Lost rivers of South London cycling tour

There are just two remaining open rivers in inner South London: the River Wandle in Wandsworth to the west; and the Ravensbourne in Lewisham to the east. Yet between these two, there are a cluster of long-vanished smaller streams: the Falcon Brook, the Heathwall, the Effra, the Earl’s Sluice, each with their own smaller tributaries, which disappeared from view into sewers in the 1860s as part of Joseph Bazalgette’s London Main Drainage scheme.

It is these absences that provide the focus for an unusual cycling tour led by Jon Newman: archivist, tour guide and self-appointed historian of their vanishings. This eight mile semi- circular tour, starting at Clapham Junction and finishing on the Thames at Nine Elms, provides an introduction to the landscapes and history of these rivers’ lower reaches.