efog-blog
Grand Union Canal Walk – Uxbridge to Rickmansworth
Having moved the walk from Saturday 1st April to Sunday 2nd to avoid clashing with the RNLI quiz night (our teams came 2nd and 3rd, so well done smarties!) I met up with Laurel and Jinan at Liverpool Street before getting the Metropolitan Line train to Uxbridge (end of the line) where we met Eileen, via my favourite tube station (Preston Road).
Leaving Uxbridge Station we passed a golden post-box, commemorating the gold medal won by a local resident in the 2012 Paralympics games, passing a historic pub involved in civil war negotiations before turning right to join the canal tow-path and heading out into the countryside, passing a small marina and the first of several locks.
Laurel, Jinan and Eileen by the Grand Union CanalAfter a mile or so we passed an access to Denham Country Park, a large and pleasant looking park with substantial lakes, continuing along the canal towpath between the canals and the park's lakes, with some substantial flooding of the park in places (if you like water this was a cracking walk). The canal itself did not have much wildlife on it although the adjacent county park had a good selection of wildlife.
Eventually, we reached the lock-side cafe at the “just over halfway mark” for lunch and some yummy cake. Whilst taking this break we saw a Red Kite in the distance, keeping up my record of seeing one whenever I’ve done this walk.
Resuming the walk, Jinan and Laurel went ahead whilst Eileen and I helped a lone boater through the lock (good deed done for the year!). Rejoining them, we continued northward past the marine equivalent of a breakers yard and the “kayaker in the sky” to reach Rickmansworth where we saw a Mandarin duck, and then a short walk from the canal through the town to catch the Metropolitan line train back home.
It had been a very nice level walk of 7 to 8 miles, with even a bit of sunshine making an appearance at the end to add a final flourish.
Trev (pathfinder) Eley. 10th April 2023
London Riverside walk
Six members met on Saturday 18th March for a London Thames walk starting at Blackfriars underground station. I gave some history commentary on Blackfriars rail & road bridges, pointed out the ‘pulpit’ like seating areas on road bridge, which are decorated with marine birds downstream and freshwater birds upstream. We had a look at the huge mural by the Australian street artist Jimmy C. on the south side before setting off downstream, visiting the Sea Containers design centre and Gabriel’s Wharf on the way. 
After passing the tourists waiting for their London Eye rides or visitor attractions, we passed under Westminster Bridge to view the National Covid Memorial Wall which stretches a long way down opposite the Houses of Parliament.
We continued to enjoy the various sites along the river, both historic and modern. Vauxhall Bridge is interesting; one of the eight female statues that adorn the bridge holds a miniature of St Paul's Cathedral. We continued on to reach Battersea Power Station, I think it is amazing what they have done to the site; there are a couple of exhibition areas inside, some of the old workings are on view, and the scale inside is huge. There is an observation lift up one on the chimneys (pricey), lots of shops (pricey), eateries etc.
Two members left us after lunch, and four of us carried on downstream a bit further to cross back over to the north side of the river via Chelsea Bridge. We walked back upstream, taking in more sites until we reached Westminster, where the walk ended at around 7 mile mark.
The weather forecast was for rain. While it was lightly drizzling when we started out, it soon stopped. There was a heavy shower lunchtime when we were luckily inside, and so we missed the worst and enjoyed some sunshine at times.
Sue. S. 19th March 2023
South Downs Youth Hostel Weekend
Despite the biting cold, six of us - Eileen, Marian, Jinan, Fozi, Louise and Val - braved the wind and rain for a lovely weekend (10-13th March) at the YHA youth hostel just outside Lewes, organised by Eileen.
Littlehampton SeafrontWe spent a day in Littlehampton visiting Ann Walden, one of our ex-members who moved down there a while ago. We did a circular walk through the town and along the sea front, and then on to a lovely stretch from the estuary along The River Arun. I have to say we were all relieved to get back to town and out of the cold and wet for a well-earned evening meal at The Gravy Boat (Highly recommended - the food was delicious).
The next day we did another walk in and around the Lewes area, taking in various points of interest including Lewes Priory, Ann of Cleves House, and Southover Grange Gardens. I had forgotten how hilly Lewes is in places, and we had a good workout tackling same.
The final day we again spent a short time in Lewes and then on the homeward journey visited Standen House and gardens, a National Trust property.
Val. 15th March 2023
Little Venice, Regents Canal and Primrose Hill
On Sunday 12th February, on a very crisp, bright and sunny day, ten EFOG members met at Warwick Avenue Station, just a little way from Little Venice area, for a walk led by Eileen.
On Primrose HillThe lovely weather seemed to have encouraged people out, because it was quite busy and bustling in places. From Little Venice we made our way to the Regents Canal towpath, passing some very impressive/expensive looking houses (lucky them - living in such a beautiful surroundings). We made a wide circuit around Regents Park, which was very green with the shrubs and trees full of buds just beginning to realise it's time to wake up and put on a show (It's all going to look very different in a few weeks time).
Along past the perimeter of London Zoo and on to Primrose Hill, from the top of which you get that amazing view across London. Then back along the canal to the station where we started.
Roughly 6 miles of very enjoyable walking.
Val. 16th February 2023
Bridging the Dock
Looking at the photographs below, taken at an EFOG walk in 2014, of the twelve people that attended I think that all but one or two are still members of the group, and most of those still reasonably participant in it. That's quite something, after 9 years.
EFOG members chatting to Simon Myers on 18th May 2014The walk was one that I led through a somewhat lesser-known area of London, walking from Stratford to the River Thames and mainly beside the River Lea. Apart from introducing people to an area which I was perhaps more familiar with than the others, my intention was to show just how frustratingly poor the footpath system could be, particularly after all of the hype of the Olympic Games, and how wonderful the aftermath of that would be. You can read about that walk by using the link here, or below the article, and it may be noted that the barrier that prohibits complete access along the riverside to Canning Town is STILL in place.
I visited Cody Dock - the riverside community project that I became fully aware of on that day - on Monday 30th January (2023), on one of those January days that is bright and with enough warmth in the sunshine to be able to comfortably sit by the river and eat one of Nadia's Chilli con carne and Rice meals, with a cup of tea.
Cody Dock has changed enormously over those years. For the majority of them, the dock has been open to the public during daylight hours, enabling walkers and cyclist to travel to and from Bow Locks, and out into the area around Start Lane DLR station. As I said, that barrier is still in place, so to continue on to Canning Town and the Thames still necessitates the horrid walk along Stephenson Street - although I noted that at least some rubbish/fly-tip/abandoned car removal had been undertaken recently.
The dock itself has undergone all manner of improvements; like Copped Hall, each time you go there some improvement has been made. A useful improvement to the infrastructure has been the addition of proper toilet (and shower) facilities, which is a great relief. And a very major improvement to the dock more recently has been the installation of a substantial bridge over the entrance from the river to the dock itself. This is the 'Rolling Bridge', the first - and possibly the only - one of its kind in the world. Proposed in 2019, the bridge is operational, but not yet in use. What prompted me to write this article was seeing the promised engravings of people's names on the bridge - people who donated to the fund to get the bridge built. As you may be able to see from the photograph, although the names are in essentially alphabetical order, the first two are not. Those names will be familiar to all of those who came on that 2014 walk, and to most of the club members. They are Duncan Lowther and Ann Lowther. Duncan was known for not venturing into London, much preferring the countryside or quiet towns. But once he had been introduced to the Cody Dock project, he made numerous visits there, and indeed lent his strength, knowledge and abilities to the project. He particularly liked the 'gardening' aspect, and even on casual visits for a cup of tea and maybe a hot meal from Nadia's cafe, he would usually do a bit of weeding. And when the concept of the bridge was forming, he took a great interest in it's design, and donated a generous sum to the funding. If you look at the YouTube video - linked at the bottom of this article - you will see that the credits include Duncan's donation. (at 2:03)
It really is nice to see how much Duncan's contribution to the project has been appreciated. What an honour to be first on that list, together with his wife, Ann. It's a solid memorial.
Cody Dock's rolling bridge on 23rd January 2023
Duncan and Ann Lowther's names are at the beginning of the list
Paul Ferris, 31st January 2023