Weather: Overcast and Cool to start and finish, warm and sunny in the middle
Almost at the end of the LOOP now, in fact although I could have completed the walk today I am planning to do the final four miles in the company of my wife and friends (and hopefully celebrating with a good meal).
After the rather drab final kilometres of the previous leg the start of this part of the loop was pleasantly surprising. After a short road section you follow the course of a stream through park and open space. Jays and woodpeckers fly about and even though it is obviously Autumn the oaks and sweet chestnut are still in leaf and looking splendid. Harold Wood Park has some interesting oral history boards, didn't have time to search them all out but they offered an interesting insight into the local area.
One interesting feature of the houses on this walk is the presence of pargeting. Some features are very large, almost life sized oak trees on the side of one house, while others are smaller and more tasteful - swags of flowers etc.
After a dull bit of road walking round the edge of a major road junction, a muddy and slippery section follows, not surprising given the amount of rain we've had recently, but still attractive.
After another urban section you return to the stream which has become wilder and more attractive. Lots of dog walkers and fishermen seem to agree if the number of them I met on this leg of the journey.
Just after entering the Hornchurch Country Park the Ingrebourne obviously got board with staying within its banks and decided to go cross country resulting in a short stretch of the path being ankle deep in icy-cold water leaving me with squelchy feet for much of the rest of the walk. Still the walk became still more peaceful and attractive as it wound past the Ingrebourne Marshes. Here cows grazed, swallows (or swifts or martins) flew around, dragonflies danced above the water and a falcon was chased away by a dozen angry crows. A few well placed benches (with touching memorials) offered a good spot to have a quick lunch before continuing beside the stream and flooded gravel pits until the urban sprawl of Rainham came into vie.
Rainham village itself is quite attractive with a fin church with a number of Norman features, including an doorway with a gog-tooth carved archway and narrow windows in the squat tower.
Now looking forward to the last section and the planning of my next adventure.
