Royal Albert Dock to Woolwich

Nadia and Penelope at Cyprus Place, near the DLR station.

We had a gorgeous, warm summer day for yesterday’s walk around London, in rather abrupt contrast with the weather on the previous walk. This is segment 15 of the Capital Ring, and for those who started at segment 1 (we did not) it is the end. This is the farthest east that the trail gets. The entire walk skirts the river and, at the end, crosses it.

Cyprus DLR station

We met up at Royal Albert Station on the Docklands Light Railway. The train was filled with weird people dressed in strange costumes, not something that one usually finds on public transportation in London on a Sunday morning. They were all going to some comic book costume ball at the ExCel Centre, which is very near London City Airport.

The walk proceeds through Beckton District Park and to the next station on the DLR, which is called ‘Cyprus’. It is named after an estate called Cyprus that was once located there and that was, in turn, named after the Mediterranean island that Britain colonized in 1878. From the station one enters the very nice, modern campus of the University of East London. We were particularly struck by the student residences, which are colourful, cylindrical buildings offering fabulous views of the Thames and of east London. The tall buildings of Canary Wharf are in the distance.

View from the University of East London.

Rowing in the Dock.

This is the Royal Albert Dock, which closed in 1981 after operating for about a century. Ships entered the dock from a lock on the river. It must once have been lined with warehouses and various shipping establishments, but all that remains now is the pretty campus. The dock itself is now used as a place for rowing. The Olympic events will take place here.

Student residences at University of East London.

Poppies.

Rather dodgy pathway near the Lock.

The path continues through a rather dull field and then doubles back to the river. We crossed the lock gates, which are quite tall and dramatic. Then there are several modern apartment buildings and an attractive park, which was filled with people sunbathing and having picnics.

The end of the walk is the Woolwich foot tunnel. The lifts are being repaired, so we had to do the 100 steps down and up again. At Woolwich we wanted to have a drink and something to eat, but there really wasn’t any place decent, so we took the DLR and the Tube to London Bridge and went to a great tapas joint.

On our next walk, in a few weeks, we will start exploring South London.

Crossing the Lock.

Walking through the Woolwich Foot Tunnel.

View from the south bank of the River looking West.

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Hackney Wick to London City Airport

Nadia and Penelope Soteriou at the start, 
at Hackney Wick train station.

On a rather chilly May Sunday we walked our fourth segment of the Capital Ring (officially, section 14). We’ve done almost a third of the route now. We finished yesterday afternoon next to the London City Airport, which is a long way from Hendon where we started four Sundays ago.

Our starting point was Hackney Wick, a rather bohème neighbourhood that is in the shadow of the Olympic site. We had finished there on our last walk, but perhaps because we were tired we did not take such a close look. There, obscurely on a wall, was a small plaque indicating where the first plastics were made.

Little statues on the scanal at Hackney Wick.

The guide to the route promised we would have great views of the Olympic installations, but in fact it was a bit of a disappointment. A few days ago, there was a serious security clampdown on the site, and as a result we were rerouted rather far from the stadium and other facilities, which we could only see in the distance. In fact, we got lost, and had to find our way back to the main trail at Stratford High Street.

The Bryant and May Match Factory, with plaque commemorating a famous strike.

Along the way was, as always, the unexpected. We passed by the old match factory of Bryant and May, now refurbished into houses and apartments.

Bow Church.

There is a plaque on the site of the entrance commemorating a famous strike that took place. From there, we passed by the 700-year-old Bow Church.

Had we followed the path, we would have missed these sights.

At Stratford High Street we found the path. It is located above the embankment of the Northern Outfall Sewer which runs for several kilometres. This is now called the Greenway. It is straight and wide and paved, and a good place for cyclists as well as walkers although surprisingly it was not crowded at all.

Taking a short break on the Greenway.

The highlight is the Abbey Mills Pumping Station, a Victorian building that is still used occasionally to pump sewage when there are heavy rains. The Greenway was lined with hawthorn trees which are now in blossom.

Abbey Mills Pumping Station.

The route leads to Plaistow, where we were promised cafés and restaurants. We looked around but it was clear we were no longer in Highgate or Stoke Newington, with their charming bakeries and espresso bars, and in the end we took a pass and kept walking.

At the end of the Greenway the route passes over a highway on a footbridge and then continues through the delightful Beckton District Park.

We were at the end of the route, next to the London City Airport. On our next walk we pick up the route there. We will cross the Thames and move into South London.