The 66 mile Vanguard Way links East Croydon in Surrey with Newhaven on the south coast. It was devised in 1980 by members of the Vanguards Rambling Club, which was based in Croydon and begins at East Croydon railway station. 14 Poly Ramblers set off from East Croydon station to cross the many tram lines to walk through the residential outskirts of Croydon and reach the open space of Lloyd Park. We passed some strange gadgets consisting of a metal basket on a pole with a ring of chains and yellow band for flying disc golf. At this point we slightly diverted from the Vanguard way to re-join it at Coombe Wood.  We stopped at a garden centre before following the excellent Vanguard Way signage to reach Littleheath woods. We continued uphill before reaching our lunch stop in playing fields, a lovely sunny spot with plenty of benches, then uphill to a junction where the London Loop came in. As we came out of the woods we were standing at the boundary between the wards of Addington and Selsdon so the road had different names Selsdon Park road to the left Addington Road to the right. At this point Harriet decided to take a bus back to give her knee a much-needed rest. We followed our route reaching a gap into Selsdon Wood Nature Reserve. On exiting the reserve, we left the London Borough of Croydon and entered the Tandridge District in the county of Surrey. We turned up Baker Boy Lane joining the Tandridge Border Path with Puplet Woods to our left followed by Farleigh Court Golf Club and then along a narrow path between fences. We all enjoyed our tea stop at the church of St Mary the Virgin. The tea organisers had prepared tables for us and we had an eye watering choice of at least six different cakes. We were treated to guitar playing in the church yard. We were also given a tour of the beautiful 13^th century church. It clearly was a very popular venue as we had been overtaken by a number of car drivers on route, rushing to the tea stop. We completed our walk to catch the bus back to East Croydon Station. A very satisfying 1^st stage of the Vanguard Way which had very clear signage hopefully to be continued for our next stage.

Hilary and Susan.

It was a nice summer evening for this walk through some of the City’s gardens. There were 19 of us – we could have been 20 but Danny was doing his washing. Our first stop was Finsbury Circus which was originally part of the Finsbury Manor Estate. The garden was shut for a number of years as the centre of the site was used as an access shaft for Crossrail. Next was the small garden of All Hallows on the Wall and the larger garden of St Botolph without Bishopsgate with one of the abstract sculptures from the City Trail. We went up to the Victorian bathhouse and then headed to Devonshire Square, then Cutlers gardens and Jubilee Gardens. We made our way to the Swiss Re Tower. The walk description says: ‘it is one of the most distinctive buildings in London’s skyline to date. It is 590 ft (180 m) tall, making it the second tallest building in the City of London after Tower 42.’ How things have changed since this was written! We made a small detour to St Helen’s Church and then headed to St Andrew Undershaft. The name Undershaft appeared in the 15th century and was derived from the tradition of raising a maypole each year, directly opposite the church. The maypole is still there but by the Leadenhall building. We went past the Lloyd Building to Fen Court where we were entertained by a big rat running around the garden. This old churchyard contains the ‘Guilt of Cain’ sculpture commissioned to commemorate the bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in 2008. We then turned into Fenchurch Street and, at number 120, after going through security checks, we went up to the rooftop garden. It’s a beautiful garden with a water feature and amazing views. Continue reading MOORGATE TO TOWER HILL – 2ND AUGUST →

This was a rearranged walk, the planned one from Pulborough to Amberley  being cancelled due to lack of trains. Thirteen of us  started from St James’s Park station then  through St James’s Park, Green Park and Hyde Park.  With the exception of one or two  areas of formal planting, the Royal Parks were all looking pretty brown though it was interesting to see what plants had done better in the long hot spell. The Canadian water feature in Green Park was turned off.

Reaching Kensington Gardens, we turned south, down the side of the former Derry and Toms department store. The older members could recall when this was occupied by BIBA, the epitome of 60’s and 70’s British fashion. We meandered down through some of the smarter Kensington streets and squares, reaching West Brompton Cemetery. Here we had a picnic lunch, and were joined by Harriet and Sandra. The cemetery was built in the 19^th century as a commercial venture with imposing neo classical buildings to convince the public it was a suitable last resting place for their loved ones. There are many notable people buried there, including Emmeline Pankhurst.

Continue reading Saturday 20th August London walk →

As we made our way to Mucking and though the Stanford Warren Nature Reserve to the sluice gate on Mucking Creek, some of the 12 walkers who were on the walk on this sunny day had an impression of deja-vu which caused some confusion. I explained that we did this bit in reverse last April and we had to do it again to join the walk where we left it. Reassured they were not going mad, the group continued along the sea wall above Mucking Flats and Stanford le Hope marshes with views of the London Gateway container port in the distance. After crossing the railway line leading to the port, we joined Rainbow Lane and then crossed a new blue bridge over the access road to the port. We followed a path along the access road and then a lane, arriving in Corringham. We made our way to the Bull pub and Corringham Church, our lunch stops. Continue reading Saturday 2 July: Thames Valley Estuary Path part 3 – Stanford le Hope to Pitsea (Essex) →