London LOOP - Day 11

Noak Hill to Purfleet

17.25 miles

And so to our last day walking the London LOOP.

The last day of any long distance route is a day tinged with conflicting emotions: anticipation of a project soon to be completed, and reminiscences of past highlights enjoyed; the elation of finishing safe and well, and sadness at having finished being just some of those mixed feelings.

We were pondering these precise dilemmas as we followed our now-familiar pattern of early start, train into Euston and onward connections – this time to reach the station at Harold Wood before catching the bus for the short jaunt to Noak Hill for around 9.30am.

We alighted the bus just round the corner from where we left off the route last time, the driver having to prompt us to get off as this was the last stop. We trundled round the corner to outside The Bear pub, set the GPS, turned round, and walked back past the bus we had just got off.

The driver probably thought we were hopelessly lost. Not so: in fact, as has been said on occasions before, the route is pretty easy to follow using a combination of the maps and notes from TfL, the on-the-ground signage, generally clear paths and a bit of common sense.

Soon after we set off from Noak Hill, there
was a lot of walking like this today

But the LOOP here follows much of the route taken by the bus, at least in general terms, and whereas we’d enjoyed a largely rural walk last time out, the second half of Section 21 took us in a south-south-easterly direction through the residential streets and housing estates and the green ribbon either side of Carter’s Brook.

It was a warm, humid morning, and as the sun broke through we stopped to apply sunscreen in Central Park, taking the opportunity for a quick snack. Although it had barely passed 10.00am, it was well over four hours since breakfast and we were ready for food.

In Central Park, with Henry VIII

Continuing past children at play chaperoned by parents relaxing into the weekend, we skirted more houses, passed further play areas and crossed many roads, including the busy A12 – yet another of the main arterial routes into the capital. And, 90 minutes after having left it, we were back at Harold Wood station.

Harold Wood is believed to be named after Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon King of England – he of Battle of Hastings and arrow-in-the-eye fame – and some of the streets hereabouts are named after other Anglo-Saxon monarchs.

Harold Hill - twinned with Royston Vasey

Nowadays, if this sign is anything to go by, it’s all gone a bit League of Gentlemen. I can just hear Edward exclaiming: “What’s all this shouting? We’ll have no trouble here ….” 

Well, the local shops seemed to be catering perfectly well for local people if the number of people milling round was anything to go by.

Community herb garden - a great idea for all those budding chefs

Beyond the station, further streets beckoned. However, it wasn’t long before we were heading into the larger green space of Harold Wood Park – a cultivated park of play areas, tennis courts and cricket pitches that became a wilder community woodland beyond the Ingrebourne River.

Crossing the A127 Southend Arterial Road

After crossing the A127 Southend Arterial Road, a few more residential streets came and went. Then the route took to the fields as it skirted Emerson Park School through knee-high grasses on the way to Upminster Bridge and the end of Section 22.

A little further on, after passing through the grounds of Hornchurch Stadium, we stopped for lunch in Gaynes Parkway. Shortly afterwards, a detour was required to avoid a path closure – some repair work going on, I think – but in general we were following the course of the Ingrebourne River as it passed through a series of parks and play areas.

Soon we entered Hornchurch Country Park, a large green area created in 1980 from a huge landfill site. The new visitor centre offered the chance for a brief stop and a nice cup of tea to fortify us for the next few miles. Although the going was pretty easy, mostly on level ground with smooth surfaces, the predominance of tarmac walking can be rather tiring, especially on the joints, and the humid conditions were quite draining. 

Overlooking Ingrebourne Marshes

Albyns Farm Lake

The short break did us good, though. Moving on, we passed Ingrebourne Marshes and Albyns Farm Lake and, after cresting a rise, began the descent towards Rainham.

Heavy rain just west of Rainham

Away to our right, thunder and lightning were beginning to make their presence known, and the accumulated dark clouds could be seen depositing heavy rains somewhere over east London.

Quite how we avoided a soaking, I don’t know. But just at the point where the few light spots started to become more persistent, the worst of the weather slid out of range and we managed to get away without even putting on waterproofs.

Start of the 24th and final section of the LOOP

In-between-times, we passed through Rainham – ugly outskirts, nicer “village” centre – moved into the 24^th and final section of the LOOP, crossed the corner of Rainham Marshes, and reached the banks of the River Thames once again.

Anthony Gormley-like path signs - the Angel of the South East maybe?

Across the river, we could see Erith – the starting point of the London LOOP – and knew then that the end was within reach.

The first sight of the Thames since Kingston on day 5

It had taken us just eleven walking days to complete the route, but that over a period spanning late autumn to early summer. We had fully intended this to be a winter walk, expecting that underfoot conditions be more favourable than those of hill or dale, and, apart from the couple of muddy sections encountered during our February outings, it proved to be clean and easy going.  

Also, and by coincidence, today’s last leg of the LOOP was exactly a year to the day since we had finished our Camino and arrived in Santiago de Compostela – two years in a row we had finishes a long distance walk on June 11^th, a precedent set perhaps?

As the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge came clearly into view again, we became aware of more of the symmetries of this walk – it’s circular nature, split across it’s diameter by the River Thames, beginning and ending beside the river in the shadow of the QEII Bridge – and this on the weekend the Nation was celebrating Her Majesty’s 90^th birthday.

The Tilda rice factory - mmmm, anyone fancy a curry? 

Over the final few miles we began to reminisce about the highlights of the route. True, the LOOP is not wall-to-wall with delights: there are some sections that are less than gorgeous, which is only to be expected when circumnavigating a major conurbation. Scenically, it doesn’t compare with the high country of northern England, wild Wales, Scottish mountains or even the gentler charms of the Cotswolds, where our current companion, the Thames, is born.

But the route does do its best to link many of the green spaces found on the fringes of the capital, and looking back there was more than enough interest and enjoyment to have made the project worthwhile.

Highlights were plentiful, with several things of note to report on each of the eleven days, but the standouts for us were Petts Wood, the descent into Coulsdon and the stretch between Kingston and Bushy Park on a beautiful, crisp sunny morning.  

Concrete barges, originally built to support the D-day landings

As we were considering all of this, the last few miles ticked by. We had heard the end of the LOOP described as “anticlimactic” and one of the more underwhelming ends to a Long Distance Path. And whilst Rainham and Purfleet are perhaps not the most glamourous of destinations, I think that rather misses the point.

A project such as the London LOOP – that aims to circle the capital linking the best green spaces available, serviced by public transport, well signed and with free notes and mapping available, and able to be tailored to one’s preferred day-length – should be celebrated as the success it is, not vilified for any shortcomings. If only other routes round other towns and cities were as well-resourced and well supported by public transport.

Once beside the river, there was the usual smattering of unlovely industrial landscape, crumbling things and scruffy waste ground that aren’t great to look at, and by the time we reached it the RSPB Centre had closed for the day.

Queen Elizabeth II Bridge

But it didn’t matter, and as a few fleeting rays of sunshine rallied once more, the views across the marshes and away to the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge pretty much compensated for that.

Arriving into Purfleet, we discovered that a train was due to arrive any minute. Rushing to catch it, it was only as we pulled away from the station that we realised we had forgotten to take an “end of trip” photo. What a shame!

Still, we have the memories.