I'm back... maybe

Hi.

I've not released anything for ages on here, which is due to a combination of factors; mainly the fact that I'm trying to write a mega long summary of a journey I took back in the first half of the year, but keep getting stuck where I'm not sure how to articulate what I want to say. I also went on holiday for 3 weeks (to Canada since you ask), and have actually moved house. Indeed, the name of this blog is now a slight sham, as I now live in southwest London. Work is always there as well, and there will always be the underlying theme that I'm really quite lazy.

However, I want to change that. I've got a couple more London LOOP walks to write up, a holiday to talk about, and I'm launching a ridiculous project possibly next week involving the alphabet and a lot of travelling. Stick around and this time I might give you more than a post a month to read...

London LOOP: Petts Wood to West Wickham Common

It's the 12th April, and I'm standing at Petts Wood station, ready to set off on my second section of the London LOOP, from Petts Wood to West Wickham Common. This section is section 3 of TfL's designated division of the walk, and is supposed to be around 9 miles long. Before I start, I have a confession to make: this is actually not the first time I've tried this walk. Around a week and a half previous, I made the (quite literally) ill-fated decision to try this the day after suffering from a hideous cold-like ailment. Unsurprisingly I didn't make it particularly far before deciding it was best for me and the walk to give up and leave it for another day. A shame, seeing as the weather on that day was gloriously sunny, whereas today's walk starts under dull grey clouds. I nip into a nearby Morrisons to grab some provisions (not doing this being another mistake I made first time round), then head off up Queensway, passing the crest of Petts Wood (no I didn't know they had one either). Technically the LOOP actually restarts at the eastern entrance to the Jubilee Country Park, reached via the delightfully named Tent Peg Lane, upon which I'm assaulted by a rather unfriendly dog. Luckily I emerge from the encounter unscathed, and pass into the park to properly start section 3 of the London LOOP.

Jubilee Country Park was bought by Bromley Council in 1977 to celebrate, as the name suggests, Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, and was opened to the public as a park in 1981. My route took me along the southern edge of the park, with a wide vista of grassland and trees to the north. Several butterflies weaved between the trees as the path curved southward, running alongside a primary school for the last bit before bringing me to the rather less tranquil Southborough Road (receiving attention from another excitable, although less aggressive dog along the way). A trudge down some rather unexciting suburban streets follows, but at the end of Faringdon Avenue the path leads into Crofton Woods, home to a section of the Kyd Brook, tributary to the River Ravensbourne via the River Quaggy. Through the trees the path wound, showing recent evidence of horse riding and cycling in its rather uneven state. Passing out of the wood takes me alongside one of the branches of the aforementioned Kyd Brook until I'm brought out to the A232 (Crofton Road). A rather uninspiring section follows, down a narrow alleyway then along more residential streets, but soon I'm directed off into Darrick Wood, which slopes uphill, then bends left along some playing fields, before bringing me out to a rather magnificent view, over the London/Kent border. I head down the field, past a playground and onto a path that leads to a busy main road (the A21), which I scamper across through a gap in the traffic. Past some garages and up a Prime Ministerially-themed set of residential streets, to emerge in the village of Farnborough.

Farnborough (derived from Fearnbiorginga, meaning "village among the ferns on the hill") has existed since 862 AD, when records show Ethelbert gave away 950 acres at Farnborough. By the 13th century a manor existed here held by Simon de Montfort. The village grew up on the road from London to Hastings, and became a coaching stop in the 1600s. Being a coaching stop means a fair few pubs have existed and do exist in the village, including the Change of Horses; on one day during the 1970s the pub went through 3 names in a day, opening as the New Inn, changing to the Golden Nuggett (to suit the theme of that year's St Giles Fair), then renaming to its current name in the evening! Trying to leave Farnborough I misread my directions and the map, and erroneously headed west back towards the A2. I didn't mind as it meant I passed a few more local landmarks, including The Woodman pub; upon taking a picture the landlord appeared from inside and asked why I was taking said picture (rest assured nothing unfriendly, in fact the complete opposite). After carrying on in the wrong direction for another couple of minutes, I finally gave up and got my phone out, and got myself back on track. My route out of Farnborough took me past St Giles the Abbot Church, where a wedding party was assembling, then through the graveyard and into an expansive field. I kept left, hugging the edge of the woods before plunging into them as the hill continued to take me downwards. I soon reached a country lane, and crossed over to enter High Elms Country Park.

  High Elms Country Park started life as a farmhouse belonging to the Brazier family; the Lubbock family bought the estate in 1808. A manor house was built in 1842 by John Lubbock III, but its most famous resident is probably his son, John Lubbock IV, a scientist and social reformer who became Baron Avebury in 1900. The estate was sold to Orpington District Council in 1930, and subsequently used as a training centre for nurses from King's College Hospital. In 1967 the estate passed to the London Borough of Bromley, who designated it protected Green Belt space. I investigate the Green Roof Cafe as a potential place for lunch, but decide against it. Instead I climb a short hill, passing the Eton Fives Court, the best preserved remainder of the estate. After pausing for a bite to eat, I continue up the hill to come out at the site of the manor house, now a grassy space with indications of where the house used to be. I head out the other side, down a tree lined path, and find myself in a car park. This is the first point on the LOOP where I get slightly lost, with a lack of signposts and the directions in my guide vague. Eventually I find my way out to High Elms Road, where I cross over to a narrow footpath just off the road. Passing High Elms Farm on the left (I'll give you one guess as to why it's nicknamed 'Clockhouse'), I turn right and head away from the road, past a golf course and into some woods, which bring me down to North End Lane, opposite North End Farm and a bus stop; despite only having 12 services a day, I was (un)lucky enough to arrive at the same time as an R8 tried to squeeze its way down this narrow, unpavemented lane. Fortunately I managed to avoid being squashed, and continued down one of the more amusingly named roads of this walk.

The LOOP takes me round the edge of some more fields, before dumping me on Farthing Lane, which twists and turns past horses and pylons to feed into Shire Lane; for the first time in a while I have to wait cross the road into, yep you guessed it, another field. The LOOP stays close to the road here, but I'm looking the other way, towards a distant house on the horizon. Further investigation when I get home reveals it to be Holwood House, former residence of 19th century Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger and site of an important decision (more on that in a moment). I follow the edge of the field, which skirts round Holwood Farm, and begin my ascent of what turns out to be a hideously steep hill. I arrive at the top, sweaty and out of breath, grateful for the appearance of a bench. Pausing here gives me the chance to admire a great view, and to take a look at the Wilberforce Oak; for this is the site of the aforementioned decision. It was here, in 1788, that William Wilberforce resolved to campaign for the abolition of the slave trade after a conversation with Pitt the Younger; it took another 20 years before the Slave Trade Act was passed into law. I rest here for a few minutes, the occasional plane buzzing overhead (Biggin Hill Airport lies less than a mile and a half to the south), before deciding it was time to press on.

The LOOP carries on through the woods, now descending gently in contrast with the steep rise earlier, eventually coming to the A223 Westerham Road, where I cross over and enter Keston Common. This area was initially inhabited by Iron Age settlers in around 200 BC, who constructed earthworks to help with the threat of invasion. These earthworks are still visible today, although eroding badly. The path takes me across the earthworks and through a car park, then down to a small pool of water. This doesn't look much, but it's reputed that Julius Caesar set up a camp here after being led to the spring by a raven; this then explains the name of the river that has its source here: the River Ravensbourne. The fledgling river runs down a brick lined culvert into Keston Ponds, a favourite spot for anglers and walkers alike, and one of the prettiest points of this walk. The LOOP cuts between the two ponds, then takes back into more woods, before bringing me out by another primary school onto Lakes Road, which in turn leads to Keston Village Green, a spot I recognise from a visit some years previously.

I'm on the home strait now, as the route pretty much parallels a tree lined road. I'm hemmed in by houses and fences on my left, although occasionally these drop away to reveal a view to the southwest, towards (though I don't know it at the time) the vague location of my next LOOP walk. However, this walk has one last surprise in store before the end, which is another set of Iron Age earthworks. These later became part of a medieval field system, then possibly an artificial rabbit warren in the 17th century. The view southwest opens up again one last time, before I head quite steeply downhill, past a tree planted for West Wickham's centenary celebration, ending up on the busy A232. Typically the nearest bus stop is rather infrequently served, and so my walk is slightly prolonged as I carry on to a stop that has better services. A few minutes wait gave me the chance to catch my breath and rest my legs from what had been a long, but undoubtedly pleasant walk. As the bus arrived to whisk me back to Bromley, I already had half an eye on the next one...

A selection of photos here:
 

Core Journey

We start on the bridge. 4th carriage, 1st set of doors, positioned just to the right in the nook between the doors and the luggage rack. The doors rumble as they slide shut, then we're off, down the slope and almost immediately into the next station. White tiles, hints of previous ownerships dotted along the platform. Doors open, doors close, the number of people on the train stays the same. Uphill start this time, then a curve to the left as we emerge into the 3rd station, old brickwork transitioning into brand new stark white tiles. Adverts for jewellers, warnings about fare evasion. More significant interchange here, the Underground both attracting and expelling passengers. We sit here for a couple of minutes, unnecessary time built into an inflated timetable, but finally the doors shut for a third time and we're moving again. We pass under the Underground, then through successive tunnels, daylight illuminating the carriage for brief moments. After the third stretch of darkness, we rumble into the past. "DO NOT ALIGHT HERE", years old adverts, disused platforms littered with the detritus of abandonment. Some passengers take this as their cue to ready themselves, as we curve left, then right, screeching into the present, and the future. We stop opposite the escalators, the doors open and I'm off, marching away to make a tight connection.

The Thameslink Core. 30 years in the making.

The Rail Replacement Bus

It's Sunday. I have to go to work. Normally this would be simple; turn up at the station, get on a train, arrive at destination.

But not today. Today engineering work closed a section of line, including my station, and so I had to get up half an hour earlier to then catch a bus that dropped me off at a station not quite in the middle of nowhere, but not far off. So much time had been allotted for our journey to the station that we ended up waiting another 20 minutes for the onward train to London. Luckily, given this journey took place at 7am on a Sunday morning traffic was not an issue, and neither was the amount of passengers.

And yet I don't mind rail replacement buses. I certainly don't have the level of vitriol some people reserve for them. Perhaps it's because I don't have to take them regularly, perhaps it's because I like taking buses in general, perhaps it's because it's a little bit of a break from the norm; whatever it is, I don't descend into frothing rage whenever I see my journey will be made partly by bus rather than train. Call me mad, call me odd, call me maybe (no wait don't do that); I like public transport too much to be angry at a bus.

London LOOP: Erith to Petts Wood Part 2

I'm undertaking a project to walk the entirety of the London LOOP, from Erith to Purfleet clockwise round the outer edge of London. Here's section 1, part 2.

TfL's Section 2 of the LOOP has me heading down a narrow lane, passing under the railway line and emerging alongside some fields. The path bends to the right, coming up alongside Bexley Cricket Club & Burnt Ash Hockey Club, before climbing for a short distance to leave me looking out across a wide expanse of grassland. The LOOP runs straight through the middle, down a rough descent then along a freshly ploughed field, before leading into a cul-de-sac. I'm only on Riverside Road for about 50 metres before I'm directed down a narrow fenced path, which empties me out onto a bridge over, you guessed it, our old friend the River Cray. I wend my way beside the river, with the path at times becoming uncomfortably close to being in the river itself. Soon I pass Five Arches Bridge, where a group of youths clamour for me to take their picture, having been just starting to cross the bridge when I photographed it. Thankfully they're not going the same way as me, and I carry on in peace towards what will be my last crossing of the River Cray, over Penny Farthing Bridge. I come to a small open space amongst the trees and leave the Cray behind for good this time; its accompanied me on the nicest sections of this walk so far.

My route takes me onto Rectory Road, past a youth & community centre who were definitely trying to tell me something, and on to a crossroads. Straight over, then second right to the end of a cul-de-sac, where I then turned left down a narrow path that led me into Foots Cray Recreation Ground. By this point it was half past 5 and starting to get dark, and I was beginning to wonder just how dark it was going to be when I got to Petts Wood. I pressed on, up a rising path past allotments and fields, passing also (although I didn't realise at the time) the former home of Cray Wanderers FC. Soon I reached the bottom of Sidcup Place Park, which climbed steeply towards a line of trees and behind them, Sidcup Place itself. I pass through the trees and round a playground, then curse my stupidity when I turn around and glimpse a fine view, now obscured by the trees. Whilst not completely exhausted, I'm in no mood to go back down that hill, and so I turn my back and head on.

Sidcup Place was built in the 1750s and extended throughout the 19th and early 20th century. Today it houses a restaurant, but has been used as a school and as council offices in the past. I pass by the side of the building, drawing a strangely interested look from a family by a window, and walk over the grass to the main road, the A222. Passing Queen Mary's Hospital on the left, I'm coming up to a bit of road I'm very familiar with; Frognal Corner, the junction of the A20 with the A222. I pass under the junction via stairs, ramps and subways, and emerge on the London-bound exit slip road of the A20, where I'm directed through a metal gate into the northeastern fringe of Scadbury Nature Reserve. The path starts to slope downwards as I'm taken southwards through the woods, with the light fading. I pass a lone dog walker as the route curves to the right, heading towards Scadbury Manor House, and soon I'm standing by the moat that surrounds the house. Owned by the Walsinghams in the Middle Ages, the original structure was demolished in the 1800s, and partially reconstructed in the 1930s using the ground plan as a guide. All that remains today are some brick pillars and chimneys, and a staircase.

The light by this point is fading badly, and I hurry onwards, my thoughts now more about just getting to the endpoint before darkness falls completely. The path starts to slope uphill again, and it's not long before I meet a tarmacked road, which leads me out to St Paul's Cray Road. Eventually a gap in the traffic lets me scamper across, and I pass into Petts Wood. The doleful hooting of an owl serenades me as I walk briskly through the gloomy trees, heading steadily downhill again. By the time I reach the railway line at the bottom of the hill darkness has fully descended, and I'm now finding it difficult to see where I'm going. I'm startled by another dog walker, who's going the opposite way (into the woods in the dark?) before coming to a footbridge over the railway line (the Chatham Main Line). I quickly come to another footbridge over a railway line, this one crossing the Up Chatham Loop between the Chatham Main Line and the South Eastern Main Line. A narrow footpath brings me out into the cul-de-sac of Little Thrift, where the very last part of this walk is unwalkable, as Network Rail have removed the footbridge carrying the LOOP over more railway lines. The last mile or so then is a trudge through suburbia, before reaching Petts Wood railway station, 6 hours and 47 minutes after I left Erith.

I slump on a bench on platform 3 at Petts Wood, happy to rest my weary legs. In truth, my misjudgement of the time it would take me to complete this walk meant the last 2-3 miles were not as enjoyable as the rest of the walk, but nevertheless, it was a fine start to this project. When I got home and plotted my route in Google Earth, I found one reason for the misjudgement; the planned mileage had been 15 miles, but I'd ended up walking 17.2! No wonder then that I'd finished almost an hour later than anticipated. Still, the walk had been very enjoyable, and had left me excited for what lay ahead.

More photos from this walk here:

 

London LOOP: Erith to Petts Wood Part 1

I'm undertaking a project to walk the entirety of the London LOOP, from Erith to Purfleet clockwise round the outer edge of London. Here's section 1.

Huzzah! It's 12:18 on the 18th March, and I'm finally standing outside Erith station, ready to start the first section of the London LOOP (London Outer Orbital Path, making it somewhat of a tautology like ATM machine or PIN number). The LOOP doesn't actually start at Erith station, so there's a brief walk through a new build housing estate, heavy with the smell of fresh tarmac, before I reach Erith Riverside Gardens and the start proper of the London Outer Orbital Path. The gardens themselves are unspectacular, standard brick flowerbeds and a ship's mast now used as a flagpole, but as the origin of one of London's longest walking routes it's pretty significant. You would think, being called the Riverside Gardens that there would be a river nearby, and you would think right; midway along the riverfront there is a step to some stairs going down to the Thames Path, which gives a nice panorama of the river at this point. I snapped a few photos, then set off properly on the London LOOP.

The Thames Path is rather relevant at this point, as it shadows the London LOOP for some distance. This meant the first section of this walk was sort of familiar, as I'd walked the Thames Path a couple of years ago. Exiting the Riverside Gardens I passed the first of many information boards about the LOOP, this one detailing some of the history of Erith (for instance King Henry VIII's warship Great Harry was fitted out in Erith). Heading up Erith High Street I passed the old police station (still with a weathered-looking sign asserting it was no longer a police station), then the Cross Keys pub, turning left down a path just before the Erith Playhouse. This path led me back out to the Thames, where a pier stretched out into the murky water. Opened in 1845, it's a legacy from the days when Erith attempted to become a fashionable Victorian seaside resort; unfortunately the railway arrived in 1849, considerably cutting journey times to London, and the opening of the Crossness Sewage Works upriver in 1865 hastened the demise of the town as a leisure destination. The pier was sold to a coal merchants in the late 19th century, and was rebuilt in concrete in the 1950s before being abandoned, then rescued by Morrison's supermarket in the late 1990s. Nowadays it's a popular spot for fishing, or to sit and watch the river go by.

After nipping into the aforementioned Morrison's, the LOOP took me back out to the river for a short stretch, before making a lengthy detour along Manor Road, lined with various industrial units. I suspected this would be the least scenic part of the route, and was relieved when I saw the signpost directing me left down a path back towards the river. The path curved to the right, then led me out onto the top of a raised bank, looking out across Crayford Marshes, with the river to my right and the QE2 Bridge in the distance ahead. The path wound across the grassland, curving gently with the riverbank. Unfortunately the natural beauty is blighted by an industrial estate, of which the path follows the northern edge. As you round Crayford Ness a large, rather brutal concrete structure reveals itself; this is the cumbersomely named Dartford Creek Tidal Flood Barrier, which stops the River Darent from inundating a large swathe of southeast London/northwest Kent. Talking of the Darent, this is where I take my leave of the Thames (I won't see it again until Kingston), and follow the Darent for a bit. The landscape doesn't change much, except I'm now heading roughly south. The Darent is not a particularly pretty river, but it's not long before I reach the junction with the river Cray, which will now feature quite heavily over the next few miles.

The Cray at this point is mostly invisible under an abundance of reeds, but this stretch only lasts about 1/2 a mile before I'm diverted off onto a path that runs through the southern tip of another industrial estate. A swarm of seagulls swoop over a landfill site, and a pair of angry dogs warn me off trespassing (not that I was about to). Under a railway bridge, and suddenly I'm on a busy main road, the A206 to be precise. I cross the road, head past a roundabout and cross again, then carry on down a short distance to the entrance to the next part of what I discover is now the Cray Riverway. From this point the Cray is much more pleasant, wending its way between the backs of houses and yet another industrial estate, but screened from the latter by trees and bushes. A few pylons stalked the opposite bank as the river and I wound our way towards Crayford (the origin of the name should be fairly obvious). The riverside path ends up on Crayford Way, opposite the Cray Gardens, just to the north of the town centre. Having taken advantage of a handy convenience, I walked through the gardens, which contained several artworks commemorating people and past industries of Crayford, such as David Evans (the silk manufacturer) and the old Vickers plane factory. The Cray runs through these gardens, but I won't see it again for just over half a mile.

The LOOP takes me up London Road (how many London Roads are there in London?) past some residential blocks and an entrance to the estate where the aforementioned David Evans silk factory used to stand (closed in 2001), then left into Bourne Road, where a former theatre turned cinema turned car showroom still has some ornate lamp columns flanking its forecourt. Immediately afterwards I'm directed into a large park, where several amateur football games were taking place. It's here I rejoin the Cray as it divides this park in two. The path takes me past a bridge that I very soon have to return to, as the bridge I'm supposed to go over is blocked off by utility works, as is the entire path down to the southern edge of the park. (My preoccupation with this meant I missed one of the landmarks of the walk, Hall Place). I end up scrambling down and up the sides of a ditch, and find myself alongside a railway line (it's the Sidcup line). A short walk on, past a couple who clearly thought this part of the park would be unsullied by other human presence, and up a flight of stairs, which dumps me out straight onto the busy A2; quite the contrast to the last mile or so.

Luckily I'm only on the road for a few moments, before I take a gently sloping path down to... yet more utility works. These however appear to have actually blocked my way forward, as I'm supposed to turn sharp left after the initial downward path. After yomping through some undergrowth in an attempt to find a way through, I'm left cursing the utility company; that is until I spot the path I want when I return to the original way. Feeling suitably foolish, I pass under the A2 alongside the railway line again, and mount a stile to get into Church Field Wood, which slopes uphill towards Bexley. Out of the woods and onto a path which brings me out opposite St Mary the Virgin Church, which has stood in Bexley for over 800 years. I cross the Cray again as the path takes me into Bexley town centre, which is where section 1 of the official TfL LOOP ends. I however am carrying on...

Part 2 here

A moan about an advert...

It's time for my first moany blog, or mlog if you like that sort of thing (I don't, that sounds stupid). I see this advert on the train into work quite often:




There are several things that irritate me about this picture:

1. Why is the man on the left so shocked?
2. Where is the woman at the table aiming?
3. Why are they still playing when the people playing yellow have clearly won?
4. Why is the man on the right shouting?
5. Why isn't the woman at the table even pointing her cue at the cue ball?

I know it's a staged photo but really, put some effort into it please!

P.S. I'm still writing about my not-very-recent-any-more train journey and my first London LOOP walk, they will get done soon I promise!