15th September, 13:42 hours.
I finished my picnic lunch on the sheltered bench outside Rainham station and prepared for the final push along Section 24 to Purfleet. When I say prepared I mean tried to arrange my socks so that they didn't rub on my toes. I first crossed the Tilbury Loop railway line via the level crossing and then over the High Speed 1 line to the channel tunnel on a tall footbridge. Didn’t manage to time it for a photo of a Eurostar train but here’s the view looking towards the continent.

Walking down the long ramp the other side I was hanging onto my hat in the blustery conditions, the yellow wind warning still very much in force. At the foot of the ramp I took the footpath along the north west edge of Rainham Marshes, then under the A13, crossing the slip roads using the light controlled crossings with very long wait times even when no traffic was coming, and back onto the narrow footpath around the edge of the marshes.

I was momentarily thrown here as the route marked on Open Street Map follows Ferry Lane around the west side of the K9 Industrial Estate but this is wrong and I was on the correct path eventually crossing Coldharbour Lane and between the two industrial parks to reach the Thames at the point where there used to be a ferry across to Erith, founded in 1199 AD. If there was still a ferry it would link Section 24 here to the start of the LOOP, Section 1 across the water in Erith.

I followed the path south towards the Tilda Rice factory, at a slightly lower level than the top of the river wall thus affording a bit of shelter from the wind but not from the first of the afternoon’s brief rain showers. The other side of the Tilda factory the path ran along the river bank and was much more exposed to the wind which was gusting strongly enough to make it hard to walk in a straight line. Not far along from the factory there are a number of World War 2 concrete barges, originally used to support the D-Day landings in Normandy they were placed here to shore up the Thames estuary flood defences after the damage caused by the storm and floods of 1953.

Close to the barges a sculpture stands in the river, this is The Diver by John Kaufman The sculpture consists of galvanised steel bands on a steel frame and is a monument to Kaufman’s grandfather and to all the people of the area who worked in difficult and dangerous conditions. I’m sorry but I couldn’t help thinking of The WickerMan

From here the LOOP follows the river bank while on the landward side is the fence and high grass slope of the giant Rainham Landfill, in use for over a century and currently run by Veolia. At least the wind was coming from off the river so if it smells I couldn’t tell you. Along the fence are a number of painted wooden “grave markers” with humorous “obituaries” on them.

I passed the large jetty where clay to cap the landfill is brought in and reached Coldharbour Point where the Thames turned directly east so that from here on I’d have views down the river all the way to the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and the docks at Purfleet.

At Coldharbour Point is located Momentum, a modern business and logistics park, surrounded on the landward side by the landfill and with the south side close to the river bank but with a high security fence and lots of CCTV. A number of pairs of wooden benches have been placed between the fence and the footpath, each bearing an engraved metal “No Smoking” sign. Just as well I gave up years ago although in that wind I doubt I’d have been able to roll a fag let alone get it to light! 😃
Instead I rested a while and finished the contents of my Thermos flask, there being no prohibition on Bovril. I carried on alongside the river with the occasional annoying shower that stopped as soon as you’d got your coat on 😒. I could almost see the end of my journey at Purfleet now.

Beyond the landfill I joined the path on top of the old river wall embankment that separates Aveley Bay on the river side from Rainham Marshes. I could have used the more sheltered path on the landward side but then I’d have missed the views. Including the Ro-Ro cargo ship Aveline passing quite close to the river bank on its way to Dagenham.

Another short sharp shower got me as I approached the RSPB “Education & Environment Centre” and then I crossed the Mardyke into Purfleet.

I walked through the riverside gardens past the Heritage and Military Centre located in a former Gunpowder Magazine to the point where a last LOOP sign directs you past the Royal Hotel to the London Road opposite the War Memorial.

Unfortunately the hotel was closed, covered in scaffolding and builders, so no chance of a celebratory pint. I already knew it would be shut thanks to Diamond Geezer.
Instead I headed along London Road against the flow of secondary school pupils, half of whom were looking at their phones rather than where they were going, to the end of Section 24 and the end of the LOOP at Purfleet railway station. Is there anything to mark the end? Is there buggery. Not a footpath sign, not a LOOP information board, nothing to take a photograph of to mark the achievement. Also the kiosk outside the station was shut and I was thirsty so I just got on the next train to Fenchurch Street and had a celebratory pint in The Ship in Jews Row instead 🍻

London Outer Orbital Path - ✅
A Flickr Album from Section 24 is here.