Green Link Walk Section 3: Regent's Canal to Bankside

Saturday 5th September (late afternoon)

Section 3 of the Green Link Walk is only two and a half miles, from the Regent’s Canal to Bankside on the other side of the River Thames. After sitting for about half an hour in Duncan Terrace Gardens I decided to carry on walking rather than quitting and heading for Angel tube station.

After all it was a sunny Saturday afternoon, how busy could the City be?

I left Duncan Terrace through the gate at the southern end and crossed City Road, passed the large octagonal vent shaft building above Angel station on the Northern Line then crossed Goswell Road into Owen Street with Owen Square on my left and St. John Street into Chadwell Street to reach Myddelton Square, keeping left of St. Mark’s Church.

The name of the square along with several other streets nearby is from Sir Hugh Myddelton (1560-1631), a Welsh born clothmaker, goldsmith, banker, entrepreneur and engineer who is mainly remembered as the driving force behind the New River, an artificial waterway opened in 1613 to bring fresh water from springs in Hertfordshire London, which in part it still does. The original route of the New River (and the current New River Path walking route) runs through Duncan Terrace and Owen Street before veering south to the former waterworks at New River Head.

The Green Link Walk continues west to cross Amwell Street (named after one of the springs near Ware which fed the New River) and on to Lloyd Square safely locked away behind its railings. From the westernmost corner Lloyd Square you can see the former Post Office Tower over in Fitzrovia.

I turned left and passed a guided walking tour in Wilmington Square, which sounded as if it was New River related, past the end of Exmouth Market and then on down Tysoe Street to Spa Fields. I’ve been here a few times because the adjacent London Archives has very interesting free exhibitions. The current offering is Londoners on Trial - Crime, Courts and the Public 1244–1924. I must arrange to come back and pay another visit.

I was now in Clerkenwell, - the area derives its name from the Clerks’ Well, clerken being the Middle English plural of clerk, a literate person or clergyman. It being Saturday Clerkenwell was fairly quiet save for someone doing a fashion photo shoot at The Horseshoe pub and a wedding at St. James’s Church.

Jerusalem Passage brought me out in St. John’s Square and I crossed Clerkenwell Road to pass through the arch of St. John’s Gate, originally built in 1504 as the south entrance to the inner precinct of Clerkenwell Priory, the English headquarters of the Knights of the Order of St John known as the Knights Hospitaller. The order was re-established in the nineteenth century, they’re the St. Johns with the ambulances. The building has had a variety of uses since the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII including a printing house, William Hogarth’s father’s Coffee House and a tavern. It is now the Museum of the Order of St. John. I’ve passed many times but not had the time to go in and the same applied today.

St. John’s Lane (with the aeroplane clock) and St. John’s Street brought me to Charterhouse Street. I was tempted to nip into The Hope for refreshment but it was very busy. Instead I crossed Charterhouse Street into the Grand Avenue of Smithfield Market. It being Saturday afternoon rather than early on a weekday morning the market was closed and empty, the usual smell of meat absent.

I emerged into West Smithfield and made a short diversion up Cloth Fair to check out the oldest house in the City then returned past the St. Bartholomew’s Gatehouse into Little Britain, getting my first sight on the walk of the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was about to get much busier.

I stopped by Postman’s Park for a look at the ceramic tiles of the Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice and a sit down before heading into the mêlée.

I passed between Christchurch Greyfriars Garden, which was a Christopher Wren church until the Luftwaffe visited on 29th December 1940 and 81 Newgate Street which until December 2021 was the headquarters of BT. This was on the site of the Central Telegraph Office, which also had a visit from the Luftwaffe on 29th December 1940 but was partially rebuilt and not replaced by the BT Centre until 1967. Also on this site Guglielmo Marconi made the first public transmission of wireless signals on 27 July 1896.

And on into “tourist central”. Queen’s Head Passage into Cannon Alley to the north side of St. Paul’s Churchyard.

I skirted around the east side of the cathedral past St Paul’s Cathedral School and then dodged through the wheelie suitcases and Nikons to cross the road into Peter’s Hill. Not far to go now.

Down the steps of Peter’s Hill to the no-longer-wobbly Millennium Bridge which was packed. Yes of course you can walk six abreast or stand in a big circle, not like anyone wants to get across the river. Bloody tourists! 😆

The Thames looked glorious as usual in the sunshine mind you.

So with impeccable bad timing I arrived on Bankside just as Tate Modern was closing.

Green Link Walk Section 3 ✅

35 photos on Flickr from Green Link Walk Section 3. Opens in a new page or as a slideshow below if your viewer supports it.

Green Link Walk Section 2: Lea Bridge to the Regent's Canal

Saturday 5th September

Back to Lea bridge to continue the Green Link Walk. I set out on Section 2 at half past midday which was slightly later than anticipated because the TFL Go app directed me to a bus stop in Hackney which doesn’t exist. I got off the number 56 bus at Chatsworth Road and walked down to the River Lee, ducking under Lea Bridge, passing the now familiar Princess of Wales pub which was doing a good Saturday lunchtime trade. I’d been along here on the Capital Ring recently but this time once past the weir and the hump where there used to be a canal arm I turned right, leaving the river and the Ring behind and striking out south across Millfields Park. I didn’t strike out very far though before finding shaded bench on which to eat the sandwich I’d bought while hunting to the right bus stop in Hackney. Today’s expedition had been a spur of the moment thing and I’d not had breakfast.

Thus refuelled for the walk ahead I carried on. It was fairly busy in Millfields Park but probably quieter than in the year 527. According to tradition it’s believed that the Battle of Hackney took place here when Æscwine of Essex rebelled against Octa, the Anglo Saxon King of Kent, defeating him to establish the Kingdom of Essex. There’s not much evidence that Æscwine existed mind you so it could all be bol… erm, a myth 😀

On the far side of the park I crossed into Millfields Road which took me all the way to Clapton Pond which was very photogenic in the sunshine.

I passed the pond, crossed Lower Clapton Road and carried on along Downs Road to Hackney Downs. Rather than following the main route of the Green Link along the east side of the downs I headed straight to the centre because there’s something quite rare for London in the middle of Hackney Downs. Public Conveniences. I sat a while and watched someone grooming a large black dog which was standing on top of a large grey rock and then returned to the south-east corner of the downs to rejoin the walk.

The next 500 metres brought me to Clapton Square which I cut through to reach Lower Clapton Road opposite the former Police Station, now a school, and then along Churchwell Path into the grounds of Hackney Church. Somewhere in the churchyard is the grave of Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort of Beaufort Scale of wind strength fame. I did a loop of the church but somehow failed to spot his amongst the many tombs. I rejoined Churchwell Path south of the churchyard and followed it all the way to Morning Lane, passing under the Mildmay Line on the way, and then continued south into the centre of Hackney.

Hackney is quite hellish for pedestrians because of cyclists who ride just wherever they like. Roadway, footway, across parks, the wrong way up one-way streets, diagonally across junctions frequently without actually looking where they are going or even while looking at their mobile phones held in one hand. You really need eyes in the back of your head while walking and I witnessed several near misses.

Turning west I passed Hackney Telephone Exchange, the Picturehouse, and the Town Hall before turning left along Hackney Grove and then Martello Street, going under the railway line to reach London Fields. Standing by the railings near the Pub on the Park to check my route I was suddenly struck in the kidneys by a set of bicycle handlebars. Some gormless idiot was pushing his bike along the footway without taking any notice of where he was going or anyone else around him apart from the girl he was with. I had to resist the urge to knock the c*** into the middle of next week 😡 Like I said above, hellish.

I followed the footpath across the middle of London Fields (now even more aware of two-wheeled terrors) crossing Lansdowne Drive on the other side where two bicycles almost collided, their riders both having decided to ride diagonally across the junction with Shrubland Road, down which I continued. I made the very short detour to get a photo of the corrugated iron Sight of Eternal Life Church, a “tin tabernacle” built in 1858 at a cost of just £1250 and believed to be the oldest surviving example of an iron church in existence.

Amazingly it’s not yet been converted into or replaced by flats.

I returned to the walk along Albion Drive, crossing Queensbridge Road and arriving at Albion Square Gardens. Sitting in the shade on a bench under a tree, with palm trees and the gentle sound of someone playing Steel Pan Drums somewhere nearby it felt like anywhere but Haggerston in the middle of London. A little oasis of cool and calm.

Crossing the corner of Stonebridge Common and passing beneath the East London Line railway I reached Kingsland Road. It’s a fact that anyone who is lost will always first ask directions of someone who isn’t local and this was proven by the young guy who approached me as I was about to cross Kingsland Road who had apparently got off at the wrong station and was trying to find the way to King’s Cross. I said I wasn’t local so couldn’t help him. It’s a sad indictment of these times that my first thought was “do not get your mobile out to check for directions if you want to keep it” 😟

Through De Beauvoir Town (and yes I pronounce it Da Beaver because 1, it’s correct and 2, it’s funny) I walked to the left of De Beauvoir Square and onward along Northchurch Road. This section of the Green Link follows the same route as Cycleway 27. Say no more 😉 

Everyone appeared to be having a good Saturday afternoon in The De Beauvoir Arms when I passed though as far as I can make out they don’t sell Beavertown beers which is strangely disappointing. Another half mile or so along residential streets brought me to the New North Road, having left De Beauvoir Town and entered Islington. I took Spellbrook Walk to Prebend Street and the well-tended little front gardens of Islesden House. I took these to be almshouses but they are general needs housing and sheltered accommodation run by the loacl authority. They’re not as old as I first assumed either, the estate was built in 1948 by the Trustees of the London Parochial Charities. In 1953, the Trustees conveyed the property to the City of London. They’re very different to most of the buildings around here.

The spire of St. James pointed at a bright blue sky with hardly a cloud in it as I walked down Prebend Street and it was turning into another warm afternoon. I stopped at a local shop on the corner of Packington Street for a cold drink. I’d have bought an ice cream too if they’d had any. I realised afterwards that I could have turned left here and gone through Packington Square and Canalside Square to take the alternative route along the Regent’s Canal towpath but that was on the next page of the walking instructions. Instead I carried on along the street to cross the canal at Danbury Street bridge.

On the other side of the bridge I turned left along Vincent Terrace parallel to the canal, dodged around the twat in a suit with no spatial awareness who just stepped backwards into my path outside the Plaquemine Lock pub completely oblivious to his surroundings, and reached the end of Section 2 at Colebrooke Row adjacent to the portal to the Islington Tunnel. 

Which I couldn’t see because it was cordoned off with roadworks barriers.

It was twenty past three. I went and sat down in the shade in Duncan Terrace Gardens.

Green Link Walk Section 2 ✅

42 Photos on Flickr from Green Link Walk Section 2. Opens in a new page or as a slide show below if your viewer supports it.

Green Link Walk Section 1: Wood Street to Lea Bridge.

26th August 2026 

Having completed both the London Loop and the Capital Ring I suppose next on the list would be their little cousin, the Green Link Walk. This is only 15 miles long according to TfL, or 16 miles according to Inner London Ramblers. It leads from the edge of Epping Forest to Peckham. No one knows why it goes to Peckham 😀

The Ramblers' guides divide it into 4 convenient sections with the first starting near Wood Street station on the Chingford branch of the Weaver (London Overground) Line so that’s where I went first.

Technically the route begins at an unmarked point on a footpath in Rising Sun Woods about 0.4 miles east of Wood Street Station, accessible only by the number 20 bus between Walthamstow Bus Station and Debden. Wood Street Station is given as an alternative start point. I didn’t feel inclined to walk up Upper Walthamstow Road and back on a warm, humid day just for the sake of OCD so I started at the station.

Leaving the station I crossed Wood Street and turned left past the builders’ suppliers and garden centre in the Old Station Yard and then right into Barrett Road, following it round left through a short pedestrianised section by the former Manual Instruction Centre, now Wood Street Studios where apparently they now ork cows.

Barrett Road continued to the right and I followed its uneven paving all the way to the end, crossing Shernhall Street and turning right into Addison Road. What I had meant to do before Addison Road was divert into the Ravenswood Industrial Estate and get a coffee at God’s Own Junkyard but I completely forgot - just as well really since it's only open Friday - Sunday. I really must go back there some time. Anyhow, onward up Addison Road past the huge National Hero Service mural on the gable end of a house, created by Holy Moly UK during the height of the 2020 plague. Better than banging cookware together.

Addison Road led to Beulah Road and where this bore left into Orford Road I was greeted by the site of the ornate Old Town Hall. I had reached the gentrified environs of Walthamstow Village. It was easy to tell from the number of small restaurants and cafes with names like Village Pizzeria, Village Public House, and The Village bakery. Also many other restaurants, galleries, clothing shops, and a Gail’s obviously.

I carried on down Orford Road resisting the temptation of the Queen’s Arms, around First Avenue and to the wide, busy Hoe Street which I crossed, turned right over the railway bridge by Walthamstow Central Station and then into Selbourne Road passing Walthamstow Bus Station and then across Walthamstow Town Square Gardens. Had we not been two months into a drought this would have been the first bit of “green” on this Green Link Walk. As it was only the trees showed any shade other than a yellowy straw colour. The next bit would be much more colourful since it went the full length of Walthamstow High Street and its famous market, the second longest in Europe, beaten only by the Porta Potese in Rome, which admittedly is twice as long. I’d be surprised if that had as many bargains. I’d bet that it doesn’t have two Lidls either.

At the western end of the High Street I crossed Blackhorse Road near St. James Street Station and headed west along Coppermill Lane. There are a lot of very odd bird-themed signs along Coppermill lane, presumably connected to the nature reserve at Walthamstow Wetlands further along the lane although I’ve not been able to find any explanation online.

There’s also a huge floral mural on the gable wall of a shop/house on the corner of Cassiobury Road and the rather quiet for lunchtime Coppermill pub both of which I passed before crossing the River Lea Flood Relief Channel. Passing between the reservoirs of Walthamstow Wetlands and the Coppermills Water Treatment Works the road narrowed, losing its footways and becoming the sort of almost rural lane that seems to give urban bloggers and YouTube vloggers a minor panic attack.

Given some major rainfall this would also be a much greener part of the Green Link. A noise above alerted me to the presence of people working in long cradles on the towers of the 275kV power transmission lines which run across the wetlands from Tottenham to Hackney. Rather them than me. Especially since the forecast cloudy and overcast weather had in fact now turned out to be few clouds and sunny. At the car park just before Coppermill Lane dived under the railway line with a headroom of only five feet I turned left onto Coppermill Fields, another barely green bit of Green Link.

I sought refuge from the sun under a large Willow tree whose branches ran along the ground making a handy place to sit in the shade for a while watching passing joggers and a family picking blackberries on the far side of the open field. Curses! Had I brought a packed lunch today I would have had a suitable container to do likewise😞 

At the other end of Coppermill Fields the path passed under two railway lines first by passing under a tall bridge and then immediately through a low subway, where the Weaver Line of the Overground crosses over the Greater Anglia Lea Valley lines at right angles.

I emerged onto a broad straight tarmac path leading across Walthamstow Marsh to Leyton Marsh. To the right across the marsh lay the River Lee and the part of the Capital Ring along which I’d walked a month ago. This time my route to Lea Bridge Road would lie east of the marshes, past the riding centre where behind the trees someone was practicing making a horse jump over fences, noisily.

At Lea Bridge Road I turned left and walked along to Bus Stop W outside the Lea Valley Ice Centre, which marks the end of Green Link Walk Section 1.

Green Link Walk Section 1 ✅

And then I carried on along Lea Bridge Road on Section 2. Only as far as The Princess of Wales though because I was sorely in need of a pint. I’d passed this canalside pub when doing the Capital Ring but it was absolutely packed at the time and I had many miles still to walk that day. Not this time though🍺

After which I caught a train from Lea Bridge Station and realised that I’d been there before too, coincidentally having walked there from God’s Own Junkyard in April 2022.

Twenty-nine photos on Flickr from Green Link Section 1 Opens in a new page or a slideshow below if your viewer supports it.

 

 

 

 

By train to Ludlow and Hereford.

Rail Trip 17th to 20th August 2026 

 

Monday 

By train to Ludlow. All three trains ran on time which might be a first. My forward facing reserved seat on GWR from Reading to Newport (South Wales) turned out to be neither forward facing nor indeed reserved. Fortunately the train wasn’t too busy. Lots of people waiting at Newport on the station platform, I hope they’re not all getting on the train to Ludlow. OK, just stand around the door to the toilets and pile your luggage against it then dickheads. No trouble getting a seat on the train in the end. Transport For Wales having all the announcements in Welsh then repeated in English makes for double the noise pollution.

Wedi sylwi. Wedi sôn. Wedi setlo.

The slightly bewildered looking man across the aisle had a transparent G4S branded backpack and was travelling on a Rail Warrant. I guessed he was just out of gaol. I was right. His welcome back to the world outside included being unable to buy a coffee from the refreshments trolley because “it’s card only, we don’t take cash for security reasons”. I suspect that excuse isn’t strictly true. Also in a world where cash may not be accepted should perhaps the prison service provide part of the discharge grant on a pre-loaded card rather than just an envelope of cash? I stepped off the train at Ludlow to find that although it was a little cooler it was still very humid. 

It wasn’t far to the Feathers Hotel but the last bit was uphill.

The Feathers is very old and a bit of a labyrinth inside, very characterful but you feel like you should leave a trail of chalk marks to find your way back out from your room. It was a nice room mind you, with a fine view of the car park and a good selection of teabags. I unpacked and chilled for a bit then set out to explore Ludlow and find some food.

Ludlow is very photogenic. There are so many half timbered buildings, including the Feathers Hotel which has an ornate frontage constructed in 1619 over an earlier core building - which explains the higgledy-piggledy nature of the interior. There are narrow streets with Tudor buildings, also wide streets with Georgian fronted buildings, and a wide market place in front of a Norman castle. In the centre of town it would be easier to count the buildings which don’t have blue plaques provided by the Ludlow Civic Society! Ludlow contains more than 420 listed buildings, nine of them Grade I and 25 of them Grade II*

It is also quite hilly, especially if you walk down to the River Teme and back as I did. There’s a nice walk along the far side of the river between Dinham Bridge and Ludford Bridge with views of the castle and town. Just enough distance to build up an appetite.

I dined at Pietro Lounge, a modern cafe bar located on the Market Place in what used to be The George pub. A pint of Henry Weston’s Vintage Cider and a very tasty Nasi Goreng set me back £15.40 and though it did not occur to me at the time I think maybe they forgot to charge for the cider. Maybe it was some happy hour deal, I was certainly happy 😀. 

I went to walk some of it off around the outside of Ludlow Castle and then through the streets and little lanes of Ludlow. I stopped for a hydration break at the Church Inn and sat in the beer garden which is actually part of St. Laurence’s churchyard. This proved to be a bit of an error. The church bells immediately commenced with a bloody loud and largely tuneless peal. It was lovely when they stopped. Trouble is after a pause they started again. And again. And again. I don’t know if they were ringing them or throwing them down the stairs and carrying them back up again - hence the pauses. I retreated to my room at the Feathers and slept like the proverbial log.

Tuesday

On Tuesday morning I spent a couple of hours exploring Ludlow Castle. £10 admission is very reasonable these days considering there’s quite a lot of castle here. There are a lot of ruined nooks and crannies to explore, also many uneven steps. Ninety-six of these will take you to the very top of the Great Tower where you can see a lot of Shropshire because obviously that’s why the Norman occupiers built it here.

Judging by the number of dismembered pigeons scattered about the castle I don’t think that the local raptors are going hungry. A round tower stands isolated in the middle of the bailey, the Chapel of St Mary Magdalene, the ground floor of which is set out with rows of chairs beneath a wooden roof. Nearly every woman who walked in said “Oh look you can get married here!” Which caused some worried expressions on the faces of some of the men 😁

Despite the proliferation of uneven surfaces it was on a wide level modern set of stairs that a little old lady went down like a sack of hammers, first drawing a small crowd and then much running back and forth by the castle staff. She stayed down for a worrying amount of time but eventually was able to sit up at least. An ambulance was sent for 😟

I completed a couple of circuits of the castle ruins and then sat on a bench between the castle and the market. You could tell that it was lunchtime even with your eyes closed from the number of folk with pungent takeaways. I noticed that Ludlow is very well provided for when it comes to benches to sit on, other towns should take note. An ambulance arrived at the castle, I estimate that it must have been about an hour since the fall down the steps.

I walked down to Mill Gate and the adjacent weir on the River Teme then back up into the town centre. Looking around inside St. Laurence’s church I found that they have the mechanism for a carillon on display although since 1989 a computer controlled electro-mechanical version has been used instead. I assume that wasn’t what was ringing the bells last night unless the computer had crashed.

What else to do on a Tuesday afternoon in Ludlow. All that walking around had made me thirsty. I found the Rose and Crown tucked away in a courtyard between the cheese shop and the pottery shop in Church Street. A Joule’s Brewery pub, not familiar to me so having tried a pint of very nice Blonde at only £3.90 I decided it would be remiss of me not to try the Pale as well (£3.80). From my window seat overlooking the courtyard I watched several groups stop and look at the pub, and a couple of times they came through the door, looked around, and then walked out again. I’m not sure what they were expecting to find. Not a traditional wood panelled pub interior with a large range of drinks obviously. I resisted the temptation of a third pint, went back to my room at the Feathers to chill and read for a bit until it was time for dinner again. Since it had been good before I went to the Pietro Lounge once more, I can recommend the Mediterranean grill washed down with a pint of Murphy’s if you're hungry.

After dinner I walked down Linney and across the fields to Burway, crossing the River Corve first on a footbridge in the fields then again at Corve Bridge and back up Corve Street past more half-timbered buildings, almshouses, the cemetery, and Tesco to The Feathers where I retired to my room to watch YouTube. Using the Pipe Pipe app because I’m not a masochist.

Around midnight there was an unfamiliar sound drifting in through the window from outside. It was actually raining.

Wednesday

I had time to kill after checking out of hotel so got a Tesco sandwich and had a last wander around Ludlow. I went through the cemetery and up Linney, which was much harder than it had been walking down it. The sun was out, last night’s rain had dried, it was still humid. My phone said "20 degrees, feels like 25, 67% humidity". I returned to the station in good time to catch the train to Hereford.

The train was showing as “delayed due to overcrowding”! This did not bode well.

When it eventually arrived it wasn’t actually crowded. Also it was a real train with a locomotive 67 010 at the front drawing 5 carriages! Alas the sort of carriages with sod all legroom between the seats so just as well it was only a 25 minute journey.

I arrived in the ’ford. I’ve not been back since I think 2014. They’ve had the builders in, I stepped out of the station and didn’t recognise anything.

I killed time before I could check in to The Green Dragon hotel sitting by Elgar and his bike trying to book something on the Open House London site. Failed, by the time the site loaded what I wanted to visit (BT Tower) was fully booked 😡 By the way Elgar is the only cyclist in Hereford who obeys the signs saying to dismount when passing through Cathedral Green.

At The Green Dragon. Quickest check in ever, key issued (actual real key) and in my room in about a minute from walking through the front door. So all the multiple emails saying check in online (having first registered an account on a third party website? - no thanks) to “save time” was bollocks. Single room, recently decorated. Ideal for an overnight stay. It must be over 20 years since I last stayed here, I had a bigger room then but my little brother was the manager at the time.

The new shopping development on the old Cattle Market site has hollowed out the city centre a bit as I expected when I came here not long after it opened. Many empty shops now, my former go to cafe, The Matabeau, is long gone. Plenty of barbers and nail/eyebrow bars of course. Money has to be laundered somewhere.

Food service seems to stop at 3pm in the pubs in Hereford - again the Cattle Market development has the usual chain restaurants present. Co-incidence? The Imperial had no cask ales on either, what is the world coming to? I gave up and I resorted to a quick Burger King before walking to the concert venue, The Courtyard Theatre, or rather the big tent surrounded by people in hi-vis in the car park behind the Courtyard Theatre. This trip away initially started off as just a plan to come to Hereford to see Elkie Brooks in concert, I expanded it to include Ludlow afterwards. Ticket scanned and passed through the cordon of tabard-wearing stewards with a little more than an hour before the show start time. The Stowford Press was £5 a can and if you wanted a re-useable plastic “tankard” they’d be happy sell you one. I observed that it was mostly only the women who felt the need for a glass.

Elkie Brooks is amazing live. What a voice and a talent that she’s been honing longer than I’ve been alive. Lots of classics were performed especially from the Pearls album. But also covers including Jimi Hendrix (with an anecdote about him chatting her up in the Speakeasy club in London), Prince (Purple Rain), and Rag’n’Bone Man (Human). Elkie can hold a note for a very long time. Also there was more jumping about on stage (in heels!) than you might expect of an eighty-one year old. The crowd went wild, or as wild as a big tent full of geriatrics gets. My advice would be if you get the opportunity to see Elkie Brooks live grab it while you still can, you won’t regret it.

After a couple of very enjoyable hours we were discharged through the waiting “chuggers” into a night which was much cooler but not quite chilly. I considered going to see if the Black Lion was still open but in the end settled for another Stowford Press in the hotel bar.

I was woken in the night by some machine, possibly an a/c unit on another building being very loud and then again later by loud dripping water sounds outside somewhere echoing in the space between the hotel and the adjacent building. I had to close the window in the end, not ideal.

Thursday

I got up, checked the trains. Oh dear. I went to the station and got the 1036 to Newport which actually arrived in Hereford at 1150 and reached Newport at 1236. If I’d waited for the 1208 as originally planned no way would I have made my 1304 connection.

From Newport to Reading I had a seat reservation again, carriage H seat 09. The train arrived, it comprised carriages A to E. GWR is a bloody joke.

I had 6 minutes scheduled for the connection at Reading, if I missed it I’d be hanging around for an hour at least. I came off the train from Newport like Mick The Miller out of the traps. Made the connection with a couple of minutes to spare. The Giant Suitcase Cult were much in evidence on the train home, making their way to the temple at Gatwick. A woman with two large suitcases she couldn't control, couldn’t find anywhere to stow, and was trying to manoeuvre without her phone leaving her hand. Must be the high priestess. Or a blithering idiot 🙄

Home at last and I didn’t even get wet walking back from the station 😀

Lots of photos on Flickr, mostly of Ludlow. Opens in a new page or as a slide show below if your viewer supports it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Completing The Capital Ring, Plaistow to Woolwich.

5th August 2026

Capital Ring Section 14

I alighted at Plaistow Station at a more reasonable twenty to twelve in the morning, headed along the High Street to the Library because public conveniences are few and far between here and then south along Balaam Street to rejoin the Capital Ring, turning left onto The Greenway.

The broad straight tarmac strip ran almost directly east, passing behind Newham University Hospital, crossing Boundary Lane, and then continuing behind Brampton Manor Academy although the hedges and trees ensure that you can’t see much of either place. It’s an exposed slog in the sunshine with no redeeming features. Signs warning that thieves operate in the area reinforce the idea that you wouldn’t want to walk here at night. The frequently encountered stench of shit ensured that you couldn’t forget that you were walking on top of a huge sewer. I was glad to turn right down the steps at Stokes Road and leave the Greenway behind.

A short walk along residential streets brought me to the large footbridge which spans the A13 Newham Way dual carriageway. From which above the roaring traffic I had a good view of Beckton Alps. (The spoil heaps from the former Beckton Gasworks, highest point in Newham and once used as a dry ski slope.)

On the far side of the bridge a short walk along Viking Gardens brought me into Beckton District Park. This large broad open space bisected by Tollgate Road stretches all the way south to Royal Albert Way. Considering that I was passing through during the school summer holidays the park was noticeably quiet with few people about. The smell of shit was now replaced by the slightly more agreeable waft of weed.

I passed the Will Thorne Pavilion, a multi-sided brick structure surrounded by builder’s fences and barriers with signs on promising that something exciting is coming in 2026, then past a kids playground, actually quite busy which is why you’re not getting a photo of the pavilion, and a few yards further on reached the Capital Ring signpost which marks the end of Section 14. For which I was grateful, some of it had been grim.

The updated capital ring Section 14 Flickr Album is here. (Opens in a new page)

Capital Ring Section 15

The final section began with a nice shady avenue of trees running along the Beckton Corridor. That avenue also had a handy bench on which to take a hydration break and jot down some notes about the day so far - I’ve started carrying a pocket notebook and a pen to help the old memory along. It was only five minutes to one, Woolwich here I come, let’s get this done.

A broad tarmac walking and cycling path ran around the northern edge of Beckton District Park. I’ve never seen such an uneven path, cracked, subsided, patched and seemingly without any solid foundations save for some form of mesh, visible in places where the surface had gone altogether. It formed a continuous sequence of trip hazards and must be uncomfortable on a bicycle. It also had a steep camber on each side so it was best to walk in the middle. Passing out of Beckton District Park into New Beckton Park my attention was grabbed by an extraordinary modern house (or possibly small block of flats) in Savage Gardens.

Lloyd Grossman voice, “Who’d live in a pyramid like this?” 🤔

Around the park and the school I went to reach Earl Ham Manor Way and then Cyprus DLR station. It’s not often you pass the Alps and Cyprus in the same afternoon.

The Ring takes the footbridge over Cyprus station and under the Royal Albert Way to enter the University of East London Docklands Campus. I grabbed a sandwich and a drink from the Costa in the West Building and a shaded seat near the dockside and stopped for lunch, watching the aircraft taking off from London City Airport on the far side of the water.

After lunch I carried on east alongside the dock to just before the Sir Steve Redgrave Bridge where the path turned away from the water to Gallions Roundabout. It was very breezy along the waterfront.

Here was a decision point. The Capital Ring carries on through the Royal Albert Wharf development to the Thames at Gallions Reach then along the riverside and across the lock gates for the Royal Albert Basin. It then crosses Albert Island and crosses the King George V Lock gates to reach Galleons Point. Because of development works the path across the King George V Lock gates can sometimes be closed, ditto if they need to open the gates for vessels to access the docks. There is no certain way to know if the path is open except by going there. If I found it closed I’d have to come all the way back and cross the Sir Steve Redgrave Bridge to rejoin the Ring at Galleons Point. So the question you have to ask yourself is, “Do you feel lucky?” Did I? Well I crossed the road at the roundabout and headed up the windy canyon of Atlantis Avenue. Passing between the near-identical blocks of brick-faced stacky flats, each with its regulation amount of outside space (i.e. a small balcony) brought me to the river at the most easterly point of the Capital Ring. It’s not somewhere I’d choose to live but the flats here at least get a great view downstream towards Barking.

It’s unclear if there’s a way through the new development along the river’s edge so I walked down Magellan Boulevard and back beside the river along Wallis Walk. This crosses the Impounding Culvert through which water is drawn by the Royal Docks Impounding Station a little way inland to control the water level in the docks. At the end of Wallis Walk it all started to get a bit more “ex-industrial wasteland”. The blocks of flats stopped alongside the lock to the Royal Albert Basin.

I crossed the lock gates onto Albert Island. The island hasn’t been developed as housing because it lies directly under the flight path for London City Airport right next to it in King George V Dock. This is also one reason why it is proposed that the Smithfields wholesale meat market and Billingsgate wholesale fish market be moved here from their current long-standing sites within the City of London. Assuming this goes ahead then in the next few years Albert Island will become New Smithfield and New Billingsgate Markets. How this will affect the route of the Capital Ring remains to be seen. Anyway there’s a lot of empty space here at the moment.

With some trepidation I followed the narrow path this way and that, hemmed in by high chain link and steel mesh fences and brambles. Alongside the river I noticed that someone has set up home by the beach, a tent in the bushes surrounded by a garden of found objects and wildflowers. 

I came around the final turn and up over some concrete steps to find…

Yes! The footpath gates are open and the lock gates are closed 👍

No need to back track around a lengthy diversion. I was very glad to see that. I crossed the lock gates noting that there was definitely some activity going on in the lock and left Albert Island behind.

Galleons Point has a change of spelling but is still more stacked flats. Which spelling is correct? Well the area and stretch of river is named after the Galyon family. Don't expect consistency in English place names.

Presumably these are more expensive flats since they face the Thames and have views downstream and upstream. Having walked along the path between the flats and the river I came to a locked metal gate, released by pressing a button on the wall behind you. This gate can only be opened during “daylight hours” (unless you have a residents’ key fob) so if you find it won’t unlock you have to go all the way back to King George V Lock and follow a lengthy diversion via Albert Road and Barge House Road. I didn’t see a button on the outside so if you were walking the Ring in the “wrong” direction presumably you can’t get through at all and have to follow the road instead? Fuck private public spaces. Fortunately the gate unlocked to the press of the button.

At Barge House Causeway, a long slipway leads out into the river, the landward end surrounded by memorials and tributes to Kaliyah Coa, an 11 year old girl who died accidentally in March 2025 after entering the river here, reportedly while attempting to retrieve her friend’s shoe. The Thames is cold, it is unforgiving, it demands caution. 🙁

From Barge House Causeway I followed the path which hugged the riverside along a concrete wall to another slipway and then into Royal Victoria Gardens, a green space which once belonged to the Royal Arsenal across the river. Although with this summer’s weather it’s a not-very-green space apart from the trees.

At the far end of the park by Woolwich Reach is the old disused North Woolwich Pier, built by the Eastern Counties Railway for their ferries to Woolwich, or as they called it South Woolwich, which had no railways at the time. Once a direct railway was built two years later and the municipally owned free Woolwich Ferry was established just upstream in 1889 it rather did for the Eastern Counties Railway's ferry operations and they ceased in 1908. Some kids were playing on the beach at the water’s edge, watched over from the top of the steps by a couple of adults. The Thames is cold, it is unforgiving, it demands caution.

At Pier Road I crossed the approach road to the Woolwich Ferry just as Dame Vera Lynn was docking (the ship not the singer, stop it). There’s no pedestrian crossing here for some reason so you have to be careful with the traffic when getting from the river bank to the north entrance to the Woolwich Foot Tunnel.

Opened in 1912 the foot tunnel, along with the similar one at Greenwich, allowed the workers who mostly lived on the other side of the Thames to get to the docks without relying on the lightermen's ferries and risking being late for work because of bad weather. I’ve been through it several times before. I made my way down the 126 steps of the spiral staircase (there’s a lift too) to tunnel level and out under the Thames. Because the tunnel curves downwards under the river bed and then up again towards each end you cannot see all the way from one end to the other. It is 1,654 feet (504m) long. Once you start on the upward slope it feels longer. Try not to think about all that water less than ten feet above the tunnel roof 😏

The tunnel has a lot of signs stating that cycling is not allowed, that cyclists should dismount, that cycling is forbidden under the byelaws governing the tunnel, etc. All a waste of time and money since it seems that the signs are invisible to cyclists (and illegal electric scooter riders) some of whom ride at great speed, using the downward slope to gain as much momentum as possible. Despite the CCTV it seems no enforcement of the byelaws is carried out. I was glad it wasn’t busy. I reached the south end of the tunnel. Of course the lift was out of service - I’ve never seen it working - so I dragged myself up the spiral staircase and out of the entrance building to the south bank of the Thames in Woolwich.

Capital Ring ✅

I went and celebrated with a pint in Prince Albert Rose’s before making my way to Woolwich station for the train home, making it through the gate line with just two minutes to spare before peak hours started 😁

Capital Ring Section 15 Flickr Album (opens in a new page) Or in the slideshow below if your viewer supports it.

 

 

Where next? No idea.

Would I recommend walking the Capital Ring? Maybe. Parts of it are a bit grim. Parts of it are very busy. The London Loop is nicer but is also twice as long!

Anyway I now have both certificates hanging on my wall 😊