Our local river.The Ravensbourne is our local river. It flows for 17 kilometres (11 miles) through the Boroughs of Bromley, Lewisham and Greenwich before entering the Thames. Where it become tidal in Deptford it is known as Deptford Creek.
It has many tributaries that are well known in the south-east of London. The confluence of the Ravensbourne and the River Quaggy is at Lewisham and the Pool River joins a bit further south at Bell Green. The Ravensbourne has a catchment area of 180 square kilometre. Much of this area is urban. Subsequently the river can rise more than a metre in less than an hour as water moves more quickly over impermeable surfaces into the river's channel (buildings, roads, driveways etc. all have impermeable surfaces). This means that it needs to be carefully monitored and managed in order to ensure that areas through which it flows are not at risk of flooding. A great deal of work has taken place in order to reduce the flood risk and make the river corridor more accessible to residents. This includes the regeneration of Ladywell Fields; Cornmill Gardens near the Glassmill Leisure Centre in Lewisham and tributaries that join the Ravensbourne. |
Links
Below are a set of links that could provide you with a great deal more information. There is some quite specialised vocabulary in some of them. However some of the maps and key facts could be of interest to you. Thames 21 is a great organisation that helps to maintain the health of our local rivers. There website is a wealth of information. Moreover you can have the opportunity to get involved by helping in the clean up of our rivers.