Unusually this walk began with a visit to the roof terrace of One New Change shopping centre next to St Pauls, which opened in 2010.  The purpose was to contrast the current London skyline with that in Dickens’ time, dominated by church spires blackened by soot. I was surprised to find that most of the group had never been up there before.  Having viewed , 23 Poly Ramblers set of at a leisurely pace through the city and alongside the river, taking in some of the sites associated with Dickens era. We headed down Cheapside towards the Bank of England, Royal Exchange and the Mansion House. Cheapside was one of the great working thoroughfares of the Victorian metropolis. Pip’s stagecoach brought him to an Inn off Cheapside in Great Expectations. Continuing down Cornhill, near the dwelling of Scrooge,  Pam pointed out the Walter Gilbert doors, carved with panels to commemorate the history of the area, including the Bronte sisters, although not Dickens.  We ducked down a side alley to find two Victorian chop houses,  the lunch venue of choice for Victorian city clerks.  These were still in business. Continue reading ST PAULS TO WAPPING AND LIMEHOUSE – EASTER MONDAY 18 APRIL →

On a warm and sunny Easter Saturday, twenty members met at Dartford Station for a seven mile walk alongside the River Darenth to Farningham. Before leaving the station, we looked at the plaque on Platform 2 which commemorates the meeting there of Mick Jagger & Keith Richard in October 1961 which led to the formation of the Rolling Stones. We then joined the river for a short distance before wending our way through the town centre to the Wat Tyler pub where the Peasant’s Revolt leader drank during his march on London in 1381. A stroll then through the pleasant Central Park brought us back to the riverside and its sparkling waters in the Spring sunshine. We passed an artwork of Mick Jagger who was born in Dartford in 1943 and then skirted Brooklands Lakes with numerous anglers hoping for a catch. We stopped at the Chequers pub in Darenth to look at the ‘Only Fools & Horses’ display in the garden but it was too early to stop for lunch.

Continue reading Easter Saturday April 16th Dartford to Farningham →

Wonderful blue sky, light breeze, not as much mud as we had encountered, especially on the first walkover, a jolly chatty crowd (19 in all, including 3 friends lured along by Kim and Siew Kee), up the hillside, past the cattle having their elevenses in a barn, glorious rolling views of Kent, woodland and wild boars, to the North Downs Way and dip down to the pub.

We made good time to the Hook and Hatchet at Hucking. Picnickers munched their lunch in the adjacent field and then came in for refreshment. Pre-ordered cooked food arrived promptly. Walkers were chomping at the bit while the leader was still waiting for her Ploughman’s but it was a very copious plateful when it arrived! After lunch we set off along a narrow lane often frequented by speeding motorised locals. We were lucky that none came along as the group made its chatty way, ignoring tales of previous near misses and exhortations to keep to single file on one side of the road! Continue reading HOLLINGBOURNE TO BEARSTED – 9 APRIL →

This was a substitute walk I had volunteered to lead at the last minute as the original leader was out of action due to COVID. Not having done a walkover I was hoping that the route was as straightforward as the Chilterns AONB leaflet suggested. On a sunny but chilly morning 15 Polys headed east out of the town on the Grand Union canal with the River Bulbourne, a chalk stream, flowing alongside. There were a few canal boats negotiating the locks but the towpath was quiet with little cycle traffic. After a couple of miles we left the canal and headed south, gently uphill on Sugar Lane. In the valley below the A41 came into view and hearing. According to my leaflet the Bourne Gutter, a usually dry tributary of the River Bulbourne has flowed in the valley nine times since the 19th century. Apparently its appearance heralds war and expensive bread, so we were surprised not to see it today. We crossed under the A41 and headed west along the valley past Bottom Farm. The lunch stop was a choice of a grassy bank or a wood. The timing was good as it allowed one member who had lost touch with the group to catch up before we realised he had gone. After lunch we walked through woods, crossed under the A41 again and made our way back into town via playing fields. We hit Berkhamsted high street and dispersed to the station and various tea shops.

Gillian.  Photos by Stuart

We started where we left off on 19 February. But what a difference! Today we had a bright sunshine and it was warm when it had been cold, windy and wet. 23 Poly Ramblers met at East Tilbury station. We went through Gobbions Park, along a path running down the side of houses before reaching the stile to allow us to enter into Thurrock Thameside nature park.

The nature park was opened in May 2013 by David Attenborough. The area was the site of a Saxon village but was occupied as far back as the Stone Age. Gravel was extracted from the site until the 1960s. Once the gravel was all extracted, it was used as a landfill for 50 years by London boroughs.. The waste is stacked 30 metres (98 ft) high. A thick clay cap was placed on top followed by soil and plants. Methane from the rotting waste is being captured and burned to produce electricity. Read more about it here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/may/11/david-attenborough-thurrock-nature-reserve-london-waste  Apologies, I should have said all this during the walk!

We followed a track along the train line and a huge lake and continued through the nature park to the Enovert Community Trust visitor centre where we had lunch. After enjoying the amenities and the views over Mucking Flats SSSI, The Thames Estuary and the huge cranes of the London Gateway container port, we resumed our walk in the nature park. We followed the path over the sluice gate and along Mucking Creek, across Stanford marshes to Mucking church. We stopped to look at lovely horses and a white pony with a black head and tail. We reached Stanford le Hope, crossed the Hassingbrook River and reached the station where the walk ended.

Dominique. Photos by Ida and Stuart