London Bridge, Bermondsey and Rotherhithe walk

Saturday 22nd March, and Twelve of us met at London Bridge Station for Claire’s walk from there to Rotherhithe.  The day was pleasant enough – a decent amount of sunshine, not too cold, and the possibly stormy showers threatened for later in the afternoon didn’t get us.

Almost always if I have walked in these parts – being south of the Thames and therefore alien territory – it has been along the riverside path, but Claire’s walk – in the main – was different. We turned right off Tooley Street into Bermondsey Street where the decent amount of sunshine was quickly occluded by a long and dark tunnel under the railway lines serving London Bridge Station. This reminded me of the sort of location that is often used in London-based evil-crime dramas.

The workshop and studio of Peter Layton, London Glassblowing,Emerging from the darkness, we soon reached the premises of Peter Layton, London Glassblowing, where we were warmly welcomed by the reception staff. The gallery displays beautiful and expensive examples of their work, so there was a reasonable request that we take off any rucksacks as we walked around. As well as appreciating the completed works, you can stand and watch the process itself at the workshop and furnaces at the rear of the premises. Chatting to one of the staff, I asked if I might take photographs of the gallery, and indeed of her, using her wonderfully decorated eyes as an excuse. She seemed pleased to assent to this, and gave permission to publish the photograph on our website.

Moving on – well, we almost didn’t. There was considerable discussion as to where we might pause for that light refreshment that is often referred to as ‘coffee’, but may well alternatively be tea or something else, and a tiny-looking ‘Chapter 72 Low-key stop for coffee and baked goods’ shop enticed some of the group inside. Meanwhile, I investigated a narrow cobbled alleyway – Carmarthen Place - immediately alongside. This would once have been a passage-way through the rows of houses to the fields beyond, but now leads to a 1930’s estate.

Grange Walk, the Charity School for Girls and early 19th century terraced housesWhen the coffee-imbibers had imbibed, we continued our perambulation, passing Morocco Street on our right, then Tanner Street and Tanner Street Park on our left. These street names are reminders of the tanning industry that was prevalent in these parts, processing leather from the 18th to the early 20th century.

Further on, we passed St Mary Magdalen, a Grade II* listed late 17th century church, behind and alongside which is its graveyard and associated watch house. Watch houses were a shelter for men guarding the graveyard from grave robbers, but this one is now a cafe. We do have a watch-building at St Mary’s in Wanstead, but the Wanstead one is more of a sentry box than a house. You can see reference to it in a walk we did in Wanstead back in 2011 here.

1836 Railway Viaduct tunnel in Abbey StreetWe crossed Abbey Street into Bermondsey Square. Although Abbey Street is a bit of a giveaway, there wasn’t anything I could see of an abbey. It has gone. Nearby, though, as we walked down Grange Walk, there are some late seventeenth century houses and on the wall of one of them are two large hinges – convincing evidence of the gates of an abbey for an abbeyologist, I am sure. The rest of the street includes a former girls' charity school – which has the words “Bermondsey Vnited Charity School for Girls” and “Erected A.D. 1830” inscribed in stone – and a nice terrace of early 19th century brick 2-storey houses.

Riverside edge of the Tideway Project at Chambers WharfWe turned left from Grange Walk into the road called The Grange, on both sides of which are much more modern maisonettes, fronted by grass lawns which were brightened by Sweet Violets and Speedwells, and further on lots of Daffodils and a variety of flowering cherry trees. The Grange related to the farm house of the abbey, and we turned right into Abbey Street again, the street which once connected the abbey to the river. That is the Thames river, of cours, but alongside the road ran the small Neckinger River. This is one of those so-called ‘lost’ rivers, as it flows underground now from somewhere in Southwark to the Thames, where it is still visible at Saviour’s Wharf. The strange-sounding name might derive from the term "devil's neckcloth", a slang term for the hangman's noose. In the 17th century, convicted pirates were hanged by the neck by the wharf at the Neckinger’s confluence with the Thames.

Ten of the group by the Thames. Another is hiding and another behind the cameraWe walked through another of those somewhat eerie road tunnels, the railway viaduct above supported by two rows of fluted blue-painted doric columns, twelve each side of the roadway. As there were twelve of us, that is a column each, which could hve made a photograph. However - as was so often the case on this walk - we were too spread out to get into formation, and anyway, who would have taken the photograph? A blue plaque commemorates that this Grade II listed bridge is one of two surviving bridges which supported London's first passenger railway line, the London & Greenwich Railway. The bridge was completed in 1836.

We crossed Jamaica Road and walked along George Row, at the end of which is Jacob Street, recalling Jacob’s Island, once an area of slums and notoriety and the site of Bill Sykes's death in Dickens's 'Oliver Twist'.

Turning right into Chambers Street, we passed the hoardings protecting the Chambers Wharf site of the Tideway East Project. Tideway East is the project that has built a 25Km ‘Super Sewer’ from Acton to Abbey Mills (Stratford), where it connects with the Lee Tunnel to carry waste to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. It opened operationally on March 28th this year (2025).

Ada Salter statue, and some EFOG members reading about the SaltersAfter passing the construction site, we were able to access the Thames riverbank by way of Bevington Street and Fountain Green Square, opposite which is the Old Justice pub. This pub is in 1930’s ‘Tudor’ style, and a blue plaque commemorates it as the location in Paul McCartney’s film "Give My Returns to Broad Street" and for the music video to his hit single "No More Lonely Nights".

We followed the Thames Path from here, which like much of the Thames Path in the London area is a bit on and off as far as being a Thames-SIDE path is concerned. Just before The Angel pub, which provided us with a stop and a few drinks, there is a waterside platform with statues commemorating Dr Alfred Salter, his wife Ada, their daughter Joyce and their cat, whose name I don’t know. After working as a physician at Guy’s Hospital, in 1898 he moved to the deprived area of Bermondsey where he set up a medical practice. He offered free medical services to those who could not afford to pay, and offered what has been described as an ‘NHS before the NHS’. Near this point would have been where the view of "The Fighting Temeraire" - the painting by Turner - was painted, as the ship was on her way to be broken up at Rotherhithe.

The Angel PubAfter an unplanned stop-off at The Angel, we continued along the roadways parallel to the Thames, eventually to reach and visit St. Mary’s Church, Rotherhithe. The small playground adjacent to the churchyard reminded me of a previous EFOG visit to this area, when I photographed Ken on the slide, and we visited the nearby Brunel Museum. That walk is described here. Inside the church, two throne-like chairs are part of what is left of The Fighting Temeraire herself, having been made from its timbers.

Not far along Saint Marychurch Street (I wonder how it got that name?) we crossed a somewhat complex intersection of roads and foot and cycle-paths by the entrance to the Rotherhithe road tunnel, and went into St Olav’s Norwegian Church, where we had tea or coffee and waffles, prepared and served to us by Norwegians. This was a restful and pleasant near-end to our walk, and from there we walked the short distance to Rotherhithe Station, caught a train to Whitechapel, another to Stratford, and went our separate ways home.

Thanks to Claire for leading an interesting walk.

Paul Ferris, 28th March 2025.

Hornchurch Country Park Circular Walk

On Saturday 15th March 2025, fifteen group members assembled at the Essex Wildlife Trust’s Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre at Hornchurch Country Park for Richard’s walk. Hold-ups on the roads, and a very crowded car-park led to us being a little late for our proposed 11am start.

The busy car park may well have been the result of a fine, bright and sunny day, but the fine-ness was tempered considerably by a cold east wind.

We set out heading more or less west from the visitor centre, which took us to the mainly open grassy area which would have been the site of the runways and main infrastructure of RAF Hornchurch, a very important airfield acting to protect London during World War 2.

The grassy area has a scattering of scrubby vegetation, and as walked towards one of these a large number of Starlings flew up and around, then re-settled back into the scrub. There were so many that it was almost a ‘murmuration’ of the birds, but their somewhat raucous calls were significantly more than a murmuring.

The COVID Pandemic MemorialWe began to head generally southward, and just before the vehicle track that impinges into parklands to serve Albyns Farm we paused at a memorial erected by Havering Borough Council to ’..all those who we have lost and all that we endured during the COVID Pandemic’. Near to the memorial were lots of benches - possibly the most I have ever seen so close together outside of a store that sells benches - each with messages of thanks to public bodies such as the health services who did so much during those times. A couple of the 15 of us made some use of one bench, but really it was too cold to be sitting around enjoying the others, but we could probably have had a bench each. And anyway, we were out for a walk.

The Group by Tit Lake (photo by Trevor)We passed Albyns Farm – a historic farmhouse dating back to the 16th-17th centuries – and reached Albyns Farm lake, locally known as Tit Lake, although I don’t know why. Here were the largest accumulation of different species of birds that we saw on the walk, consisting of many of the ‘usual suspects’ for such an area: ducks of a variety of species which – strangely – includes the Egyptian Geese, one of whom was walking round with its large offspring. They nest very early and often have chicks in January. Probably a leftover from when they used to live in Egypt, I suppose, although it’s very doubtful if any of our population can remember those times. (Yes – Egyptian Geese are ducks). There were of course Canada Geese, and probably a Mute Swan or so, but I had a stone in my shoe so didn’t pay much attention.

Richard and I walked on. For some reason the majority of the rest of the group didn’t. This has tended to be a common occurrence, I have noticed, with EFOG walks. It has often led to diminishing numbers on any given walk. And lost souls, at times.

A few of us by - or in - a Pill BoxIn drabs and dribs the group sort of caught up, and that re-assembly was made much easier when we stopped to look at one of the historic left-overs from the aerodrome days. This was in the pill-box shape of a pillbox, which was actually a gun-emplacement and had nothing to do with pills. This one was a lot more visible than it would have been intended to be by any advancing enemy, and some of us went inside to look around. There isn’t really much to look around at, except out of the gun-slots, and at least it didn’t stink. We looked at another type of gun emplacement during our walk - a rare example of a Tett Turret, the use of which Trev kindly demonstrated.

Trev demonstrating a Tett Turret - or somethingContinuing, and soon heading more or less north, with Louise and Claire ahead of Richard and I, and we ahead of everybody else, we trudged uphill. Pausing at the top for the others to catch up. Richard went ahead to halt Louise and Claire’s advance, and I looked back to where a cluster of EFOG’ers were clustered around another gun emplacement. I had failed to see what was different or special about this one, but there must have been something. Eventually I gave up waiting and walked on to where the advance party was chatting. Richard walked back to re-assemble the pack, and we all eventually turned right to cross the River Ingrebourne – heading east. All except Cathy and Fozie, though, who proceeded ahead on a more direct route back to the visitor centre.

A distant view of many of the group stalled at an information boardThe Ingrebourne River is an important tributary of the Thames, with its source near Brentwood and flowing – according to Wikipedia – 27 miles to the Thames. According to other sources it ranges from about 10 to 20 miles, so who knows? As it passes along the eastern edge of Hornchurch Country Park it has helped form the Ingrebourne Marshes, the largest fresh water reed bed in the London area and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). We did at least hear the loud call of a Cetti’s Warbler by these marshes, and the distant explosive sounds of bird scarers setting up the marauding Wood Pigeons.

We did something of a loop around part of the eastern side of the river, to come back to where we had parted from Fozie and Cathy, and made our way then to join them in the visitor centre. Teas, coffees, other drinks and food are available there, and most of us partook in something. When we had finished, a number of the group walked on to Suttons Lane where there is the RAF Hornchurch Heritage Centre. I didn’t join them on this extra expedition, electing to sit in the sunshine outside the visitor centre with Peter and Annick, Parviz, Fozie and Claire. The sun was warm, but once clouds obscured it that easterly breeze cooled things distinctly.

Thanks to Richard for leading the walk, and to Peter and Annick for giving me a lift back to Goodmayes Station. That saved me a potentially unpleasant journey through East Ham on a 101 bus.

Paul Ferris 17th March 2025

Back in September 2013 I led a group of EFOG members in the same area, and a write-up of that is available here: Hornchurch Country Park Walk September 2013

The main difference in those two walks was that this one was colder, and on that one we played on the exercise machines. Another walk was undertaken in May 2015, with a visit to Ingrebourne Hill for some compass instructions. That’s available here: Hornchurch Country Park Walk May 2015

Ilford Circular Walk via the River Roding and Valentines Park

A bright sunny Saturday morning, on 8th March 2025 - just perfect for a nice local walk. I arrived at Ilford station, to find only Parviz was there. However, several of the others had already arrived and were in the coffee shop opposite and so I joined them for a while, awaiting the arrival of the last few people. Eventually everyone arrived and we had an impressive 11 people (myself, Annick, Peter, Cathy, Richard, Jill S, Louise, Lynne, Madeleine, Parviz and Paul) and we headed off towards Manor Park.

Walking along the High Road we crossed over the river Roding, stopping to watch a heron which was busying itself beside the river, enjoying the fine weather. We continued along the road before turning right to the Roding Valley Way, via an unlikely looking alley to access the route, and followed it north between the City of London cemetery and the River Roding itself, passing some allotments on the right.

After a while we reached a clearing and a path junction, with the left turn leading to Wanstead Park, where Peter and Annick departed for Wanstead Flats, whilst the rest of us turned right and continued along the path, with the river and Wanstead Park now on our left. Discussing the recently released beavers, we wondered if someone could release some here to dam up the Roding and restore water to the park’s sadly now dry ponds. Eventually the path turned right, away from the river and we followed it heading towards the North Circular Road and Redbridge Roundabout.

Turning right at the roundabout we then wandered along pleasant residential streets to emerge onto Cranbrook Road and enter Valentines Park. Passing the park’s lakes we noticed that herons appeared to be occupying one of their nests from last year, so maybe we’ll get another clutch of chicks to watch. We then followed the little stream, (I think it’s called the Tanners Brook) pausing at the bird feeding area to admire the spring flowers brightening up the area, down to the cafe where we called in for some well deserved refreshment.

Suitably refreshed, we then walked along the side of the boating lake to exit the park opposite The Drive, and some people headed for the nearby bus stops whilst the others returned to Ilford Station, a round trip of about 5¼ miles, to continue their homeward journey. A very nice sunny walk, I didn’t have to worry about getting lost and we had a good turnout. Many thanks to all those who came.

Trev Eley,  11th March 2025

Return to EFOG – and a walk from Ilford to Valentines Park via the Roding.

I hadn’t been to an EFOG Thursday evening, or on a walk or outing with the group – apart from attending a couple of AGM’s – for two or three years.

It’s the evening public transport travel on a Thursday, and quite a bit of pain while walking these days, that has dissuaded me, but I made a determined effort to get to the Thursday evening meetings a few weeks ago, and even went on a walk with some of our members last Saturday, the 8th March 2025.

The walk was a local one for me, starting at Ilford Station and finishing at Valentines Park – a well known route for me and all in very familiar territory. My thoughts were that if I didn’t find it easy, or was slowing the walk too much, I could pull out and find my own way back. I didn’t expect to manage the whole route as far as Valentines Park – my days of easily walking five miles, enjoying ten, sometimes doing fifteen and occasionally twenty or more, are long over.

View from the Roding Bridge at Ilford. The Aldersbrook emerges from the left in the middle of the photo. Note the rubbish in the trees.Eleven of us set out from Ilford, after some at least had enjoyed a pre-walk drink at a convenient ‘coffee’ chain. The Romford Road between Ilford and Manor Park is not a particularly pleasant road to walk by, but at least as we crossed the bridge over the River Roding – from an Ilford Essex postcode to a Manor Park East London one – there was a flowing river, bit of vegetation, and a Heron. A few of us stopped on the bridge, primarily I think, to watch the Heron. It stood on the bank, almost motionless, probably disinterested in us. There was a lot of rubbish on the bankside, even hung up in small trees. Some may have been thrown by the local inhabitants over the bridge, but most I suspect had been thrown over other bridges by the local inhabitants upstream, coming to a convenient resting spot here. That which was hung up in trees was probably deposited at that height when the river itself was a lot higher, as it is liable to flooding.

I mentioned the riverside vegetation, but in fact there was much less of it than used to be. A lot of clearance has taken place alongside the Roding, as I explained to a couple of our group, by the River Roding Trust – a group based in Barking who for some years have been doing an immense amount of work clearing up the riverside, creating paths, planting and enhancing the river. Because of their vegetation clearance near the bridge, it is now possible to quite easily see where the little Alders Brook enters the Roding from the west.

Walking on through what was the original Ilford settlement – now known as Little Ilford – we turned of the Romford Road to join the Roding Valley Way, a designated and signposted foot and cycle route following the Roding – although sometimes somewhat intermittently – from the Thames at Beckton out to somewhere around Chigwell and Debden.

Passing through the foot tunnel beneath the Greater Anglia/Elizabeth Line railway lines between Manor Park and Ilford Stations, we were immediately adjacent to the Alders Brook on our right and the City of London Cemetery on our left. From here the decently-surfaced path leaves much of the traffic noise behind, and indeed is an almost rural setting so deep into east London. A woman was working on vegetation clearance just by the tunnel exit, and I paused to thank her for the work that the River Roding Trust was putting in not just on the Roding itself but on tributaries like the Alders Brook. A man appeared, also doing work on the brook-side, and I recognised him as Paul Powesland, the Founder and Chair of the Trust. He asked about the group I was with – now rapidly receding into the distance along the path – and I gave him one of our business cards. Perhaps it’s a bit of a shame that we don’t do a bit more to acknowledge the effort other people do to enhance the areas that we like to walk and visit. Maybe we take too much for granted, although of course EFOG has participated in litter-picking, clearance projects, maintenance at Chigwell Riding Trust, and the like.

This view, taken from the bridle path, is of the newly exposed and landscaped pond in the Birches Nature Reserve in the City of London CemeteryWell, the rest of the group was now well ahead of me and I struggled to reach the speed required to catch them up. This part of the route is along what is known locally as ‘The Bridle Path’ (although it isn’t a bridle path), and after all the Romford Road traffic noise I became aware of more details of what we were passing. There were lots of Snowdrops and a few Daffodils immediately adjacent to our path and just inside the cemetery railings, and the sounds of small birds helped disguise the persistent although distant noise of the A406 across the golf course to our right.

We entered what I have always known as ‘The Old Sewage Works’, but as it is now part of Epping Forest is more correctly ‘The Exchange Lands’. This amazing piece of land is bordered by the Roding, so it is quite possible to spot Kingfishers, Egrets – even Otters – here. Although we didn’t. I saw or heard Long-tailed Tits, two Greenfinches (which aren’t that common these days) Blackbirds, Green Woodpecker, Ring-necked Parakeets and a few other birds which I have forgotten.

We passed a point near Wanstead Park where last year I stood and listened to a Nightingale, wondering whether many or even any of the people who were walking or cycling past were aware that there was such a wonderful bird right there. I really do think that with all the incentives and possibilities and enthusiasm to get out into ‘nature and the countryside’, that so many of us miss so much of what it consists of. For example – apart from the birds – on our route there were mole hills, fox scats and a host of flowering spring plants including Birdseye Speedwell, White Dead-nettle, Red Dead-nettle, Hazel, Daisies, Blue Anemone, Lesser Celandine, Chickweeds, Sweet Violet and Bittercress - as well as the Daffodils and Snowdrops.

Peter and Annick left us by Wanstead Park, and Jill S. left us near her home close to Redbridge roundabout. I had intended to get a couple of buses back home from here, but it was such a lovely day and I was enjoying the company so decided to keep going to Valentines Park. I knew that at least there not only could I sit down and get a drink, but I would be able to get ham, egg and chips in a familiar environment. Although not a very substantial meal, it would do.

From Redbridge Roundabout to Valentines Park the route is through some unremarkable although pleasant enough residential streets – even a bit uphill as far as I was concerned, from the valley of the Roding. Valentines Park is a very different environment from that through which we had passed, except perhaps for the City of London Cemetery and we’d only been along the outside edge of that. It’s a lovely park and well deserving of the awards that it has got over the years. Apart from it’s historical interest – the mansion being an important aspect of that – the ornamental canals and lakes, trees and lawns provide a welcome respite from the surrounding houses, roads and busy-ness.

I was flagging desperately and painfully well before we reached the park, but I know it well enough to be aware of it’s natural aspect as well. Its lakes and waters support a wide variety of water-birds, including nowadays nesting Herons, of which we could see one on a nest already.

We refreshed in the traditional cafe in the park. I have been going there over the years from when I left school and worked in the (then) well-known electronic company, Plessey. Hence I am likely to be one of the cafe’s longest term customers.

The group split up even further after our repast, with some heading towards Gants Hill and others including myself towards Ilford.

I certainly enjoyed Trevor’s walk. Thanks Trevor for arranging and leading it – that was the furthest I have walked in years. Apparently it was about a five-mile walk as planned; getting to and from the stations added for me at least another mile. I suffered, but I am glad that I did, and really pleased to have re-associated with all the nice people in the Epping Forest Outdoor Group.

Paul Ferris, 10th March 2025