Sunday, 19 June 2011

Coastwalk

Island Gardens → North Woolwich

boris-folly.png Distance: 7.10 miles
Ascent: 80 metres
Duration: 2 hours 4 minutes

Private
« Tower of London | Rainham (Essex) »

Throughout central London the Thames Path National Trail offers a route on both riverbanks. That changes east of Island Gardens where the north path ducks under the river to join the south. Today I found out why.

cranes.png

The first leg - north along edge of the Isle of Dogs - was plesant enough, with a waymarked path that largely stuck to the riverbank. But beyond Blackwall, the scene changed. Here the sense of community shifted from welcoming to exclusive. At one apartment block I was approached by a concierge who requested I not take photographs of the building, even though I had not attempted to do so. He lied about there being no through route on the riverside and insisted that I return to the road.

meridian.png

Thankfully not every development was obsessed with privacy. A lovely avenue of trees marked the intersection of the river and the Prime Meridian. A little further on at Virginia Quay a monument marked the departure point in 1606 of those who "founded the first permanent English settlement in America". This is the second disembarkation point I've met on the coast, the other one also being very close to the meridian.

tide-gauge.png

Further on, the sights become more disjointed, reflecting the diversity and history of the town. "R.I.P. NAN 07/11" had been painted on the ground at East India Dock where a bunch of flowers were tied to railings; from the dual carriageway of the Lower Lea Crossing I could make out the Olympic Park rising to the north; in Silvertown I saw a monument to "London's largest explosion" which levelled a T.N.T. factory and hundreds of houses here in 1917.

teleport.png

Then, somewhere ahead of me, I heard gospel music. Within a short distance of each other, three Nigerian churches rent separate light industrial units and were in full swing. I saw worshippers pouring out of other buildings re-cast as churches too, and near the end of the walk a traffic jam led to the Loveworld TV studios while directly across the road the dishes of the Arqiva London Teleport sent messages of another kind into the heavens.

Posted by pab at 17:52 | Comments will be back one day. Please email me instead!