20th August, 14:30, outside Harold Wood Station
“It’s only four and a half miles” I reasoned, “It’ll be easier to get home from Upminster Bridge too.”
So I finished my ice lolly and set out in the sunshine to walk section 22 of the London Loop, turning left out side the station down the very suburban Oak Road, into Fitzilian Road, and right into the gravelly Archibald Road past the allotments to Squirrels Heath Road and across that to escape suburban streets at the end of Brinsmead Road into Harold Wood Park.
The Harold from which Harold Wood gets its name is Harold Godwinson, the last legitimate King of England, before the country was occupied in 1066 by the Norman usurper William the Bastard. We’ve been ruled by foreigners ever since 😉
Some of the local street names recall the connection to Saxon royalty, for instance Athelstan Road and Ethelburga Road.
In Harold Wood Park I crossed the River Ingrebourne, the 27 mile long tributary of the Thames whose course the Loop shadows for much of the rest of Section 22 and indeed onwards to the Thames at Rainham.
I walked along a broad well-surfaced path between the Ingrebourne and Pages Wood, a recreational area with many paths and a wooden sculpture trail. Where the path passed beneath the power lines I paused to forage for Blackberries, my sandwich box was now empty and it seemed a shame to be carrying an empty box when I could be carrying the makings of a crumble instead. Particularly when a passing dog walker advised me that there were some apple trees up ahead which would provide something to complement the blackberries. I picked up three windfalls on my way through 😀
Passing out of Pages Wood I came to Hall lane, a busy road which I had to follow to get across the A127 Southend Arterial Road, built in the 1920s to link Romford to Southend-on-Sea and once described by Clement Attlee as “one of the worst pieces of main road in West Essex” due to problems with the road surface after it was constructed. It doesn’t look so bad now but it’s not the nicest stretch of Loop to walk along, especially on a warm afternoon, so I was glad to reach the shaded service road section and then to leave it and turn West down River Drive.
At the end of River Drive the path leading into the dense woodland came as a relief from the sunshine. A winding path led through the trees, fortunately not overgrown and in August not muddy either though I expect in winter it would be quite trying.
All too soon came a bridge over the Ingrebourne and it was open fields with no shelter for most of the way on. I rested a short while at the bridge, the next mile or so was going to be a slog. The Ingrebourne ran to my left, out of sight mostly as I plodded round two sides of a large wheat field that had already been cut, harvested, and the straw baled and carted off leaving only a big expanse of stubble baking in the afternoon sun with just the occasional dog walker circumnavigating it.
Leaving the field through an alleyway at its south western corner it was now back to suburban streets crossing the Liberty Line Romford to Upminster railway bridge in Wingletye Lane then along Minster Way to the end of the section opposite Upminster Bridge Station.
Upminster Bridge is the location of a windmill, “considered to be one of the finer examples of a ‘smock’ mill remaining in England. The name comes from the supposed resemblance to the smock once worn by farmers. Upminster Mill was built in 1803 by James Noakes, a local farmer”, says the Loop guide.
I was too tired at this point to walk down to it though so the only windmill I saw was the The Windmill pub where I could have a sit down and a nice pint of Abbot Ale before getting on the District Line towards home. I’ll check out the other one next time.
London Loop Section 22 ✅
London Loop Section 22 Flickr Album
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