Walking the Capital Ring, Stoke Newington to Plaistow

Sunday 26th July

A combination of morning of procrastination and a tree falling on a railway line meant that I didn’t arrive in Stoke Newington to begin Section 13 of the Capital Ring until ten past three in the afternoon. Just as well it doesn’t get dark until nine o’clock at night really.

From the railway station I walked south down Stamford Hill to the gates of Abney Park Cemetery, popped in to use the facilities next to the cafe, and crossed over Stamford Hill again, turning up Cazenove Road over the railway line and then left and right to follow Filey Avenue. There were many people on these residential streets wearing strange clothes and big black hats. I think wearing these outfits means that God says they can cycle very fast on the footway and don’t have to give way to pedestrians but it could be something else.

Shortly after crossing Upper Clapton Road I entered Springfield Park, named rather literally for the series of springs which emerge here from the sand and gravel and London clay. Presumably these feed into the large pond to the right as you cross the park below Springfield House. Going down the hill into the Lea Valley (or Lee Valley, take your pick) I could see across Walthamstow Marshes on the other side of the River Lea/River Lee, the bank of which I reached opposite the marina. Turning right along the towpath I had deja vu all over again as I realised I’d walked along here before, after visiting the superb Markfield BeamEngine a short way to the north in South Tottenham.

I crossed the River Lea on the footbridge as I had done in 2019 and turned right onto the towpath, joining the Lea Valley Walk, which the Capital Ring follows for the next three miles.

I followed the broad gravel path alongside the river which was lined with a great variety of boats in various states of repair. At one point I was passed by a large steel barge towing what looked like an orange flying (floating?) saucer. The latter swung back and forth on its tow line to a soundtrack of a diesel engine revving and shouts of “Sorry!” as it bumped or narrowly missed the moored boats.

It was turning into a hot afternoon and alas The Anchor & Hope pub is on the wrong side of the river - though that might actually be just as well or progress would have come to a halt. As it was I carried on to the shade of the railway arches which carry the West Anglia Main Line over the River Lea. The arches also carry a plaque recording that in 1909 A V Roe made the first all British powered flight, in a triplane which was built under the arches and flew 900 feet across the marshes.

Further along I came to a sign which read “Welcome to the Lee Valley Ice Centre”, which meant I’d missed the turning across King’s Head Bridge so had to retrace my steps a short way and then cross the river and turn left to reach the Lea Bridge on Lea Bridge Road. On the other side of which I passed Lea Bridge Weir, where the River Lea and the River Lee Navigation divide at the redundant Middlesex Filter Beds, now a nature reserve. The Capital Ring follows the River Lee Navigation to the west of Hackney Marshes while the River Lea passes to the East so I can stick to one spelling until they join up again at Old Ford Lock. For a short while the towpath ran in the shade of some nice big trees before crossing over on a footbridge to the sunny side again to pass the filter beds and Hackney Marshes, both unseen behind the embankment and trees as the Hackney Cut as this part of the Lee Navigation is also called ran more or less south east. At least the marshes would have remained unseen except that just before Cow Bridge there was blue and white tape across the towpath, necessitating a short diversion while the police fished a corpse out of the water. Of course the man in Lycra decided the tape didn’t apply to him, lifted it over his head and cycled onward until he was given a polite bollocking by the woman police officer standing on the bridge and sent back again. Pillock.

Back on the towpath beyond the incident I plodded on along the Hackney Cut past more floating homes and the odd one which wasn’t floating any more, under another footbridge and under Marshgate Bridge where I rested on a handy bench for a few moments to drink some water, it being a bit warm. It was also quite busy with walkers, joggers, and cyclists so you needed to keep a constant watch fore and aft.

The high bridges of the A12 East Cross Route loomed ahead with the huge red advertising display sticking up above them. Underneath the bridges there was some interesting street art which was being added to by someone the UK Government would no doubt regard as a terrorist.

The other side of the A12 I passed the bars and restaurants in the former Olympic Press Centre, now part of Here East “London’s campus for entrepreneurs, creatives, and unconventional thinkers to create at scale. We put ambitious minds at the centre of East London’s evolving ecosystem of business, culture, and creativity.” On a Sunday afternoon they were mostly creatively eating and drinking as far as I could see.

Not far to the end of Section 13 now, under Wallis Bridge, under the Mildmay Line, and under White Post Lane to Canal Park where Section 13 meets Section 14 without a sign that I could see to mark the join.

I sat on a bench opposite the Hertford Union Canal entrance, considered having dinner at one of the popular canal side restaurants, checked the menu, thought better of it, watched people messing about in boats or wobbling about on paddle-boards, and decided to carry on along Section 14.

Capital Ring Section 13 Flickr Album - opens in a new page or below as a slide show below if your viewer supports it.

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 That simply involved getting off the comfortable bench and carrying on along the towpath. Section 14 runs for 4.8 miles from Hackney Wick to Beckton District Park. Much of the route follows the Greenway, the path on top of the Northern Outfall Sewer and therein lies a problem. A section of the Greenway between Channelsea Path near Abbey Mills Pumping Station and Upper Road near the East London Cemetery is closed for sewer works until 2028. Because the London, Tilbury & Southend Railway & the District Line run right through the middle of that gap the possible diversions add either 1.3 miles or 1.7 miles depending which one you take. So it made sense to knock a bit of this section off now rather than have a longer walk next time and if I took the shorter diversion I could finish conveniently at Plaistow Station to catch a train homewards. So off I set along the Lee Navigation past the Bobby Moore Academy and the London Stadium to Old Ford Lock. I must say that everyone on Fish Island on the far side of the river seemed to be having a good time.

Just beyond Old Ford Lock - its adjacent Lock Keeper’s Cottages famous for being Channel Four’s “The Big Breakfast” house - the River Lea rejoins the Lee Navigation, its big loop around Hackney Marshes having been bypassed in the 18th century by the Hackney Cut along which I’d just walked. By crossing the Lea on the footbridge just after the lock I left Tower Hamlets and entered Newham and just around the next bend turned left up a slope onto the Greenway.

The Greenway, here also called Victoria Walk, ran almost directly east in a straight line with the London Stadium (home to West ham FC) to the north and Bow Goods Yard East to the south. You can see the former but not the latter because although the Greenway is raised up it’s also screened by trees. Where there are gaps in the trees you get glimpses of Stratford’s towers and the strange squat black hexagonal structure that is the ABBA Arena.

At Marshgate lane there more sewer works and the usual ramp down from the Greenway to get under the railway was closed, entailing a loop down a path to the left, then left under the sewer and under the railway to the front of Pudding Mill Lane DLR Station. I was glad someone had been out and marked the route with Capital Ring stickers on various bits of street furniture. Having made it through the cunning stunts on bikes being performed across the station forecourt by the local yoof I crossed Marshgate Lane and rejoined the Greenway where it crosses City Mill River and turns straight east again towards Stratford. I crossed the Waterworks River and then the A118 Stratford High Street onto the next bit of Greenway which passes the impressive cathedral-like Abbey Mills Pumping Station, visible through a strategic gap in the hedge.

It was almost 6 pm and so still light. This is good because I felt that this particular bit of Greenway was not somewhere you’d want to be after dark. Now I’d reached Channelsea Bridge, the point where the Greenway is closed. The diversion route isn’t clearly signposted - I think I saw one sign in Manor Road - but I’d made sure to plot it on the map and load it into my phone's navigation app before leaving home.

I took the ramp down to the left into Abbey Road, passed the rows of resting Jubilee Line trains at Stratford Market Depot, Abbey Road DLR Station, and the row of railway cottages, straight on into Mitre Road, across Manor Road into Stephen’s Road to reach Plaistow* Road where I turned right. Simples. There are plenty of shops in Plaistow Road so I stopped to get a cold drink and a snack before carrying on to Plaistow Station.

In front of Plaistow Station seems to be the place to be to sit on a summer Sunday evening and swig cheap vodka from a bottle, or sleep propped up against a wall. I’d neglected to bring any vodka so instead I got on the train without delay 😀

Capital Ring Section 14 Flickr Album - opens in a new page or below as a slide show below if your viewer supports it.

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Note: Pronounced “PLAHST-oh”, other Plaistows have different pronunciations.

A Trip to the Dorset Seaside

Monday 20th July

I had a brief trip to the seaside in Dorset before all the schools broke up for summer and for a visit to the Swanage Railway. I stayed in Bournemouth which meant I could travel by train - Swanage is no longer connected to the national rail network - rather than sit in traffic heading for the coast. Most of the journey would be on a CrossCountry Voyager so I treated myself to a 1st Class ticket, Standard Class on those trains is hellish, livestock would get better conditions. At Reading I settled into a single seat at a table and just before departure was joined in the seat opposite by a guy who appeared to have been on “a very good weekend in London”. When the ticket inspector arrived he took ages to locate his ticket, emptying his entire wallet including a big wad of cash onto the table before having it pointed out that he was sitting in 1st Class with only a standard class ticket. “Oh, I hadn’t noticed” No, because the seats and doors with ‘First Class’ clearly written on them aren’t a clue, are they? The chancer was dispatched into the next coach and I got the full legroom back. After a nice complementary on-train lunch we arrived on time in sunny Bournemouth.

I had 45 minutes before I could check into my hotel room so walked the long way around via the East Overcliff before turning inland to Bournemouth’s “hotel land” to find the Langtry Manor Hotel.

Built as The Red House in 1877 Edward Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) provided the house for his mistress, socialite and actress Lillie Langtry. Prince Edward was, as the plaque on the wall outside states, “A Frequent Visitor”. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

I had a nice room, furnished in period style with a four poster bed and a large free-standing bath of the kind with sides so high as to provide a challenge to getting in and out. It also had a balcony with a chair and table on it overlooking the garden. This was accessed via three steps out of a window with a sign reading “Mind your head and the steps” above it. I looked at the mis-aligned unsupported ends of the balcony deck boards and decided I didn’t need to sit on a balcony :-)

Once the heat of the day had started to abate I headed into Bournemouth town centre for something to eat. It’s very “student orientated”, at least the end through which I walked. Also it has either gained a large South Asian population since I was last here (a long time ago and I was here for work) or it has become a favoured destination for such holidaymakers.

Having eaten I headed to Bournemouth Pier and then walked along the prom all the way to Boscombe Pier. It’s an even longer time since I’ve been to Boscombe. I finished my walk along the prom with a pint of cider in the Harvester overlooking the pier because there appears to be a dearth of proper pubs in Bournemouth, especially the Boscombe end. the sun was setting as I walked up through Boscombe Chine and back to Langtry Manor.

Tuesday 21st July

Next morning I was up, washed and ready by eight o’clock for breakfast, served (by the lovely Anna) in the Derby Manor Hotel a short walk across the road. I’ve walked further to the hotel restaurant when it’s been in the same building. Of course it was a nice sunny morning, if it was pissing down with rain it would be less ideal.

Off to the Swanage Railway.

This would involve a bus. I walked to the bus station to catch the Route 50 Purbeck Breezer, operated by an open-topped double-decker. I could have caught it a little closer at its first stop but going to the bus station proved to be the right choice - it was a very full bus that left the bus station, definitely no room for any more up top. It takes the bus about an hour and ten minutes to get to Swanage Station via Sandbanks and Studland, which means you have the novelty of being on an open-topped bus on the chain ferry. The £3 bus fare seems like a particular bargain since the ferry alone would be £1.18 as a foot passenger.

Swanage Beach was very busy as we passed, arriving at Swanage Station in good time to buy a ticket (Adult day ticket £27.50) and await the 1200 departure to Norden at the other end of the line, beyond Corfe Castle. This was operated by an Ex-South West Trains BR class 121 ‘Bubble Car’ No W55028 with two units from a Class 117 Diesel Multiple Unit to make up a three coach train. Unusually for a heritage railway the services appear on Real Time Trains so you can see it left 2 minutes late but made up 1 minute by the time it reached Norden. To my great surprise though by no means empty it was not a very busy train, nor were any of the other trains that day which made for a very pleasant day out.

The Swanage Railway at five and a half miles in length is long enough to feel like a proper train journey and runs a frequent enough timetable that you really can hop on and off at the intermediate stations and feel like you’ve got your money’s worth. From Norden I caught the 1320 to Corfe Castle, hauled by resident steam locomotive SR 2-6-0 - U Class No. 31806. Built in Brighton and a long way from its original working patches of Nine Elms, Basingstoke, and Guildford. It would be fair to say that it isn’t working as hard on the Swanage line. At 1405 having made good use of the Corfe Castle station cafe I took the diesel train to Harmans Cross, a peaceful rural station which happens to be where trains pass each other on the mostly single track line. So every so often there’s a burst of activity although few people seemed to alight. A German couple appeared from who-knows-where and since the ticket office wasn’t open had to buy tickets online. They must have been on a different mobile network to me, Three UK doesn’t acknowledge the existence of that part of rural Dorset.

At 1453 No.31806 took me back to Swanage where it was bloody hot. The Co-op next to the station provided ice cream and a cold drink before I went for a last round trip, catching the 1600 diesel to Norden, sitting in the “Bubble Car” along with a family, all three generations of which were equally excitable and noisy. The busy train emptied out at Norden, most of the passengers making a one-way trip back to the station car park. The handful of us going back to Swanage at 1640 were all in the “Bubble Car”, the other two units having been locked while it was standing in the platform at Norden. Even so it was a quiet run back.

I enjoyed the Swanage Railway. There’s a video too (on PeerTube). 

And a shorter video (on YouTube) as the full one might take a while to load. 

I went for a stroll along the seafront and then to the White Swan for beer (Purbeck Brewery Operation S.M.A.S.H. 4.2%, very nice) and dinner (liver & bacon with gravy and mashed spuds, food of the gods). The next bus back to Bournemouth wasn’t until five past seven so obviously I had another pint before walking back to the station. No trouble obtaining a seat on the open top deck, shame about the group of teenage tossers who also boarded, who carried on the argument with the woman they’d upset before getting on board, throwing insults and misogynist comments over the rail at the back of the bus. By the time we reached Studland the temperature had dropped a bit and once across the ferry it was breezy enough that I was glad I’d put a long sleeved top in my bag that morning.

It had been a long day. By the time I’d walked back to my hotel I was ready for bed but first copied the photos and video clips to my laptop. I backed up my photos to my Synology NAS at home too - by tethering my phone to the laptop because the hotel Wi-Fi was woeful. Then I slept like the proverbial log.

Wednesday 22nd July

I had no particular plan for today but over breakfast decided to visit Weymouth. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Weymouth though we might have driven through back in the 90s and failed to find anywhere to park the campervan. I could have gone by bus or train. Train would be quicker. Walked to the station, bought a ticket, discovered that the train before the one I’d intended to catch was running so late that I caught that and was still later arriving than if I’d been on the one I’d gone for. SWR have already paid out the Delay Repay. Weymouth was hot and busy. I stopped at a cafe in town because there were seats in the shade outside. Walked across the bridge over the Wey into the old town and all the way to the point below Nothe Fort.

I returned to the old town, near the former brewery. Mmm, brewery. Warm isn’t it? Important to stay hydrated and there are some tables outside The Red Lion which are shaded by trees. It would’ve been rude not to. (Otter Brewery Lifeboat Ale, 3.6%, very good)

Weymouth centre was filling up with the sort of people who think a narrow street is the ideal place to all stop and gather round to have a long discussion. I returned to the station and caught a train to Poole. I’ve only ever been to Poole for a brief work visit so decided to stop and take a look around while I was “passing”. I walked down the high street to the quayside, losing count of the number of vape shops, barbers, charity shops, and nail bars. So far just like any other high street then. The Quay was much nicer. Busy with boats going to and from Poole Harbour past the very expensive toys in the Sunseeker boatyard opposite.

I walked along the Quay to the old Lifeboat Station by the boat haven and back to the Baden-Powell memorial, surrounded by Scouts just back from Brownsea Island for a commemorative photo. I considered a boat trip to Brownsea Island myself but there was only one more round trip which meant no time on the island itself. That will have to wait until another time.

I found a seat in a shelter out of the sun. The Scouts were still milling about in a disorganised fashion. “Could you all quieten down and gather around?”, said the Scoutmaster, to no obvious effect. What happened to “Shut up you ’orrible lot and fall in by Patrols!”? It worked on us. Do they even still have Patrols? It’s been forty-odd years since I was involved in The Scouts.

There are some nice pubs on Poole Quay, it had been a long time since breakfast so I went to The Portsmouth Hoy where I had Haddock & Chips washed down by a pint of Fursty Ferret (3.4%, very good). Always impressive when you get two pieces of haddock. Crispiest batter ever too.

Back to the station and to Bournemouth. It had been another long day, which called for a soak in that bathtub. After which I couldn’t be bothered to go anywhere else.

Thursday 23rd July

One last full English breakfast then packed and at the station in good time to catch the 1045 to Reading. Which trundled so slowly along that it arrived 17 minutes late, at exactly the time my connecting train departed. Oh good, another hour sitting at Reading Station. Delay Repay claim submitted to CrossCountry, four days later it’s still “In Progress”. What’s the betting they try to wriggle?

Replacing the powered tailgate lifting struts on a 2016 Toyota RAV4 (XA40)

 This blog post is intended as a help for anyone else with a 2013-2018 Toyota RAV4 whose tailgate has developed a will of its own. 

Over the last few years the powered tailgate on my car has become increasingly temperamental. When opening and closing it made horrible grinding and graunching noises from the struts. Occasionally it would stick part way up or more often after a couple of inches when closing. Pressing the button again sometimes worked but often didn't meaning I had to force the door up/down against the motors which was undoubtedly doing more damage. Attempting to lubricate the struts was futile, they're sealed units with no lubrication points. The problem was exacerbated by cold weather, just when you don't want to be standing in the car park fighting with the tailgate.

It got to the point where I needed to do something about it!

The simple option would be get the dealer to replace the struts. That would also be the four digit bill option so I looked into obtaining a pair of replacement struts and doing the job myself.

RAV4 power tailgate troubles aren't uncommon so the parts are available, either expensive "genuine Toyota" ones or more reasonable after-market parts. I decided on the latter. Finding a pair rather than just the left one which seemed to be what most sellers had took a bit of research but eventually i ordered these from eBay seller The Retail Warehouse (8633)

 Electric Tailgate Gas Struts Pair Fits Toyota RAV4 2013-2018 UK Stock

Which arrived the next working day.

Changing the struts is not a difficult job if you are careful and methodical, have and can use the following tools:

1. A 10mm socket, extension bar and ratchet.
2. A 10mm AF open ended spanner.
3.  A small flat bladed screwdriver.
4. Small pointed pliers (what telephone engineers call 81s).
5. A prop to support the tailgate, preferably adjustable. (I used a window-cleaning extendable pole. Alternatively a second person with nothing better to do would work).
6. Something in which to collect small screws and clips so they don't go astray.
7. Rag for cleaning parts.

I watched this video by  The Car Care Nut on YouTube a couple of times:

 TOYOTA OWNERS! Power Back Door Problems and How to Prevent Them.

Yes it's from the USA but it's not the usual maniacal YouTube presentation and the guy seems to know what he's talking about.

Video instructions are no use when you're actually doing the job so I created this PDF version with step by step instructions and notes from actually completing the task.

Toyota Rav4 2013-2018 (XA40) power tailgate strut replacement. 

From start to finish it took me about an hour and a half, working outdoors (Kerbside Autos R Us). The tailgate worked first time and continues to do so. I didn't have any screws left over for a change. 

Walking the Capital Ring, Section 12, Highgate to Stoke Newington

1st July 2026

The train was late as usual and crowded with suitcases as usual. Two stops further on a hundred hi-vis-clad school kids were shepherded onto the train by their teachers/escorts ensuring that no one was getting off in a hurry at Reading. Just as well that there are frequent trains connecting Reading to Paddington. At Paddington the Purple Train platforms were demonstrating why the Elizabeth Line is the busiest railway in the country. Two stops in air-conditioned modernity followed by nine stops on the slightly less comfortable Northern Line brought me to Highgate Station, the birthplace of Jerry Springer. The late talk show host and 56th Mayor of Cincinnati was born on 13th February 1944 in the station while the German Luftwaffe dropped bombs from above when it was in use as an Air Raid Shelter. As far as I know there’s nothing at the station to mark this event.

I left the station through the Priory Gardens exit which sounds nicer than it is in reality and walked up the road to the right turn up a steep footpath between the houses into Highgate Spinney.

At the top of Highgate Spinney I turned right then left onto Archway Road briefly before taking Holmesdale Road to locate the sloping path down to the abandoned track bed of the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway which would have become part of the Northern Line had the little disagreement of 1939-1945 not intervened. I made a brief detour to see the portals of the tunnels leading to the abandoned Highgate “surface” station before turning around and heading eastwards on the Parkland Walk, a 3 mile long linear nature reserve which follows the former railway towards Finsbury Park.

I didn’t get very far. At Northwood Road the Rozzers were out in force and had cordoned off the Parkland Walk with blue & white tape, directing everyone down the steps to the street. The next access point in Milton Park was also cordoned off, resulting in a lengthy and hilly detour all the way to Hornsey Lane and back to the route at the footbridge over Stanhope Road. Could’ve done without that. It was nice to get back on the relatively peaceful (and level) former railway. I have previously walked all of the Parkland Walk but in the opposite direction, from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace.

The old railway runs in a cutting passing under road bridges and between the abandoned platforms of Crouch End Station with the former station building now a heavily grafftied cafe and shop on the road above.

After passing under Crouch Hill the line rises onto an embankment and crosses several streets on railway bridges with views north and south, especially at Stapleton Hall Road where it crosses both the street and the London Overground Suffragette Line, better known as the “GOBLIN”. The new line names still mean little to me, I expect you need to be a regular user for them to have relevance.

There were quite a few lunchtime joggers out as I crossed the bridge over Upper Tollington Park to reach the end of the Parkland Walk where the abandoned railway would have connected to the East Coast Main Line just north of Finsbury Park Station. The Capital Ring carries on over the multiple tracks on a bridge that leads directly into Finsbury Park itself and after crossing the carriage drive passes close to the cafe and toilets. I availed myself of both, getting a coffee to go with my picnic lunch, eaten on a bench overlooking the boating lake.

A large part of the park was closed off behind barriers and fences for the three day Festival Republic event with Biffy Clyro, Kasabian and Wolf Alice headlining. Only the last of those appeals to me. The Capital Ring runs to the north of the festival site though so after lunch I resumed my walk passing through the Mckenzie Gardens and past the sports stadium then across the open parkland where Victorian Londoners would have come to escape the smoke of the city to the south.

Approaching the carriage drive near to the gate out of the park onto Green Lanes I found a rather grumpy tree.

Green Lanes at over six miles in length is one of London’s longest streets. How old it is is uncertain, it’s possibly an ancient drovers’ road and possibly dates back to the Roman occupation. You’ll have plenty of time to think about this because the Pelican crossing here must have one of London’s longest waits between pedestrian priority phases. A proper “is this fucking thing working?” wait before eventually the lights change and you can cross to the other side. On the other side of Green Lanes the Capital Ring joins the New River Path. The ‘New’ here in New River is a comparative term. It’s newer than Green Lanes but considerably older than say, The United States of America. The New River, in fact an artificial waterway opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water taken from Chadwell and Amwell Springs near Ware in Hertfordshire.

It has a fascinating history, originally following the contours of the land and dropping just five inches per mile to allow the water to flow under gravity it has over time been modified and straightened in places but a large section still serves as part of London’s water supply. It also provides a nice fairly level walk away from the roads. The New River Path which follows the water as closely as possible is 28 miles long. One day I will get around to walking all of it. The section which is also the Capital Ring I have previously walked, again in the opposite direction and at the time noted that it appeared to be home to a large number of Eurasian Coots. It still is. They’re still breeding.

I crossed Seven Sisters Road and rejoined the New River as it looped around (contours remember) past Woodberry Wetlands and the West Reservoir, the latter busy with people falling off paddle boards. The river here was an odd opaque blue-green colour but that didn’t stop it supporting Water Lilies, bright blue dragon flies, or four fluffy Coot chicks who were getting a lot of attention from the walkers and joggers on the path. By the time I reached Green Lanes again the afternoon had warmed up quite a bit and become a little humid. There’s a castle here on Green Lanes. It’s not actually a castle but a Victorian water pumping station in the guise of a castle keep. Where it used to house six large steam engines it now houses a climbing centre - rock rather than social.

I headed south and just before entering Clissold Park popped across the road to Sainsbury’s to grab a cold drink. The fifty-six acres of Clissold Park contain a large open space, two lakes, part of the New River, and Clissold House, now a cafe and events space but originally a home, built in the latter half of the 18th century, for Jonathan Hoare, a City of London merchant, Quaker, philanthropist and anti-slavery campaigner and then named Paradise House. The house and grounds passed through several hands until being purchased in 1887 by the Metropolitan Board of Works and opened as a public park. On this sunny afternoon it was being used by a groups of red-shirted school children for cross-country running, with as many short-cuts across the corners as they could get away with when no one was watching.

On the back of Clissold House is a memorial drinking fountain with an inscription which shows the value of correct punctuation. The three daughters of Wilson Yeates were not in fact 134 years old when they died but one, three, and four years old respectively. The dog cooling off in the bottom of the fountain was a temporary installation 😀

Leaving Clissold Park past the graveyard of the Old Church I reached Stoke Newington Church Street opposite St. Mary’s New Church, built in the 1850s because the congregation had outgrown the Old Church. Here I turned left and followed Stoke Newington Church Street east almost as far as the Fire Station before turning left into Abney Park Cemetery. This was again familiar ground, I’d finished up here after a random urban ramble once before. Abney Park is one of London’s “Magnificent Seven” early Victorian parkland cemeteries. Set out originally as an arboretum cemetery it found favour as a resting place for non-conformists and save for where individual plot-holders desired it is not consecrated ground. A wild tumble of trees and memorials, some at very odd angles, intersected by paths surrounds a disused central chapel.

Amongst those tumbled monuments there are some famous (or infamous depending on your point of view) names including William and Catherine Booth and a whole lot more from the Salvation Army. There’s a goodly number of slavery abolishionists although not William Wilberforce since parliament considered a state funeral at Westminster Abbey more fitting. There are people from far overseas and missionaries who went far overseas. Also fire fighter James Braidwood, credited with forming the first municipal fire brigade. Hard to miss is the grave of Frank Bostock, he was partly responsible for bringing Asian and African animals to the attention of the Victorian public so it has a life-sized marble lion on top of it.

I emerged from Abney Park at the top of Stoke Newington High Street where it becomes Stamford Hill. Here Section 12 ends, Section 13 carries on to Hackney Wick down Cazenove Road opposite but that’s for another day.

I carried on up Stamford Hill past The Egg Stores Ltd. with its distinctive signwriting on the front and at Stoke Newington Station I caught the Weaver Line (see I’m learning) to Seven Sisters, the Victoria Line to Warren Street, and the Northern Line to Waterloo. None of which were as hellish as the South Western Railway train that it took from there which had no working air conditioning - and of course no opening windows because air conditioning never breaks down does it? 😧

80 photos from Capital Ring Section 12 here (opens on a new page) or in a slideshow below if your viewer supports it.

 

 

 

Walking the Capital Ring Section 6, Kingston Vale to Richmond.

13th June 2026

For some reason I wake at 05:30 and can’t get back to sleep. I get up and check the weather, it’s going to be a fine day. I book a train journey, make a picnic lunch, and head out to complete Section 6 of the Capital Ring from where I left off last time in Kingston Vale to the finish in Richmond. At 10:05 after three trains and a bus I’m standing by a Capital Ring signpost looking across the busy A3 road.

The lights at the pedestrian crossing change and I cross the A3 and enter Richmond Park via Robin Hood Gate. Fifty yards into the park my ears are assaulted by the cacophony of dozens of bicycle freewheel hubs click-click-clicking from all directions as they sweep around the roundabout at the bottom of Broomfield Hill, the 10 mph speed limit apparently not applying to cyclists.

I manage to get across the road and onto a sandy track heading north west across the park and the sound of bicycles is replaced by that of Parakeets. The sandy track turns into a path across the grass as it climbs the flank of the wonderfully named “Spankers Hill” before dropping down again towards Pen Ponds car park. The fine weather has brought out many walkers and the family picnics have already begun.

A herd of deer lie in the sunshine some 500m off to the right which is good because there are signs everywhere warning people not to get within 50m of the deer. I’m not sure anyone has told the deer mind you.

That would explain why as I head across the open ground towards Pen Ponds I briefly spot a pair of ears twitching above the top of the bracken, just revealing the presence of a fawn hidden about half the requisite distance from the busy main path.

Pen Ponds come into view and I cross the causeway between the upper and lower ponds, pausing to take a few photos.

Past the ponds I begin climbing again on the main track but about half way up the hill I turn left to follow the Capital Ring on a much smaller path between Queen Elizabeth’s Plantation and Sidmouth Wood. After a while I notice that there is no one else around and the only voices I can hear are those of the Parakeets and Chiffchaffs. Both are mostly unseen, occasionally flitting about the ancient oak trees that edge the plantation.

I see people again as the route curves around Oak Lodge and I follow the tarmac drive to Queens Road. The road is busy with both cars and head-down-not-stopping-for-anyone lycra-clad men on bicycles. I wait for a small gap in traffic and cross the road. You can stick that bell where the sun don’t shine mate 😛 

I can’t help thinking there should be a pedestrian crossing at this point, not just for the Capital Ring but because of the busy Pembroke Lodge car park nearby. To which I divert for the “conveniences” before retracing my steps to rejoin the Capital Ring as it heads west down some steps and swings right. Here is the western flank of Richmond Park and I can see across to the Surrey Hills. I fail to identify Ham House despite having been there twice but I do spot Twickenham Rugby Stadium despite never having been there at all.

Where the Ring turns left downhill towards Petersham I take the worthwhile diversion right up the hill to King Henry’s Mound, from the top of which Henry VIII is said to have waited for sight of a flare that would confirm that Anne Boleyn’s body and Anne Boleyn’s head were no longer contiguous. Also from the top of the mound there is a protected view of St. Paul’s Cathedral 12 miles away in the City of London. Protected in that no tall buildings are allowed to be built that would get in the way. The trees are a different matter. I’ve put a red circle round it in the following photo. Only if you can get to the telescope on the mound and point it in just the right direction might you just about be able to see the dome of St. Paul’s.

The telescope was busy and I’ve seen through it before so I retrace my steps back off the mound onto the Capital Ring and head down the steep slope towards Petersham. A runner passes me four times as I walk down the hill, twice going up and twice going down. He’s obviously healthier than he looks.

At the bottom of the hill I leave Richmond Park through Petersham Gate, cross the road and the Pelican Crossing and duck under the low hanging tree into a shaded alleyway which runs around the back of St. Peter’s Church graveyard to a lane which leads to Petersham Meadows. As I walk along the path across the meadows I have to avoid several groups of walkers. One of those groups is brown, four-legged, and have bells around their necks. 🐮 That group is the only one that has mastered the art of walking in single file. Tarquin, Jemima and their friends (I don’t know if that’s actually their names but this is Richmond) should take lessons.

On the far side of Petersham Meadows I reach the River Thames at Buccleuch Gardens. Since it is almost midday and I don’t have much further to go and there’s a bench in the shade I stop to eat my picnic lunch. It seems that I was a bit liberal with the mustard in my ham sandwich earlier this morning and now everything is yellow. Fortunately none of the dogs gambolling in the gardens notices. After lunch I continue along the riverside into Richmond and my word it’s busy on the waterfront! I see there’s some waterborne event on with lots of Cornish Pilot Gigs being rowed back and forth. Well it’s a nice day for messing about in boats.

I weave my way through the crowds to the end of Section 6 at Friars Lane by the Capital Ring signpost.

Capital Ring Section 6 ✅ Since I’ve now completed Sections 1 to 11 further adventures will be in wildest Norf’ London.

The riverside pubs of Richmond are absolutely rammed so I make my way to The Tap Tavern in the town centre and sit outside in the sunshine with a refreshing celebratory pint. The bins behind the shops aren’t as scenic as the boats on the river but it’s not so far to walk to the station and get the train home.

My Flickr Album for Capital Ring Section 6 has been updated and nowcontains 64 photos, many of them from a gloriously sunny Richmond Park. (opens in a new page or as a slide show below if your viewer supports it).