London LOOP Section 1- Erith to Old Bexley 30th January 2011
This is not our first section, having started nearer to our home in Romford. It is probably just as well, since shortly after arriving at Erith and enjoying panoramic views across the Thames, we are forced to walk the next half hour along a noisy, busy road representing much of what I dislike about living (and walking) in London.
Enough negatives. Once off this road we are walking through the open countryside that the LOOP creators have tried so hard to find for us, overlooking the Thames and the QE2 Bridge in the distance. As we walk through this London fringe waste, we catch sight of three figures in the distance, apparently walking the same route as ourselves. Eventually we catch up with this triumvirate, an elderly trio of 2 ladies and a gentleman, at the flood-gate spanning the confluence of the Darent and the Thames.
The Thames flood plain is littered with many such flood barriers, testament to the precarious nature of man’s existence in such low-lying areas. Without these barriers and the threat of rising sea levels, the whole of the lower Thames and much of the city of London would be regularly inundated with tidal waters, turning the area into vast tracts of salt marsh. In some ways it doesn’t sound too bad! Perhaps someone has already written the next disaster movie script based on this very thought?
With little more than a cursory “morning” we pass our fellow walkers, following the route as it takes us away from the Thames and along the course of the Lower Darent, before turning up it’s tributary, the River Cray. The length of this walk is largely a mixture of tidal river, with mud flats and salt marsh vegetation, and land that has a semi-derelict look to it. It is a part of the loop that feels least loved and most threatening in its ambiance. We half expect to be held to ransom by bandits or be confronted by youths on motorbikes. Still it is an interesting part of the London fringe, despite not being stockbroker belt in its nature.
On reaching the head of the tidal stretch of the River Cray we are plunged once again into the industrial fringe of London, at Thames Road. The traffic thunders past for a couple of hundred metres, before we turn off and gain the blessed relief of a quiet riverside stretch from here to Crayford.
The Cray here is actually in an elevated section, with the natural river channel having been moved from the valley bottom probably over a century earlier. Effectively we are walking alongside a canal. It is a most interesting section and is very tranquil, despite the presence of modern industrial units on the other side of the channel as we enter Crayford.
The town presents a most enjoyable surprise when approached from this direction. Those responsible for the ambiance of the public open space here have made a good fist of turning it into a pleasant place for visitors and locals alike. We stop for our sandwiches in a small riverside park and spot our three ‘friends’ from the Lower Darent. They disappear into the local café, reappearing some minutes later bearing paper cups of steaming tea or coffee, before emulating our sojourn, finding a suitable place in the park to consume their packed lunches. Our own sandwiches consumed we too pop into the café for a much needed cuppa. At 80p it is the best value we will find on the entire LOOP. As we exit the café we note the other three walkers have already set off ahead of us. This is turning into something of a competition between the tortoise and the hare. Opting to be the latter we stride out, and through some clever negotiating of the Crayford road system we are away, the tortoises trailing in our wake.
We are soon crossing a section of close-cropped parkland to rejoin the River Cray further upstream. Here the LOOP directions instruct us to ignore the first bridge – which strikes us a little rude. Nonetheless we continue along the right bank of the river, crossing it as instructed by the next bridge. Here we have the option of visiting Hall Place, one of many Tudor attractions to be found scattered along the LOOP.
However, with the tortoises easily visible across the parkland behind us, vanity drives us on. Why do we find walking along a route such as this in close proximity with fellow travellers so discomforting? Had Chaucer been writing this script he would have had us banding together as a jolly group, exchanging ribald stories as we went. Perhaps we feel less threatened by encounters with cudgelled rogues today and more fearful of having to make conversation with total strangers? Whatever the reason we decide to keep our own company and continue across the parkland that occupies the far side of the River Cray flood plain.
This tranquil section lasts some 30 minutes or so, before we are faced with crossing the A2 dual carriageway. The footpath arrangement here is surprisingly convoluted. The walker has to climb up onto the A2 verge and follow this over the bridge, before dropping down to the far bank of the river in order to pass under the A2. It reminds me of my scouting days, tying knots that require rabbits to come out of holes and around trees before popping back down the same hole. How strange that a road and river crossing can invoke childhood memories of knot-tying. I suspect our tortoise friends did well to avoid such company!
The brief interruption presented by the A2 traffic only serves to highlight the peace and beauty of Churchfield Woods beyond. The section here makes an excellent conclusion to a pleasant walk through a fascinating varied collection of London land uses and scenery. Not the most aesthetically pleasing section to date, but interesting nonetheless.
Eventually we arrived at Bexley Village, a bustling little suburb with a long history behind it. This looks a well-heeled sort of place to live, a view reinforced by a brief pause to look in an estate agents window, before quickly heading for the station and the train back to our half of the ‘haves and have-nots’ divide. As we sit in Bexley Station our tortoise friends appear on the platform opposite. They appear not to have realised that they are catching the wrong train to return to Erith. Then it dawns on me that they are probably not hamstrung by having to return to a car back in Erith, but can speed quickly back to whatever part of the capital they came from, courtesy of the wonders of Transport for London.
As we are to discover on numerous occasions, the London transport system was not necessarily created with the needs of Loop walkers in mind. Those of us needing to return to our start point face a 30-45 minute train ride, involving changing trains, before getting back to Erith and our car. However, for those not relying on a car, the transport system is far more convenient, with the train whisking them to central London in no time at all. Perhaps this should be our chosen mode of transport in future? I suspect on this occasion the tortoises won again, enjoying a warming mug of tea at home, whilst the hares were shivering on some wind-swept platform awaiting their connection to Erith.
