Capital Ring Stage 1
Woolwich to Grove Park
There was a good turn out for this 1st stage of the 72 mile Capital Ring Path.
Arriving in Woolwich we set out along the Thames passing the Royal Arsenal and former Dockyards set up by King Henry VIII. We had fine views of the Thames Flood Barrier and Millennium Dome.
Left: At the start in Woolwich
There was a good turn out for this 1st stage of the 72 mile Capital Ring Path.
Arriving in Woolwich we set out along the Thames passing the Royal Arsenal and former Dockyards set up by King Henry VIII. We had fine views of the Thames Flood Barrier and Millennium Dome.
Left: At the start in Woolwich
Turning our backs on the river we walked through a mix of city streets and green spaces. An early park boasted a small farm where sheepgrazed. At Charlton Park the local youths were out playing football. Charlton House sat proudly here, a Jacobean manor house, now a community Centre. After Woolwich Common and South of Shooters Hill we came to a series of ancient woodlands. Oxleas Wood was a delight. As well as flora and fauna it held Greater London's highest point where Severndroog Castle a folly was erected in 1784 by Lady James of Eltham in memory of her beloved husband, William, who once attacked a pirate stronghold in the island fortress of Severndroog, off the West coast of India.
Above, explaining the route on the South Bank
Below, a London skyline panorama
Above, explaining the route on the South Bank
Below, a London skyline panorama
Directly below this we found the perfect lunch spot – a terrace with benches for all and amazing views over to the North Downs. Jack Wood and Castle Wood featured some formal parkland.
Heading on past Royal Blackheath in a south-west direction we came to Eltham Palace, one of England's foremost medieval royal residences and a venue for Parliament for some 200 years from the reign of Edward II. All that remains of this period is the 15th century bridge across the moat and the Great Hall. In the 1930s it was rebuilt by the Courtauld family with an Art Deco style interior.
We continued from here along King John's Walk where we enjoyed fine views of City landmarks including Canary Wharf, the London Eye, the Millennium Dome, St Pauls and Crystal Palace. A few more green spaces and streets to pass along and we found ourselves at Grove Park having enjoyed a memorable day out. Jenny
Heading on past Royal Blackheath in a south-west direction we came to Eltham Palace, one of England's foremost medieval royal residences and a venue for Parliament for some 200 years from the reign of Edward II. All that remains of this period is the 15th century bridge across the moat and the Great Hall. In the 1930s it was rebuilt by the Courtauld family with an Art Deco style interior.
We continued from here along King John's Walk where we enjoyed fine views of City landmarks including Canary Wharf, the London Eye, the Millennium Dome, St Pauls and Crystal Palace. A few more green spaces and streets to pass along and we found ourselves at Grove Park having enjoyed a memorable day out. Jenny
Grove Park to Crystal Palace
Eleven resilient ramblers set off from St Albans railway station on a bright sunny morning retracing our journey to Grove Park. Our route was varied, ranging from suburban streets and sports fields to large areas of parkland where we saw parakeets in the wild, presumably having escaped from domestic captivity.
We arrived at Beckenham Place Park in time for lunch and had a fine view of Beckenham House which is now part of a large golf course. We continued through Cator Park and headed towards Crystal Palace Park, a 200-acre park named after the large glass and iron structure that was built in 1851 for the Great Exhibition. It was apparently three times the length of St Paul's Cathedral. It was moved here from Hyde Park in 1854, and destroyed by fire in 1936.
Signboard at Beckenham Place Park
Eleven resilient ramblers set off from St Albans railway station on a bright sunny morning retracing our journey to Grove Park. Our route was varied, ranging from suburban streets and sports fields to large areas of parkland where we saw parakeets in the wild, presumably having escaped from domestic captivity.
We arrived at Beckenham Place Park in time for lunch and had a fine view of Beckenham House which is now part of a large golf course. We continued through Cator Park and headed towards Crystal Palace Park, a 200-acre park named after the large glass and iron structure that was built in 1851 for the Great Exhibition. It was apparently three times the length of St Paul's Cathedral. It was moved here from Hyde Park in 1854, and destroyed by fire in 1936.
Signboard at Beckenham Place Park
We wandered through part of the park and found the dinosaurs which were designed by two scientists from the Natural History Museum and took two years to complete. These sculptures were very impressive and must have been an amazing sight for Victorians visiting on a Sunday outing.
We negotiated our way back on the train to St Pancras station and returned to St Albans following a very interesting and memorable weekend thanks to all the hard work and organisation put in by Liz and Malcolm. Alison
Meeting the dinosaurs
We negotiated our way back on the train to St Pancras station and returned to St Albans following a very interesting and memorable weekend thanks to all the hard work and organisation put in by Liz and Malcolm. Alison
Meeting the dinosaurs
Capital Ring Stage 2
Liz and Malcolm straddle the Greenwich Meridian
Highgate to Hackney Wick
This was to have been the first walk in January when weather prevented it taking place. Saturday was clear although a bit overcast and with no snow forecast the group set off from St. Albans. For me, as the leader, this was a personal adventure having lived in the area where we were walking. From Highgate the route followed an abandoned railway track to Finsbury Park where I played as a young boy. I did not know of the existence of this railway so that was new to me. In the park the boating lake was the same, but the toilets were a great improvement. Crossing Green Lanes I could look north into Harringay where I grew up.
The walk continued along the New River passing the old reservoirs now used as a sailing lake. The area used to be the water works for North London and the pumping station is a climbing centre with outside abseiling but we did not take part Clissold Park was the short lunch stop and we watched roe deer before continuing to Abney Park Cemetery where William Booth of Salvation Army fame is buried.
In Stoke Newington we saw members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in their Sabbath clothes. It was possible to give an explanation to the members for the clothing and their way of life in general. We moved on to Springfield Park for a well-deserved cup of tea, finishing via Walthamstow and Hackney Marshes to Hackney Wick.
The walk should have ended there but transport problems on Sunday meant that we walked further to the Dockland Light Railway Station. As well as a potentially shorter Sunday walk we also enjoyed excellent views of the Olympic Stadiums. Michael
Hackney to Woolwich
The general consensus was that day 2 of this section was not as green and varied as day 1. It could perhaps be characterised by the word 'sewerage,' not, fortunately in the odorous sense, but in the first few miles when we walked along the 'Greenway', a flat, straight path over the main sewerage outlet from East London into the Thames. We were rewarded on arrival at the Thames by the interesting sight of the outlet, alongside the flood barriers and storm drains, which one of our party, sadly unable to stop working even on a Sunday, delighted in taking measurements for a work project I prefer not to think about.
But don't let me put you off. The sun shone, Beckton Park wanders on for miles, the University of East London is an architectural gem, and the Olympic rowing Albert dock, and London City airport made impressive backdrops to the latter part of the walk.
Transport plans worked a treat again, thanks to Malcolm, and only nearly came adrift when the DLR train driver ousted Julian from the driving seat and went into manual mode, and the train refused to budge. Finally, we managed to avoid a 'domestic' by persuading Liz that waiting for the Woolwich ferry (which her grandma used to take her on for a treat) would be just a bit slower than walking under the Thames through the old Woolwich foot tunnel.
Hope you can join us next time. London is amazing! Tina
This was to have been the first walk in January when weather prevented it taking place. Saturday was clear although a bit overcast and with no snow forecast the group set off from St. Albans. For me, as the leader, this was a personal adventure having lived in the area where we were walking. From Highgate the route followed an abandoned railway track to Finsbury Park where I played as a young boy. I did not know of the existence of this railway so that was new to me. In the park the boating lake was the same, but the toilets were a great improvement. Crossing Green Lanes I could look north into Harringay where I grew up.
The walk continued along the New River passing the old reservoirs now used as a sailing lake. The area used to be the water works for North London and the pumping station is a climbing centre with outside abseiling but we did not take part Clissold Park was the short lunch stop and we watched roe deer before continuing to Abney Park Cemetery where William Booth of Salvation Army fame is buried.
In Stoke Newington we saw members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in their Sabbath clothes. It was possible to give an explanation to the members for the clothing and their way of life in general. We moved on to Springfield Park for a well-deserved cup of tea, finishing via Walthamstow and Hackney Marshes to Hackney Wick.
The walk should have ended there but transport problems on Sunday meant that we walked further to the Dockland Light Railway Station. As well as a potentially shorter Sunday walk we also enjoyed excellent views of the Olympic Stadiums. Michael
Hackney to Woolwich
The general consensus was that day 2 of this section was not as green and varied as day 1. It could perhaps be characterised by the word 'sewerage,' not, fortunately in the odorous sense, but in the first few miles when we walked along the 'Greenway', a flat, straight path over the main sewerage outlet from East London into the Thames. We were rewarded on arrival at the Thames by the interesting sight of the outlet, alongside the flood barriers and storm drains, which one of our party, sadly unable to stop working even on a Sunday, delighted in taking measurements for a work project I prefer not to think about.
But don't let me put you off. The sun shone, Beckton Park wanders on for miles, the University of East London is an architectural gem, and the Olympic rowing Albert dock, and London City airport made impressive backdrops to the latter part of the walk.
Transport plans worked a treat again, thanks to Malcolm, and only nearly came adrift when the DLR train driver ousted Julian from the driving seat and went into manual mode, and the train refused to budge. Finally, we managed to avoid a 'domestic' by persuading Liz that waiting for the Woolwich ferry (which her grandma used to take her on for a treat) would be just a bit slower than walking under the Thames through the old Woolwich foot tunnel.
Hope you can join us next time. London is amazing! Tina
The Olympic Village 2010: what will it look like in 2012?