Around Britain

From 29 October to 20 November (22 days) I didn't run at all. During that period I completed the Desert Cup in Jordan (104 miles).

Today I resumed “Around Britain” starting from my home in Westminster. I crossed Lambeth Bridge and followed the embankment as far as Tower Bridge where again I crossed the Thames. After Wapping High Street I transferred to a good uninterrupted section of the Thames Path with a fine view of Canary Wharf. Later I took Narrow Street over the cut into Limehouse Basin. I joined West Ferry Road via the tunnel at Canary Wharf and reached Greenwich Foot Tunnel after 1 hour 33 minutes.

Afterwards I returned home on the other side of the river but that was irrelevant to “Around Britain”.

Docklands Light Railway took me from Tower Gateway, near Tower Hill Tube station, to Island Gardens close to the northern end of Greenwich foot tunnel. At first, on the east side of the Isle of Dogs, I could run much of the way by the riverside although I had to make frequent detours inland through new residential estates. It seems that the riverside sections are provided by the developers, as the local planning authorities make this a condition of their planning consents.

Later, in the vicinity of Blackwall Tunnel, I was forced away from the Thames and up the River Lea. The Lea doubled back on itself as it passed between muddy beaches littered with rubber tyres but no sign of vegetation.

I passed the shiny new steel Docklands Light Railway Station at Canning Town and was soon on Silvertown Viaduct. From there I could see Royal Victoria Dock with the inevitable complement of new housing. On Albert Road I saw the Tate & Lyle Works emitting sugary smelling smoke. It stands beside the North London railway line and a train went by heading for Richmond. As I crossed the entrance to King George V Dock, I had an excellent view of London City Airport. There are two parallel runways. A small plane taxied up one runway, turned into the other and took off using little more than half the available distance. The Airport is overlooked by some brightly coloured buildings looking like giant thimbles. The windows in these buildings seemed to have been positioned haphazardly. I wondered how well the accommodation inside was served by these windows.

I could see ahead the raised track of the DLR and shortly afterwards I reached Galleons Reach station, one stop before the terminus at Beckton. There were no staff on the station but the ticket machine was efficient. The train too was driverless but there was a woman attendant who did nothing. She made no effort that I could see to check anyone's ticket. After a pleasant ride I arrived back at Tower Gateway. I was on the road for one hour 55 minutes.

I retraced my steps to Galleons Reach. My map was of little immediate use, such has been the transformation of this area. The road outside the station (Royal Docks Road) was not shown at all. It seemed that I could only cross Barking Creek if I got to the A13 which ran some way north of the Thames. The River Roding, swollen by incessant rain, slipped along the creek between mud banks. Patches of reed on either side defied encroachment by an unkempt industrial landscape.

I took a minor road running south east parallel to the creek. On either side were a variety of business premises from Cash and Carry to Montague L Meyer, the timber merchants. At Creekmouth the road turned east and the area deteriorated. There were derelict buildings intended for development, burnt out car wrecks and the litter lay undisturbed where dropped.

I was looking out for a path marked on the map which turned off the road towards the riverside in the direction of the car works. I stopped at a likely spot where there appeared to be a metal stile but no footpath sign. A car drew up and I expected the driver to ask me for directions. Instead he told me that this was a footpath. It led, he told me, to a river wall and I should walk on the far side of that although the route might appear to be wrong. After about 200 yards I would come to a ladder. I should climb that to get over the wall and head up to Dagenham Docks Station through industrial premises. It was as he said. The path was indistinct at one point and I found myself almost surrounded by stacks of containers. When I retraced my steps and picked up the path again, it led with well-worn confidence towards a high metal fence which was surely insurmountable. How could I reach the road beyond? As I approached the fence I saw that one of the vertical metal strips had been removed and I was able to squeeze through without difficulty. Back on the A13 I passed the Ford car works. Hundreds of cars were packed onto trailers ready for transit. A lorry hauling one of these trailers emerged as I went by. I wonder how much longer this factory can survive.

As I approached a bus shelter I could see a boy standing on top stamping. A girl stood on a fence adjacent to the shelter but didn't quite dare climb any further. Down below a boy with stout boots crashed repeatedly into the side of the shelter made of reinforced glass. The structure shook under this assault.

I turned off the main road towards Rainham village and the station where I caught the train to Fenchurch Street. This section took me 2 hours 36 minutes.

I bought a day return from Fenchurch to Purfleet and got off at Rainham. I headed towards the Thames and came to a fork where I had to choose between Ferry Lane and Coldharbour Lane. I thought Ferry Lane was the right choice as it took me to a riverside walk. Coldharbour Point was signposted as one and a half miles. There was no indication that it was a dead end. At the Point I came up against a wire barrier and a notice which discouraged me from proceeding. I could have got through but there was an industrial area which I couldn't properly see so I thought it unwise.

As I started to walk round it a rounded grassy low hill came into view upon which rested an enormous flock of seagulls. Every so often something disturbed them and a large number of the birds would fly up languidly, hover indecisively and then rejoin the flock as the perceived threat subsided. This happened quite frequently so that the whole appeared like an integrated pulsating mass.

The industrial area was the Freightmaster depot and a refuse dump. When I left it by a security gate, I could either turn up a narrow lane much used by lorries or venture back towards the river over land marked as dangerous on my OS map. An MOD notice remarked upon the danger of unexploded ammunition so I headed along the road dodging lorries towards the A13 raised up on stilts. Suddenly, after an hour and 40 minutes I realised that I had walked a complete circle and returned to the fork via Coldharbour Lane. It was cold and for a moment I was tempted to take the train at Rainham Station but I resisted this and took the road to Wennington. There was an unpleasant stretch of main road beyond the A13 where there was no pavement. The back draught from one fast moving lorry knocked my hat off.

At Purfleet Station I was the object of some amusement to two characters on the opposite platform. The Station was locked and I couldn't find my way onto what I suspected was the platform for London. The two gates were locked and access was barred by a high metal fence. At this point one of the men on the other side started gesticulating as if wanting to give me directions. His meaning was unclear so I ignored him. In the end I crossed the footbridge but it was then apparent that my train would come in on the other platform. I proceeded back by road over a level crossing intending to walk up the line to get to the platform if necessary. It was then that I saw a narrow gate in the fence, which had been left open. I tried to look nonchalant but the men opposite made no effort to suppress their laughter

I was out today for 2 hours thirty nine minutes.

This was a brilliant, cold day with mist over the Thames. I bought a day return Grays at Fenchurch Street. Chris Rees, who lives at Grays, told me that I would not be able to walk to Grays along the riverside from Purfleet. He's obviously no walker. Public Footpath No 141 took me from Purfleet Station directly to the river wall and I never had to leave it. I didn't meet a soul en route.

Mostly I walked on the concrete base on the river side of the wall. I never had a clear view of the opposite shore. Ribbed mud banks sloped down to the water. These shone brilliant orange in the diffused sunlight. At intervals water had gouged out a channel through the mud. There were numerous jetties stretching far out which seemed to be unused. One or two had boats moored at the end. They looked as if they had been parked there and forgotten.

I passed under Dartford Bridge. Next to the path there were big industrial depots placed there for purposes unclear, oil storage tanks, a modern power station of gleaming aluminium and a giant pylon. This pylon was matched by another on the Kent side to allow the cabling to span the distance. There was a staircase all the way up with a number of platforms to break the ascent.

At Grays I saw the first dwellings since Purfleet. These were small modern blocks looking out over the river. An esplanade with fancy streetlights had fallen into neglect. Flowerbeds in a shore side garden probably laid out by the developer were just masses of weeds.

I wandered about in Grays' new developments before finding the station. I was out for 1 hour 35 minutes.

A day return Grays brought me back to this place and I set out for Tilbury.

I had little hope of progressing by way of the riverside because of the Docks but I tried anyway. A footpath took me to the river wall near a huge industrial complex where I found what seemed to be a dead porpoise on the shore. I walked along the outside of the wall immediately beneath and soon came to a barrier. I returned to Grays and proceeded by road to the A1089. At the fork in the road I chose the town rather than the Docks at the point where a giant Asda sits.

At Tilbury Town station. I just missed the train and the next one was cancelled so I caught the bus back to Grays station instead. This was disappointing since I had planned to make it to East Tilbury but the weather looked uncertain. I was only out for 1 hour 17.5 minutes.