THE LONDON LOOP! PART 1

Erith Riverside to Old Bexley – 8 ¾ miles – Saturday 19th May 2012


Anyone ever heard of Erith? One of many reasons why doing these walks around London is fun – walking through places you never knew existed just yesterday. And now you do. You get a train from London Bridge and here you are, it’s that easy. And beautifully random, to be in a place you would never have thought to visit were it not for the walk.

Erith is pronounced Ear-ith which surprised me, I was saying it with an open ‘e’ more like Eric all the way there – I love crazy English phonetics, no rules! 


My boyfriend has decided to come with me today - he doesn’t quite share my passion so this is a bonus. On the last walk my days were a mix of walking solo and in company and I enjoyed the mix.

We get off the train and in 5 minutes are looking at the great milky expanse of the Thames. It is very quiet and empty especially after London Bridge. Across the water are what looks like gentle rolling green downs but we read that it is actually a big fat mound of landfill. A large Latin American family are on a couple of benches on the promenade quietly enjoying their Saturday – this is not an obvious spot for a picnic so their image lingers with us as we walk and we imagine their story, how they ended up in Erith. Apparently the Victorians wanted to turn Erith into a bit of a resort for Londoners to enjoy, building a pier, promenade and gardens etc but it didn’t take off due to rapid industrialisation in the area. You see these holiday traces still here and you feel a little sad that it didn’t work out.

Onto the local industry in operation today – huge scrap metal plants everywhere and it feels old fashioned and a world away from Central London (just 20 minutes people!). And then all of a sudden we get to Crayford Marshes, a big old stretch of lush green next to the river that we walk across for about 40 minutes. There is so much bird wildlife the noise is electric, it is pretty insane how much noise they are making. Shaggy piebald ponies abound, their hairiness cutting a funny figure, all 70s funk and flared jeans…

The Queen Elizabeth II bridge is in the distance (that big one, part of the Dartford Crossing – this is probably obvious to you, but I’m not a driver so felt the need to spell it out) and serves as a neat marker – we really are walking around the outskirts of London! In the haze and my lack of spectacles the suspension cables dreamily look like Rio de Janiero type mountains, I am genuinely marvelling at these dramatic peaks knowing this can’t be right (friends will recognize this ‘quality’ in me aka momentary dumb naivety) but luckily I snap out of this nonsense after mere seconds as my eyes adjust, they’re suspension cables, duh!

We leave the Thames and follow the River Darent for a bit and then the River Cray for a bit longer. More ponies and sweet smelling blossom, as we carry on along these rivers through the marshland. We finally get to Crayford and pass through this town quickly, eager to press on. Back following the River Cray and my boyfriend is in cricket heaven as we come across local teams playing and then breaking for tea (they break for lunch and tea, how amazing is that! he enthuses marvelling at the quaint gentility of it all in 2012 - yeah whatever walking’s better). My guidebook suggests a diversion at the Sports Pavilion to visit a very lovely old house called Hall Place. We take a quick peek but have to content ourselves with a promise to return as it’s closing time.

We say goodbye to the River Cray here and have another 40 minutes or so left, walking over a railway line, this is bizarrely a piece of the busy A2, we are off it in seconds! And then skirting a pretty wood until we get to Bexley where we are
greeted by a 12^th Century church, St Mary’s, which has the most unusual octagonal spire perched on top of a regular 4-sided pyramid based spire. I really should have taken a photograph to show you, how will you ever picture it with those describing skills…


Again the randomness of being in Bexley, and gratitude to the walk for bringing me here. I touch the lamp post with London Loop signs marking the end of Part 1 and the start of Part 2, happy in the knowledge that I will be back to continue looping soon. It’s nice to feel I know Bexley and the marker post now. I won’t be coming to the walk cold next time, I’ll know where I’m headed.