Keston Ponds And Padmall Wood

Kent Ramblers: Walk 18 — Keston Ponds and Padmall Wood

Points of Interest

Keston Ponds

The three obvious ponds were built as reservoirs to supply water to nearby Holwood House, once the residence of William Pitt, later a seismological research institution and recently converted into up-market apartments.

Caesar�s Well

A natural spring, the source of the Ravensbourne River. So-named because of a myth that Caesar once camped nearby and was short of water for his men.
He spotted a raven frequently visiting the site and correctly deduced that there must be a source of water there. Hence the names of both the spring and the river ('bourne' being a variation of 'burn' meaning 'stream').

Keston Bog

The point on the map marked with a red-circled L is Keston Bog. This wetland environment is rare in London and is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). It was here that Charles Darwin studied the sundew and discovered that it captures and digests insects to obtain the nitrogen that is so scarce in wetland soils.

Padmall Wood

The wood is largely sweet chestnut and birch coppice.
Wood is harvested by cutting the trees back to ground level every 15 to 20 years. The trees then regenerate from the stumps and the cycle can be repeated many times.

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