London LOOP Section 23 – Upminster Bridge to Rainham 8th January 2011

At the start of previous sections we have had to consider whether to drive to the start point, or take the train. However, there is a third option and today we decide to take it, the omnibus. A bus from Romford to Upminster Bridge Station is no problem from our home in Romford. Ten or fifteen minutes later we are striding along Upminster Road where Section 23 starts. 

The LOOP guide tells us “The terrain is almost completely level with tarmac or firm gravel paths and there are no stiles, so all this section is easily accessible.” What they are not to know is that heavy rain over the last few days has swollen the Ingrebourne to a level where it has turned into a torrent and burst its banks. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

It is a lovely sunny January day, with barely a cloud in the sky and perfect for walking, as we turn right off St Mary’s Lane and onto Bridge Avenue. Soon we arrive at the gates of Hornchurch Stadium, whereupon we enter the car park, pausing to admire the well-manicured turf inside. This is the home of AFC Hornchurch football club and Havering Mayesbrook Athletics Club’s running track. A club official burdened with a plate of triangular sandwiches flits by, obviously preparing for an imminent event. 

I look longingly at her burgeoning salver, but this is too early in the walk to be thinking about food. Beyond the stadium carpark we find the tarmac path that we intend to follow for almost the whole of this section. Off to our right the Ingrebourne is a grey-brown maelstrom. 

A little further on the river courses through a large concrete flume. This structure is designed to take the river water past a gauging station, which records the volume of the water discharging down the river here. Rather a lot it seems today and moving at a considerable rate too. 

I would not wish to chance my luck in the torrent before us. Nonetheless, cascading floodwater has an almost hypnotic effect upon one. Nature in its rawest state can be exhilarating. Crossing the footbridge over the river brings a rush of adrenalin as it gushes down towards the Thames.

The river crossed we follow it down across Hacton Lane, where it is evident that the meandering channel is unable to contain the waters being jammed between the river’s banks. Before us the river valley is awash with several inches of flood water.

Being of a pioneering spirit we decide to attempt to pick our way across the flood water, where small islands of path or grass poke out. A lady sensibly clad in wellies walks past us with a small dog. Five minutes later she returns to tell us she and Fido are unable to get through further downstream. Shod only in hiking boots we elect to turn back and I do the manly thing, carrying the more scantily booted Betty on my back across the deeper water sections.

We are now faced with a dilemma. The LOOP directions and map make no allowance for such interuptions to our promenade. The map gives some idea of a possible route, but it is instances like this that make one realise the wisdom of carrying an Ordnance Survey map as backup. However, confident that we can circumnavigate the obstacle we elect to walk up Hacton Drive, which we assume will take us to Station Road. This is made uncertain by the unfortunate placing of the LOOP map’s key. 

Fortunately our hunch pays off and we duly arrive on Station Road. It is then, in one of those ‘of course’ moments that I realise where we are, as we pass St Georges Hospital, where I am currently having physiotherapy applied to a problematic shoulder. Cheered by the familiarity of the site we make our way along the road until we find a muddy footpath leading down the far side of the hospital grounds, back to the Ingrebourne. 

Of course there is no guarantee that the flooding doesn’t extend all the way downstream. Fortune smiles upon us though, as the tarmac path further downstream follows a more elevated course above the river. We can’t resist walking back up the valley just to see how flooded it actually is. It turns out that the lady with the dog is quite correct. Curiosity satisfied we return to the task in hand and continue with our perambulations.

We are currently walking through Hornchurch Country Park, although the area has a rich history with the north of the park having been an important Battle of Britain airfield during World War Two, whilst the south of the park was farmland until the 1930’s, followed by a period of gravel extraction and then a landfill site until the 1960’s. Some of the landfill site became the housing estate now known as the Cherry Tree area. Typically landfill was uncontrolled until the late 20th Century, with ‘who-knows-what’ substances dumped here. Landfill is now strictly controlled, but local residents may well reap the legacy of the laissez faire attitude towards waste control, of that earlier time.

Hornchurch Country Park is today a great place for local people to escape into a semi-wild open space. The local authority are working closely with Essex Wildlife Trust, with the intention of building a visitor centre in an elevated position with marvellous views across the wetlands adjacent to the Ingrebourne. These marshes are possibly the most extensive in London, rich in plant, invertebrate and bird life.

A little further on the LOOP takes us past Albyns Farm Lake, a popular fishing location, and then onto Albyns Farm itself, a listed medieval manor building. After turning left at Albyns Farm we find ourselves in Forestry Commission land, recently reclaimed from landfill. Here thousands of trees, part of Thames Chase Forest, have been planted and will form an extensive area of forest in South Essex long after Betty and I have stopped exploring the area.

It will be interesting to see how this area evolves over the coming years, as the tree growth slowly changes the landscape. However, before then it is likely that further inert waste dumping will occur between Ingrebourne Hill and Albyn’s Farm. Unfortunately the waste we generate has to go somewhere. Typically, the Forestry Commission has created a mountain biking course on top of the Ingrebourne Hill, providing an extra outlet for the local youth to enjoy the outdoor environment. 

Beyond the hill the route drops down to Lake Stillwell, named after Squadron Leader Ronnie Stillwell who as a young Sergeant was based at RAF Hornchurch during World War Two and won the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM). The route now turns west as we approach Rainham Road. Once again the roar of traffic reminds us that we are still in London and puts our quiet walk through the countryside into perspective.

This is the least enjoyable part of the walk. The LOOP directions instruct us to cross the road, only to cross back again a little further down. This seems daft, so we walk along the verge on our side of the road and quickly regret our actions as the verge disappears, with cars, vans and lorries thundering past us. Our nerves jangled, but bodies intact, we make it to the roundabout where the LOOP rejoins our errant path. Crossing the A1306 we make our way towards the Tesco superstore and the relative quiet of Rainham Village. The entry to the village is guarded by two pubs, The Angel and The Bell. The allure of these hostels resisted, we decide to explore this surprisingly quaint village. Just beyond the Bell we pass one of the old fashioned red telephone kiosks, designed in the 1920’s by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, before arriving at the centre of the village and its war memorial, located in a triangular island known as ‘The Green’. 

The parish church is the oldest building in Havering, dating back to Henry II and has the dubious distinction of bearing a piece of 14th Century graffiti carved into its chalk staircase. The artist was evidently not the most talented, with a rather child-like profile of a sailing ship being his only known work. The one I produced for my primary school project on ships shades it for accuracy. The patron’s of the church are the lesser known Saints Helen and Giles. I’m not sure what they did to be canonised but it is nice to have a good solid English name like Giles in amongst The Saints. Perhaps not quite up there with Peter, Paul and John, but well done anyway. On reflection was it possible that the designer of the lowly telephone kiosk actually achieved an even higher accolade than a knighthood? Surely not! 

The whole village harks back to an industrial past, with river-based goods and passenger transport focussed on Rainham Wharf during the 17th Century being the most prosperous period. The entrepreneur John Harle was the village’s most famous son. He did so well as a merchant and ship owner that he built his family pile next to the church. Rainham Hall is now managed by the National Trust, but many of Captain Harle’s more elaborate decorations still embellish his former abode. 

Beyond Rainham Hall a third pub, the Phoenix, guards the route to Section 24 of The LOOP. We decide to save the delights of Rainham Marshes for our next safari and head for home on the 103 bus, which drops us back home within 30 minutes, just in time for a cup of tea and a sticky bun.