Parks and Things to Do With Kids in Eltham: Avery Hill, Eltham Park, Well Hall Pleasaunce and Eltham Palace

Eltham has several council parks, an English Heritage house and a leisure centre in its town centre. The details below come from the Royal Borough of Greenwich's parks directory and from English Heritage. Facilities such as cafes and playgrounds can close for maintenance, so check before a long trip.

Avery Hill Park

Avery Hill Park, Bexley Road, SE9, is described by the council as large open parkland and a Green Flag Award site. The council lists a rose and flower garden, a cafe with public toilets, an outdoor gym, a floodlit multi-use games area, cricket pitches, outdoor table tennis tables, and a shared cycle and pedestrian route around the perimeter. The children's playground is next to the cafe and toilets in the middle of the park. The park is listed as open 24 hours, and it is part of the Green Chain Walk.

The University of Greenwich winter garden in the park is described as a hothouse with tropical trees and plants. The council lists its hours as 10am to 12pm and 1pm to 4pm, seven days a week, closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Check before you go, as the winter garden is run by the university rather than the council.

Eltham Park South

Eltham Park South, Glenesk Road, SE9 1AN, is another Green Flag site. The council describes a large grassy area good for informal ball games with tree-lined avenues, a children's playground, a cafe with toilets, an outdoor gym and a picnic area. Sports listed include football, tennis on grass and floodlit hard courts (hire), cricket and table tennis. The Green Chain Walk crosses the park, and the page says its car parking closes at dusk.

Eltham Park North and Shepherdleas Woods

Eltham Park North and Shepherdleas Woods, Eltham Park Gardens, SE9, is a Green Flag site with conservation and amenity grass, a pond with ducks and wildfowl, and a Green Chain Walk path. Shepherdleas Wood is part of the historic Oxleas Wood. The council page does not mention a playground. Eltham Common, off Well Hall Road, is grassland at the foot of Shooters Hill and part of the Shooters Hill Woodlands Local Nature Reserve.

Well Hall Pleasaunce

Well Hall Pleasaunce, Well Hall Road, SE9, is a Green Flag site with themed gardens (the council lists an Italian garden, rose garden, heather garden and floral shield garden), a bowling green, a play area and water features. The council warns that there is deep water on site, children need constant supervision, and fishing and swimming are not permitted. It also says no dogs or cycling are allowed. The council describes the 16th-century Tudor Barn in the north of the park as a restaurant that can be hired for ceremonies and private functions.

Eltham Palace and Gardens

English Heritage's Eltham Palace and Gardens, Court Yard, SE9 5NP, is open daily 10am to 5pm with last entry at 4:30pm, according to English Heritage. It describes an art deco house from 1936 with a gold-plated bathroom, the medieval Great Hall from the 1470s where Henry VIII spent his childhood, and gardens. There is a visitor centre with a shop and a glasshouse cafe, a children's play area and cycle racks. The page lists a World Builder trail for families and says the lift was out of service, so the upper floors of the house were reachable only by stairs. English Heritage says it is a 15-minute walk from Mottingham station or reachable by buses 124, 126, 160 and 161, and that you get 20% off entry with a public transport ticket. Members go free. English Heritage's prices and opening times page shows ticket prices once you choose a date.

Swimming and indoor play

The council's listing for Eltham Centre Library says the Eltham Centre on Archery Road includes a leisure centre with three swimming pools, a sauna, steam rooms, a fitness centre and a group exercise studio. Check with the centre for pool timetables and prices.

Getting there

See our buses guide and train stations guide.