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.

Stoke Newington to Hackney Wick

On an overcast and somewhat damp day, we did our third walk of the Capital Ring, section 13, which goes from Stoke Newington to Hackney Wick. Again, there were four of us: Penelope, Nadia, myself and Michael Kearney who has joined us and who we hope will be back for future walks.

Micheal, Nadia and Penelope at the entrance to Springfield Park.

We began at Stoke Newington train station, walking through a very attractive residential neighbourhood until we reached Springfield Park. It is a very charming park, looking down on the Walthamstow marshes and the River Lea.

Springfield Park is a nature site that has been designated London’s first Regionally Important Geological Site – RIGS – and is on the English Register of Parks and Gardens of Historic Interest. It takes its name from springs that arise in the area. At the bottom of the park is a pedestrian bridge that crosses the River Lea. To the left is the Springfield Marina, full of the narrowboats that navigate the canals.

Catlovers spot a moggy on the roof of a canal boat.

Basically, today’s walk followed the River Lea. The River Lea was the historic boundary between Essex and Middlesex. Most of the time we walked on the old towpath, which is nicely refurbished making for easy walking and cycling.. I think one could live in London for many years and never even know that this beautiful river environment exists. You need to walk or cycle to see it.

No kite flying!

To the left of the path is the Walthamstow Marsh, a huge expanse of land that is part of the larger Hackney Marshes. In the past, it was a summer meadow known as Lammas Land, left to grow and then cut for hay later in the year. Now it hosts a nature reserve.

It was here that the first flight in Britain took place, and there are some small monuments to mark this. In 1909, a bit more than a century ago, A.V. Roe flew his ‘Yellow Terror’ tri-plane for 900 feet across one of the marshes. It was build under the arches of a bridge we walked past.

Springfield Marina.

The Marshes, and site of first flight in England.

Canal boat and pub.

Leabank Square. Check their website.

Colourful new buildings on the riverside.

Passing under a bridge where a weir separates the River Lea from the Lea Navigation Canal, we found a group of people posing for a picture. We guessed that it was a band and, sure enough, they are indeed: We Used to Make Things. Here is their website.

We Used to Make Things.

The Hackney Marshes are also home to an expanse of football pitches, apparently the biggest such collection in the world (and duly listed in the Guinness Book of World Records). There are apparently 80 pitches, and the land is known as the home of English “Sunday Soccer”. But today nobody was playing: perhaps all the matches were called off because of Easter Sunday.

The towpath continues past the Middlesex Filter Beds, which were build in 1852 to remove impurities from the River Lea. They went out of use in 1969.

Protesters camping near the Olympic site.

As we walked along, we began to pick up signs of the Olympics, including a protest camp that has been set up and signs of the efforts of government lawyers to fight off the protesters with injunctions. The Olympic site itself is surrounded by a rather daunting fence, with lots of warning wires and cameras. The only thing missing are machine gun towers and patrolling Alsatians.

Big time security at the Olympic site.

The stadium.

The Hackney Pearl.

We finished at Hackney Wick, and had a drink at the Hackney Pearl, which was the only restaurant we could find in the area. They are gearing up for a huge rush of business when the Olympics take place later this year. We had to wait more than 20 minutes for a bowl of soup. If they want to make money this summer, they’ll have to work on the service.

Highgate to Stoke Newington

Penelope, Susan and Nadia

We held the second in our series of walks today. The weather wasn't as warm as three weeks ago, but at least it didn't rain. We are still only four (Penelope Soteriou, Nadia Bernaz, Susan Scott-Hunt and myself). A few who promised to join us didn't make it, possibly because of the delayed effects of St. Patrick's Day celebrations last night. Highgate underground station was the starting point. Highgate is famous for its cemetery, where Karl Marx is buried, and for other reasons too. 

From the Highgate tube, the route goes almost immediately to the Parkland Walk. It is actually the right of way of a former railway line, that operated from 1867 to 1970, that went from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace and Edgware. Now it is a nature reserve, and there are even some deer although we didn't see any today.

At one point, the Parkland Walk passes through an abandoned station. All that remains are the platforms. There are other signs of railway activity, including various bridges and arches. There has been a lot of decorating by graffiti artists. The route was filled with other walkers, people strolling with their dogs, and many joggers.

Former Crouch End rail station.

Graffiti-covered arches and a spriggan.

Viaduct over the main London to Scotland rail line.

The Parkland Walk continues for perhaps 3 km. At the end, it passes over the main London to Scotland railway line. Then the route enters Finsbury Park. There are some lovely spots in the park, and a café with seats reserved for dog owners!

Café in Finsbury Park with a "Seating area for dog owners".

 The route leaves the Park and then runs along the New River. The path is not paved and it was quite muddy in places. On the right is the Woodberry Down Estate, which is the largest council housing estate in all of Britain. On the left, are industrial sites. Eventually, the path comes to the end of the New River and to two reservoirs. In one of them, there were sailboats and kayaks.

Along the New River.

Swan building a nest on New River.

The Castle was formerly the pumping station.

 After leaving the reservoirs, the route crosses Clissold Park and then reaches Church Street in Stoke Newington. We'd been walking for a couple of hours without a real break, and quickly found a place to have lunch. We stopped in the Fox Reformed, which sits on the site of a former school where Edgar Allan Poe was a student for three years when his father was working in England. The food was delicious: pies made with sweet potato and goat cheese, and beef and stilton cheese. We lingered over wine and desert before deciding to make our way home.

But the high street beckoned. It has some lovely shops, including Homage, where some members of the group indulged in a bit of retail therapy. The Daniel Defoe pub acknowledges one of Stoke Newington's famous residents.

It was a great walk, refreshing and informative. A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Please join us on 8 April for the third segment. We start at Stoke Newington, at the rail station, and end at Hackney Wick.

Old churchyard and burial ground in Stoke Newington.

The Fox Reformed.

Formerly a fountain pen repair shop.

Shops in Stoke Newington.

More photos of the first walk

These photos were taken by Sandra Schulberg on yesterday’s walk.