Capital Ring Section 3

A murder in progress in Beckenham.

Or "I was walking with a limp when I got home - and the following day too".

Capital Ring Section 2, Green Chain Section 8a/9/9a

Storm Floris mainly hit the north of the country, but its effects were definitely felt down in London yesterday as I did another long walk. Blustery wind for much of day and occasional rain; I gave serious consideration to going home early if things hadn't improved after lunch.

Ironically, I also did over 21,000 steps when I was at The Greatest Gathering in Derby on Saturday - post on that to follow.

Section 2 of the Capital Ring goes from Falconwood to Grove Park. Well, not exactly as the actual start points are next to a bridge over the A2 and somewhere called Marvels Lane, which is lacking in any Brie Larson.

As walks go, it didn't have many highlights - the area is very suburban in character.

This building is Conduit Head, which was part of an underground tunnel system designed to bring water to Eltham Palace, where Henry VIII grew up. Falling into mostly ruin in the 17th century, only the medieval hall survives with an Art Deco mansion from the 1930s surrounding it. English Heritage now run the place and charge a steep admission fee for entry - I skipped that as I didn't have time. Also doing some Taskmaster-related events if that's your jam that you need to place on a shelf without stepping out of a circle.

I went through Mottingham too, where W. G. Grace lived for thirty years. You know an area is posh when the houses have names.

The highlight of this particular section is King John Playing Fields, which has a spectacular view of nearly all the prominent structures of London.

A shame that it's not accessible by wheelchair - even the gate would be a bit of squeeze for larger people.

Also, this house either has a lot of genuine rubbish for collection or a fly tipper is really showing that they just don't care.

("Fly tipping" is the British term for illegal dumping)

I'd decided that this section was too short for a day's walk and doing Section 3 to Crystal Palace would be far too long an addition. Therefore, I did some of the Green Chain after lunch, heading through Chinbrook Meadows and then Elmstead Woods before going to the station there.

Elmstead Woods, despite being surrounded by London is the sort of place where you could, where it not for the noise of traffic and aircraft, think you were on some alien planet. I found myself thinking of Blake's 7, although they never actually filmed there.

Anyway, I have another walking-related trip planned this week, with a connection to another popular franchise.

Capital Ring Section 1

 

Having completed the London Loop last year (see my previous posts), I am now moving onto the Capital Ring, another "circular" footpath that covers inner London.

This has a lot more tower blocks and a lot fewer cows, but the views can still be very good on a clear day - I did this on Thursday 20 March, the first warm day we've had all year.

I've also made an investment in my walking; as easy access to various bits of equipment is handy in this, I acquired an old crime scene investigator vest from a military surplus place near where I live. It also has an inbuilt hood, although I didn't need it.

Section 1 starts from the southern end of the Woolwich foot tunnel, then after a while beside the Thames, heads south/south-east, going through three parks, Woolwich Common and four woods stopping just over the A2.

Counting the station links, it's about 7.2 miles, although I might have done a bit more due to wrong turnings.

Much of the route is on pavement or properly surfaced paths, although it gets bit more unsurfaced near the end. Even for a Thursday, there were plenty of people about, including dog walkers; you're definitely not in the sticks like with much of the London Loop. There's even a somewhat pongy industrial estate once you come off the river; I don't know how many of those I'll encounter on my way.

One notable area on the walk is Severndroog Castle, a Gothic "folly" on Shooter's Hill, built in memory of a British admiral of the East India Company who won a victory for them against the Maratha Navy in 1756. There is a viewing platform, but it's only open on Sundays.

It took 3 hours and 21 minutes to do the lot, including a break for lunch at a small café in Charlton Park. Pretty easy going, the good weather helping even if it meant I got a bit sweaty... which is kind of the point, as I am doing this to help keep myself in trim.

I might do Section 2 on Good Friday or Easter Monday; other things depending. But I will definitely be doing it.

London Loop Section 21

So, I reach the end of my London Loop journey. All 24 sections on the 150-mile route have been completed. More or less. I can't say I followed it 100% exactly, especially when some really heavy mud turned up to the party.

London Loop Sections 19 and 20

Well, I'd planned to do these two in April as per my previous post, but La Niña had other plans, what with it having been rather wet recently.

When I actually did do it, the British weather just couldn't seem to make its mind up, as it commonly does...

Section 19 (Chingford to Chigwell)

The forecast was for possibly thundery showers (at least from the BBC) and the rain started as I was travelling up to Chingford on the Overground. I decided that I would take things a bit at a time, being prepared to abandon the walk if things got too bad.

This 4.1 mile section took me two hours and five minutes to do, partly due to difficulties finding my way to the next part of the route in Buckhurst Hill. The Forclaz trekking hat I got from Decathlon did wonders at keep the rain and later the sun off my head.

This section, which takes you through the eastern part of Epping Forest, is fairly flat and generally easy walking, but there were some badly overgrown bits that I had difficulty getting through. I also ended up walking along a road as the main route was a quagmire, stepping onto the verge when traffic was approaching.

I reached Chigwell and a light lunch in one of the local gastropubs, during which the rain came down, also drenching the people at Trooping the Colour in Central London.

I gave serious consideration to going home at that point, but when I came out, the rain had stopped and the wind wasn't too bad.

Section 20 (Chigwell to Havering-atte-Bower)

Like I said, the weather was inconsistent. The wind came and went. The rain stopped, then started, then stopped...

This section was supposed to be 6.4 miles, but it ended up being somewhat longer due to the fact I managed to end up badly off in course in Hainault Forest Country Park, followed by the golf course straight after. The mud got quite bad in some sections, but generally only in the bits under tree cover. The rain got quite heavy at times, but my clothing was waterproof and the hat worked as well.

The walk also took me past two massive piles of manure and this rather interesting sign at the Chigwell Row Water Works:

As I reached my home borough of Havering, the rain still fairly heavy and dark clouds in the sky, I did consider aborting at several points, but decided to push on.

You can see all the way to Central London at various points of the Loop, which I might have mentioned before:

As I neared the end of the walk, I entered Havering Country Park, where I had been told that there were some sequoias present - examples of what can grow to be utterly huge trees. I didn't initially see and wondered if I couldn't see the trees for the wood.

I did eventually find them though along a long avenue of trees. They are pretty impressive, but having only been here since they were imported in during Victorian times, they are nowhere near as big as their American relatives:

I finally reached Havering-atte-Bower, 3 hours and twenty minutes after I started.

As you can see by the water droplets on my lens, it was raining again. With the 375 bus to Romford a long time away and the other bus stops at least 20 minutes walk away, I decided to get an Uber home.

At which point it stopped raining.

I did over 33,000 steps and my right leg did not let me forget it all evening.

Just one section left to go now.

London Loop Section 18

Or [audible squelching], as it would appear on a Netflix show.

Yesterday, I made my way to Enfield Lock station in the north of London, intending to cover Sections 18 and 19 of the London Loop. This would entail a walk to Chingford, then another one from there to Chigwell. About 9.5 miles.

Now it started off reasonably OK, apart from getting rather lost on the first bit of the walk before I realised I'd turned off one turn too early.

I reached Enfield Lock, not the biggest thing to name an area after by a long chalk.

I crossed over the River Lee Flood Relief Channel, which marks the boundary between the London Borough of Enfield and Epping Forest, which isn't in London.

So far, so good. Then I crossed Sewardstone Road and the whole thing went to pot. Or rather to mud. The next field I had to cross was very muddy and the grass itself squelched under my boots as I walked along. It hadn't rained that day, but a bunch of rain from previous days and weeks had saturated the ground.

Things didn't get much better condition-wise from there. Several times I was having to step across muddy puddles that were deep enough that you couldn't see the bottom and came dangerously close to the liquid mud ending up inside my boots. They needed extensive cleaning when I got home.

I passed Gilwell Park, home of the Scout Association (I went there when I was in Cubs) and then got some great views towards Central London from Yates Meadow.

I eventually reached Chingford, back in the London Borough of Waltham Forest and had lunch in the Holly Trail Café before making a start on Section 19, hoping things would get better.

I got as far as the Butler's Retreat and seeing the path ahead was still a quagmire, my heart was no longer in it. I wasn't prepared to spend at least two more hours trudging through thick mud, especially as the weather was turning.

So, after a look round the Visitor Centre and the Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge (that the Tudor monarch probably never personally used), I headed for home.

I plan to do the next two stages - getting me to Havering-atte-Bower - at some point in April, keeping a careful eye on the weather as usually. Hopefully be less muddy then... 

Walking update

Unfortunately, my plan to do Sections 18 and 19 of the London Loop back on 27 October got frustrated by a tree coming down on the overhead wires at Clapton, followed by weather warnings. I'm not going to walk in a torrential downpour, it's not fun and it's actually dangerous.

So, with the light and the weather against me, it will likely be February before I can resume this. Maybe March.

London Loop Section 17

A holiday in September meant that I was unable to do any more of the trail until today. It's quite possible that I won't be able to finish it this year as the nights get longer and the weather gets colder.

We shall see.

Section 17 runs from Cockfosters to just south of Enfield Lock station, taking in Enfield Chase, which was a historical royal hunting ground that is currently undergoing a major restoration process. Nearby Forty Hill Farm has also seen the reintroduction of beavers, but I didn't see any.

The paths on this route are of high quality and it being a warm Saturday, there were plenty of people around. Curious Dog count was two.

The section also includes the most northerly part of the entire LOOP, although there is nothing on the ground to mark that. No particular reason there should be, I suppose.

The route also contains Maidens Bridge, supposedly the site where Sir Walter Raleigh laid his cloak down for Elizabeth I to walk on to avoid some mud. The local history sign does a "lost his head" pun, due to his later beheading.

Lunch was at the Rose & Crown, which claims a connection to Dick Turpin via his grandparents owning the place and him possibly hiding out there. The highwayman has a lot of legends attached to him, so we don't know how true that is.

An easy walk overall; I finished the 8.3 miles in just over four holes, including lunch.

Aim to do Sections 18 and 19 at the end of the month before the clocks go back.

London Loop Section 16

When I started my walk on Wednesday 9 August, I discovered to my annoyance that my camera had run out of battery, so the photographs are from my phone.

Section 16 of the LOOP, which runs from Elstree & Borehamwood to Cockfosters is the longest one of all, coming in at eleven miles - and has very few break points in the first section. This resulted in me spending around three hours between beginning and a break for lunch, which might be a bit much for some people.

My arrival at Elstree was rather delayed as industrial action on Thameslink meant a reduced service and a further delay resulted in me spending half an hour at Farringdon waiting for a train.

But once I got there, I did some stretching - essential to avoid major injury - and headed off.

The Section is mostly fields and wooded paths, the latter not always very well signposted, with the result I went badly off the path at least three times and as a result ended up missing at least one item of interest. I have raised my findings with Inner London Ramblers as usual.

Fortunately, there's nothing too steep and it wasn't too hot. It was moderately muddy under foot in places after the rain on Tuesday, but I've encountered worse in other sections. Make sure you have insect repellent as there are a lot of bugs at this time of year.

Overall, this wasn't much of a challenge, even if it took a good while - about four and a quarter hours of walking.

Lunch was at the Queens Arms in Barnet - decent food for a reasonable price and they had The Hundred (i.e. the cricket) on the TV screens.

Cockfosters is at the end of the Piccadilly Line and will be a bit inconvenient for me to get back as if you want to avoid Zone 1, it takes four trains. But I'll only be going back there once...

Curious Dog Count was three.

London Loop Section 15

Did this section on Saturday just gone - I would have done it this week, but train strikes meant I would have had problems getting back from Elstree.

Frequently I've had to brush mud off my walking boots when I get home from these things, but this was not the case this time - it was a pleasant and dry day, while not being too hot.

The first bit from Hatch End was one I had done before on the previous walk and was heavily overgrown in places, but once I got past the garden centre at Carpenders Park, things got a lot more pleasant, although I did end up going badly off path more than once. There's only so much Inner London Ramblers can do as they rely on cooperation with local landowners and the various councils.

I found out that the pub I'd hoped to have lunch was in fact permanently closed - and had been for a year. So, I had to go to another one nearby that was a pricey brasserie, but no eatery is really cheap at the moment in this country.

The route takes you across Stanmore Common, with views all the way to Central London on a good day.

I'm not a flower expert, but there was also a lovely field filled with what I think are buttercups, albeit near the M1.

All of this is accessible by Oyster card and contactless travel, too! Just make sure you have a printed map and some good boots. Don't wear shorts as some of the foliage is high now and occasionally prickly.

London Loop Section 14 + a walk to Watford

Section 14 of the London Loop is a pretty short one - at just shy of five miles from end to end, including the station links, I was able to do it in just over two hours.

As stages go, it was distinctly average. There was some bad mud in the opening sections, and I decided as a result to take the suggested diversion route on the latter stages to avoid what might be an even worse bit.

I was justified - the alternative diversion is nicer with wider paths and less mud, although you do have to go through a couple of golf courses.

I'd come prepared for rain, but it stayed dry for the whole day bar some light spots in the morning. In fact, I ended up with a decent sweat and quite a few dead bugs on my neck as the insect repellent only partly worked.

As a near two-hour public transport journey each way for a comparatively short walk wasn't justified, I'd decided ahead of time to do a bit more. The 9.3-mile section onto Elstree was too long to do in an afternoon even if the light is now favourable for that, especially as I'd done five miles already.

So after, doing a chunk of Section 15 to get me to a garden centre for lunch, I used the Go Jauntly app to navigate my way to Watford Junction station through some more of the woods east of the West Coast Main Line, around four miles. This involved some overgrown and unkempt paths through the woods along with a few wrong turnings as this wasn't a guided path, but also some nicer bits like below:

My right leg was starting to complain (a fairly heavy landing from a stile that was my fault not helping), especially once I got to a forty-minute walk through Bushey and Watford itself - I considered giving up and hoping on a bus. But I persevered and made it to Watford Junction, which isn't exactly the best-looking station on the planet, before getting the LNWR train back to Euston.

Curious Dog Count was five. I think. I encountered several in one go at one point.

Planning to do Section 15 at the beginning of next month; I've got seven bits left to do and as some are combinable, I will need five days to finish the loop off.

Why not give it a try yourself?

London Loop Sections 12 and 13

 

Sometimes, walking the London Loop can be a very pleasant experience. At other times, you're wondering if you're going to make it to the end without sustaining injury.

Thus was the case for this walk. It was a dry Wednesday in April, sure, but for large parts of Section 13, it might as well have been a wet day in November.

Section 12 mostly operates alongside the Grand Union Canal, and I was able to walk it faster than the man driving the red canal boat could get along it, even before he had to stop at the various locks. It's no wonder that the railways very much did for the commercial canal business in this country. Indeed, you can see the under construction HS2 as you go along this route, along with the Chiltern line.

After lunch at the Coy Carp pub in West Harefield, the only eatery open on that route, I continued onto Section 13 and once I got around halfway, reaching Bishop's Wood Country Park. things got bad. Very bad.

At several points, I nearly fell over, and the mud would have been on more than my trousers. I have flagged this with the Inner London Ramblers, who "run" the Loop as the word "hazardous" is valid at several points.

Anyway, I plan to do Section 14 at least next month. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as parts of Section 13.

London Loop Sections 10 and 11

I got a new warmer walking coat lately, that makes walking practical in somewhat colder conditions than previously. After a five-miler around Becontree and Chadwell Heath to make sure I could do it, I engaged on Friday in the longest batch of walking in my life - 11 miles on this stretch, with a total of nearly 16 for the entire day.

That included the long Elizabeth Line-Tube interchange at Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 & 3. Well, really 2 & 3 as Terminal 1 has closed. 

These two sections go from Hatton Cross via Hayes to Uxbridge, mostly along the River Colne and the Grand Union Canal. It doesn't start very nicely:

There wasn't that much actual activity along the canal - it was after all a fairly cold Friday in February.

There was a persistent drizzle until around 2pm and much of the route was slightly muddy, although I have seen a lot worse. It's also pretty flat for most of the two sections, which makes things easier. There's a bit where the canal goes over a river:

The final bit was rather nice, including a boat called Almost There, which seemed rather appropriate as I was getting a bit worn out!

It took me around six hours overall, including the lunch break.

I plan to do Sections 12 and 13 in the next couple of weeks before RL stops me for a while.

London Loop Section 8

After a recent trip to Strasbourg and the Oberammergau Passion Play - post on that will follow at some point - I decided to do Section 8 of the London Loop on Wednesday 21 September.

This is a long section - 8 miles including the station links - but a pretty easy one to do as you're following the Hogsmill River for most of it, a tributary of the Thames best known as the backdrop for some famous Victorian paintings (like Ophelia by Sir John Everett Millais, the location shown below) and the route is largely flat, although I am informed it can get pretty muddy. In my case, it stayed dry and was even slightly warm.

Berrylands forms a decent half-way point to stop for lunch, with the pub serving good but rather expensive food. The station building itself looks rather like it was a standard British Rail Southern Region design:

Near the end of the route in Kingston-upon-Thames is a coronation stone supposedly used by seven Saxon Kings, with tributes having been put there for the late Elizabeth II:

The route ends by the Thames. From there, it's a walk through the town centre to the station, with regular trains back to London. Still the old 455s at the moment - the 701s have yet to enter service.

Plan is to do the 10-mile Section 9 in October at some point and Section 10 on November before the weather, along with the light, is truly against me.