these woods whilst visiting the Foots Cray Meadows, as they border each other.

Crofton Roman Villa Crofton Road, Orpington Crofton Roman Villa was inhabited from about AD 140 to 400. The remains of ten of the rooms can be seen today. The visitors centre, just next to Orpington station, is full of information and ideas about what the villa would have been like and what Roman Times were like. All the staff are friendly and helpful and there are activities for children such as colouring in and drawing. The villa provides a great couple of hours entertainment for a bargain price.

Walnuts Shopping Centre High Street, Orpington If you like shopping, you'll like the Walnuts. The shopping centre has covered and open malls containing familiar High Street Brands alongside independent retailers and services. There is also an open air market on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays under the glazed atrium of the central external square. Adjacent to the Centre, and leading directly into the malls, is a 525 space multi-storey car park providing easy access to the Centre and town retailers. Shops include Argos, Dorothy Perkins, Gamleys, Thorntons, Peacocks and Car Phone Warehouse among others.

Nugent Retail Park Sevenoaks Way, St Mary's Cray The newly built Nugent Centre is a great retail park. The wide pavements and free parking make it accessible and customer friendly. The large superstores include Mothercare and Mamas and Papas for mums, Next and Desire by Debenhams for womens fashions, WH Smith, Waterstones, HMV, Clintons and more. There is even a coffee shop where you can relax between shops.

Bromley Museum Church Hill, Orpington, BR6 2QY The Priory building, which houses the museum, dates back over 700 years in places. You can find out about the history of the building in the corridor of the Great Hall. The museum is made up of 5 main rooms. The Great Hall houses temporary exhibitions. The 'Bromley's Past Gallery' tells us about the history of the Borough of Bromley from prehistoric times. The Avebury Gallery is dedicated to Sir John Lubbock, the first Lord Avebury. The Events Room is mainly for meetings and family events but is not normally open and 'Your Place' is an interactive area for kids. It is full of clothes, games and activities from the 1950s to the present day ready for you to enjoy. It is a small, friendly museum, worth a visit.

Buzz Zone Lych Gate Road, Orpington BR6 0TJ May 2006 saw the opening of buzz zone, a brand new soft play centre for under 11's. This pay and play facility has ball ponds, climbing frames, a giant slide, party rooms and lots more! It provides excellent value for money in a safe, indoor environment for children to explore and play. So why not climb aboard the buzz zone pirate ship and join in.

Hewitts Farm Hewitts Road Orpington BR6 7QR 01959 532003 Hewitts farm is a large "pick your own" fruit business and provides very tasty strawberries. This farm was once a major European farming enterprise. Much of the land is now the 18 hole Chelsfield Lakes Golf Centre and there is also a showroom for a furnishings company. The farm is definitely worth a visit for the 'pick your own' fun.

Riverside Gardens Sevenoaks Way St Marys Cray. 21 hectares of local open space. There are entrances in Sevenoaks Way, Kent Road and High Street. This park has the only boating pond available in the borough and the paddling pool is open for children to play in in the summer. During the Second World War land on the banks of the Cray was laid waste by the bombs that were dropped by the German Air Force. Riverside Gardens was created from this wasteland after the war. It now has lovely areas to walk through and is popular for feeding the ducks.

Scadbury Moted Manor House St Paul's Cray The Moted Island is the site of earliest occupation at Scadbury. People were living here from the 13th century. There have been various houses on the site but part of the Tudor Mannor House still remains. The orpington and district archeological society undertake excavations and research into this interesting site. It's worth a visit at dusk when you may be able to see some of the many bats that live here.

Vale Mascal North Cray Road, North Cray. Vale Mascal was built in 1746 and is privately owned now, although visits can be made by appointment only and weddings can take place here. The gardens are cirtainly impressive, with green lawns sweeping down to the river cray against a backdrop of huge, mature trees. Capability Brown was thought to be involved in the development of the gardens. There is a Gothic Bath House on the site. It is definately worth seeing although an appointment must be made.

Kelseys Farm Shop Wollett Hall Farm, North Cray Road, North Cray. The Farm Shop provides food grown from it's 25 acres of land as well as foods sourced from the local area. Produce includes: Vegetables, Fruits, Salads, Meats, Breads, Jams, Honeys, Pickles and more. It is a family run business, run by the Kelsey family and is a friendly, welcoming place to shop for produce from the local area.

The Crayzee Barn Adventure Play. Wollett Hall Farm, North Cray Road, North Cray. This is a fun kids indoor play barn where children can enjoy playtime and activities and snack on healthy foods such as carrot and cuecumber sticks. There are slides, soft play areas, ball pools and climbing nets. It’s a very popular venue for children’s birthday parties.

St Marys Church 29 Hill Cres, Old Bexley, DA5 2DA The main landmark in Bexley is the church of Saint Mary's (Church of England). The church's most distinctive feature is probably the unusual spire which resembles an octagonal cone balanced precariously on top of a truncated pyramid. Carvings on the Norman Arch of the South Door are thought to date back to the twelth century although the church itself has been rebuilt since then. It is a beautiful building set in some lovely gardens.

Hall Place Bourne Road, Old Bexley, DA5 1PQ Hall Place is a beautiful grade 1 listed house originally dating from 1540. It is situated on the road out of Bexley towards Crayford and is set in 62 hectares of award winning gardens on the banks of the River Cray. Hall Place houses the Bexley Museum Collection, some of which is on display throughout the house. The house is also the venue for events such as concerts, lectures and private functions. The Great Hall is licensed for Civil Wedding ceremonies. Group guided tours can be pre-booked year round.

Crayford Dog Racing Stadium Stadium Way, Crayford, DA1 4HR Crayford Stadium Dog Racing Track is perhaps the most famous attraction of Crayford, enjoyed by many for a fun night out or to win some serious money. It is one of four remaining tracks of its kind in London, from 33. It was established in 1937 and still entertains the crowds today. Many races are televised and there are options for private functions and corporate events.

Tower Shopping Centre Crayford Road, Crayford, DA1 4ER The Tower Retail Park is located opposite Crayford Town Hall and contains many large retail outlets including Next, Currys, Comet, First Choice Travel Supermarket, Hobbycraft, Boots, Pets At Home, Sports Superstore, The Bed Post and McDonalds. There are plenty of parking spaces and the retail park is well kept and clean.

Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre Beech Walk, Crayford, DA1 4NP 01322 526390 The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre group was founded in 1948 as an amateur touring company, a permanent home was first acquired in 1952. The present purpose built theatre was opened in 1959. The theatre has a raked auditorium seating 150, a large proscenium stage, a fully licensed bar, two foyers, a rehearsal studio, large dressing rooms and plentiful on-site parking. The theatre holds ten or eleven productions annually, each usually lasting for 8 nights. There is normally a three week gap between productions and a summer break between seasons.

Business Directory |  Places to Visit

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