Capital Ring: Section 1 & 2 - Woolwich Arsenal to Grove Park

Weather: Cold, wet and windy!

Playlist: Last FM Playlist

Time: 3 1/2 Hours (rain does not encourage me to dawdle!)

The Capital Ring was back on song with this walk after the slightly depressing nature of the previous two legs. This one starts on the south bank of the Thames and almost at the start you get a fabulous view along the river. For me one of the highlights actually came on the link from the station to the river. You pass through the old Woolwich Arsenal site and where this meets the Thames there is an installation by Anthony Gormley. As you walk beside the Thames you get a good view of the city ahead with the Thames Barrier (a lot smaller than I imagined it), the 02 Centre and the towers of Docklands. The river is still quite active industrially here and the Tate and Lyle sugar works dominate the northern bank of the river.

Anthony Gormley Installation

After you leave the river most of the rest of the walk passes through commons and woodlands. After the flat nature of the previous legs the presence of a couple of hills was invigorating and the colours of the late autumn woods was special, even if the heavy drizzle that turned to rain for the last six miles wasn't!

One surprise was the presence of a children's zoo early on in the walk with deer, rare breed sheep and chickens in abundance!

The woods, in particular Oxleas Wood were in top form, showing off the amber and gold foliage and filled with the sound of birds and the smell of autumn. Another hit was Severndroog Castle and the views over the city from this folly's gardens.

Severndroog Castle

Towards the end of the walk the route passes Eltham Palace, closed on the day I walked, which is an odd mix of Tudor and 1930's! Inside you have a large hammerbeamed banqueting hall and exquisite 1930's rooms next to each other. The exterior is the same mix and there are some fine gardens and a moat. Well worth a visit if you are in the area. Leading from this is St John's Walk an ancient path that takes you up a rise to a view over fields to the city of London. Stretched out before you are some of the iconic buildings of London; the Gherkin, the Post Office Tower, Docklands and in the distance the London Eye. On a brighter day it would have been even better!

Capital Ring: Section 14 & 15 - Hackney Wick to Woolwich Arsenal

Weather: Warm, sunny and slightly sticky with a stiff breeze

Playlist: Last FM Playlist

Time: 3 and 3/4 hours

A bit of a delay (ok almost 4 weeks) in bloging this section of the Thames Path, partly I think because I didn't find it that enjoyable, in parts the route become a bit of a slog, a chore rather than the pleasure I have got used to. At least the weather was nice.

This pair of legs could have been entitled 'Diversions and Disappointments'  as the early part of the route is heavily disrupted by works connected with the upcoming Olympics and the new Crossrail railway link. This meant a lot of route changes early on along some rather grotty and noisy main roads.

Most of the route takes you along the top of the NOSE or Northern Outfall Sewer Extension. A useful linear path with easy navigation with a subtle bouquet! However unlike some of the other similar linear paths the scenery was rather boring and uninspiring. Apart from the glimpse of the Abbey Mills sewage work there was little of architectural value and nothing of natural beauty to see on the walk.

The latter half of the walk takes you through the campus of the University of East London which is attractive and its dramatic setting on the side of the docks with London City Airport beyond is splendid. The next section of the walk took me to the Thames for the first time, tide was in and it looked very wide and wild with the wind whipping up the water. The next part of the walk was a little confusing and for me scary as you walk across the dock gates at the end of the docks. I hate heights almost as much as I hate spiders and this made me rather nervous.

The final part of the walk was to be though the foot tunnel at Woolwich but this is closed for repairs so instead I took one of the rather grand ferries and enjoyed the view up and down the Thames as I prepared for my first walk south of the river.

Some Welsh Walks

Just come back from a very pleasant week in the Abergavenny region. The weather was perfect and the scenery was stunning. Wherever you looked from Abergavenny you saw beautiful vistas, a very nice town with all the things a walker could need (and non walkers too!).

We were staying in a cottage to the NE of the town towards Grosmont and on the Sunday afternoon I decided to go for a random amble along some of the local public footpaths. Well that was the plan! It seems that very few of these footpaths seem to exist on the ground. In fact I only found one public footpath sign in about 5km of walking. Even this one was buried under a mass of brambles and the path itself ran across a field of crops with no ploughed out line visible. The other paths did not exist on the ground at all, one vanished into a field of sweetcorn eight feet tall while the others just died out at farm properties. 

More successful were walks on Skirrid Fawr and Blorenge. 

A very straightforward walk up and along the ridge of the Skirrid culminated in sumptuous views across the Brecons with Sugarloaf and Blorenge surrounding the town of Abergavenny. A very popular walk yet there was space for everyone and it didn't feel crowded. The last part of the climb along the ridge is one of the nicest walks I've done for a long time as there is no worries about getting lost and the views to either side are stunning. 

Harry P. Otter on the summit of Skirrid Fawr

 

Nice and peaceful at the summit, that is until a low flying RAF fighter jet flew below us, around the southern end of he ridge then along the valley towards and beyond Sugarloaf. 

Also nearby is a very fine craft centre which is well worth a visit as the quality of art on display is very good. They also serve a welcome cup of tea and cold drinks. 

 

The walk on Blorenge has the highest view to effort ratio of any walk I've done. A gentle climb from a car park (not the Foxhunter one but the one slightly further along from the masts) to the summit gives you brilliant views across to Sugarloaf.  Lots of kites and kestrels soaring and hovering over us as we walked in the late summer sunshine.

Many more walks to do so we have to come back, soon.

 

 

Capital Ring: Section 12 & 13 - Highgate to Hackney Wick

Weather: Mainly sunny with a short sharp shower at the end

Playlist: Last FM Playlist

Time: 3 hours 30 minutes (including a lunch stop in Stoke Newington)

Decided to do some of the more remote (yeah right) sections of the Ring as double headers to maximise the walk/travel ratio. For once the tube gods were with me and the outward and inward travel links were as good as gold.

Each leg of the walk seems to be better than the last, this can't continue! This month the walk started along the Parkland Walk, a disused railway line lined with trees. Halfway along there are the disused platforms of Crouch End station with a surprising resident! I must admit even though I was expecting it I still jumped when I saw it!








Further along the route winds through Finsbury Park - another of London's green lungs. We are so lucky to have so many beautiful parks on our doorsteps. After this the New River wends its way along the contours providing water for London, even though it is neither new nor a river.

Saw numerous brown and blue dragonflies on this stretch which was very peaceful despite passing a large housing estate. Sight lines open up as the path goes past two large reservoirs where I had to cautiously pass seven preening cygnets who had taken up residence on the path. A disused pumping station in the form of castle (got to love those wacky Victorians!) brought a smile to my face though I don't think I'll be using the climbing centre that has been built inside!

Stoke Newington was a bit of a revelation - though I don't know what I was expecting - lots of nice coffee shops and an ideal place to take a break. I chose the Spence Cafe and was not disappointed, good coffee and BLT bagel combo set me up for the second half of the walk.

Abney Park cemetery was wild and eerie with overgrown and canted monuments on every side.

The main part of the rest of the walk from Stoke Newington to Hackney Wick was alongside the Lee (or Lea or Ley) Navigation. Industry on one side and open marshland on the other. Like all of this walk the going was easy as was the navigation. Lots of canal boats moored up on the navigation, many being fettled before the winter. The route gets a little grimmer towards the end especially the link from the canal to the station.

All in all a very enjoyable walk and I can't wait for the next walk in the sequence - another double header that will take me to and under the Thames.

Capital Ring: Section 11 - Hendon Central to Highgate

Weather: Overcast, heavy shower then warm sunshine.

Playlist: Last FM Playlist

Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

The Archer at East Finchley Station

I wasn't going looking forward to this section of the walk having traversed the North Circular Road
more times than I care to mention. The start of the walk was not inspiring; scummy litter filled streams, more like foul water overflow channels than living rivers but within a few minutes these had changed to broad pools filled with ducks, coots and even a stately heron. However the constant drone of the North Circular reminded me where I was.

Soon the path turned away from the noisiest road in Britain (allegedly) and headed alongside streams trapped inside concrete channels. However the mature trees and open green space distracted attention from the polluted water courses.

The next section through Hampstead was very pleasant apart from the heavy rain but I pushed on and soon the clouds cleared and the last section from East Finchley station through Cherry Tree, Highgate and Queen's Woods were walked in warm sunshine. Again it was hard to believe I was in London with these peaceful and beautiful woods.

Highgate station was closed so I continued down the Archway road to Archway tube getting a fantastic view across London to St Paul's in the process.

Capital Ring: Section 10 - South Kenton to Hendon Central

Weather: Hot, Hot, HOT!

Playlist: Last FM Playlist

Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
 
This walk has four distinct parts to it. The first meanders through the suburbs from South Kenton station. This, and the rest of the route, is not an area I am familiar with so unlike the previous section it was a bit of an adventure. One of the pleasures of urban walking is the study of other peoples' front gardens and some of the gardens on this part of the route were stunning! Two in particular in Uxendon Gardens were particularly splendid.

Just after this we move into the second and most surprising section of the walk. When I looked at the route of this part of the Capital Ring I thought great, Brent Cross and the North Circular. I completely missed the green space of the Fryent Country Park.

This area is, on a bright sunny day like today, like walking in the open country. A hip-high sea of waving grassland full of small brown butterflies and even a skylark flitting up and down as they do. This is followed by a shady walk through woodland up hill to Barn Hill pond with water lilies, flag irises and rushes. Water level was unsurprisingly low but still very pretty. Nearby you have great views over to the new Wembley Stadium and beyond it the spire of Harrow-on-the-Hill.
A steep descent and then more open fields and hedgerows all very peaceful and had to imagine you are still in Zone 4!

Leaving the open spaces you return to the suburbs with a surprising gem set amongst them. St Andrew's church was originally built at Oxford Circus in the 19th century but moved here stone by stone in the 1930s. Quite a project a it is not a small building! Next to it is the much smaller 12th century church
h of the same name.

You soon enter more open space and the third section of the walk beside the Welsh Harp Reservoir. It was named not, as I thought, for its shape but for the Welsh Harp pub that used to stand there. You only catch glimpses of the water on the walk but on it I could see lots of swans and other waterfowl and I wish I had brought my binoculars with me as others had. There is a good viewing platform at the eastern end of the water.

The fourth section was quite hard going after the glories of the 2nd and 3rd sections. More suburban sprawl, the M1 and a lot of heat from the baking sun. This was followed, thankfully, by a final stroll through a park to the tube station at Hendon Central my destination for the day and the start of a long hot tube journey home!

Capital Ring: Section 9 - Greenford to South Kenton

Weather: Warm and sticky, overcast with drizzle to start with.
Playlist: Last-FM Playlist
Decided to start with this leg as the route practically runs past my front door. I'm using the maps and directions from the TfL website as well as the guide book, the latter to have something to read and pretty pictures to look at as the maps and directions from the website seem to be a little easier to follow, although once out on the route the way marking is clea and easy to follow.

This part of the loop is on 'home turf' so to speak and the section up to Sudbury Hill tube station is a regular walk for me. I'll probably walk that part of the Loop along with the part from Greenford Station to home several times over the next year, and many more times when walking to and from work.

Once past the tube station I was into unknown territory. The path known as Piggy Lane from Sudbury Hill to Harrow was a pleasant change from the road walking. Harrow itself was very quiet and as attractive as you would expect, the school buildings especially. I didn't realise how much of Harrow the school and its associated playing fields took up, extraordinary. The leg from Harrow to South Kenton runs mainly beside the playing fields, apart from the crossing of the rather busy Watford Road, just before which is the only stile on the loop. The final section, which runs beside the Northwick Park hospital and golf course was quite overgrown in parts and felt very rural.

Next month I will tackle Section 10.

Walking the Capital Ring

Bilbo Baggins said "It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to." This quote has inspired me to walk the Capital Ring a section a month over the next year as the route very nearly goes past my front door. Also it will give me a chance to walk on my own and see parts of London, a city I have lived in and have loved for twenty years, that I have never seen before. The twelve sections of the walk fit nicely into a yea and it will give me a chance to experience the changing seasons as well as unusual parts of the London transport network!

Instead of starting with section 1 I will be starting with section 9 as that is the leg that goes past my front door.