I like this site, albeit primarily because of the location. I like urban sites, the hubbub of the city and the convenience of the station for trips into London; or further afield to Kent or north of London, using Thameslink. Soon, the Elizabeth line will be open as well. Test trains were running on the “Purple” line during my stay. The overground trains can be tedious with lots of stops; current fastest journey to Charing Cross is 37 minutes, 33 minutes to Canon Street. For more local trips, to Woolwich or Greenwich the bus is a good option. Slow, but more interesting. You need the 180 from McLeod Road.
Lesnes Abbey, giving the area its name, is really interesting and there are good walks. There’s a good CoOp nearby and a really good Sainsbury about 15 minutes’ walk, beyond the station.
That it is set on a hill adds to the charm and from the top you have views over the site and, potentially, except for trees, across an area of east London. The snag is that, if you pitch at the top, as I did, it is a hard slog to your outfit, especially after a long day in London. It is a fair walk to the toilet blocks as well; except when the small block at the top is open. I used my own facilities, but used the loo in the blocks a couple of times. They were very clean and well maintained. I imagine, in summer, with a well occupied camping field, the place might undertake something of a busy feel. I have only been here in off-season. I think I would prefer it that way. London in summer is not for me anyway.
I am not keen on heavily wooded sites. It means an untidy environment, and a dirty van, especially when wet. Here there are enough counter advantages. One tree had fallen in the recent storms; hard to credit given its size. It missed vans – just – but it made me realise that trees present another problem. An occupied van under this monster would have been serious. I now know to avoid wooded sites in times of stormy weather.
The only real downside of Abbey Wood is finding a flat pitch; this was a real challenge on my last visit. This time I chose a pitch and, albeit with the use of my levelling blocks, seemed to be level, but after a night unsettled by walking uphill, and sleeping on a slope, I moved. I still needed a block, but I managed to get good and flat at last. It is obvious that they must have aimed for level pitches when the site was constructed, because, if they had not done so, many pitches would be on such a gradient that they would not be viable; but too often, it seems, they had not gone the full mile. I am far from expert in such matters, but I could not help surmising that, even on severely sloping land, the expense and practicality of getting 100 square metres of ground completely level would not have been very much more demanding than getting it almost level. Perhaps at the time, caravans were the overwhelming norm and so such pedantry and precision was not thought necessary.
On the whole, it's good here and I much enjoyed my stay!
