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Stage 1a – Walking the Thames Path

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, conqueror challenges, Fun Stuff, Health, Historical, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021, walking the Thames path, tagged baby boomers travel, long distance walks in the uk, national trails of the uk, not just a granny travels, thames path national trail, the thames barrier, travel writing, walking solo for women, walking the Thames path on May 17, 2021| 4 Comments »

Stage 1a : Erith to the Thames Barrier 17.04.2021 – 15.37 kms – 4 hours 13 min – 26,049 steps – elevation: 46 meters

Lunch packed, Gemini (walking poles) ready to go with their new feet

I left home in time to get the 08:20 train from RAM to Erith by 10:27, although we arrived a few minutes earlier at 10:20. It’s a long, slow journey and unfortunately not the High Speed with it’s phone charger adaptors, so I sat back and stared out the window…😝😝

Arriving at Erith station I set MapMyWalk to start recording and made my way to the riverside. The walk took me through the suburban jungle, but all was quiet and I only saw a few other people about. Lockdown is still clearly in effect in Erith.

I reached the riverside in about 7 minutes and took some time to photograph the pretty little park and the deep channels forged into the mudflats.

Walking the Thames path — Scenes of the River Thames at Erith

The tide was out so the riverbed was exposed in all it’s glory….or not. The trash as I mentioned in my previous post was there for all to see as it made it’s way out to sea. Ugh

Heading upstream (of course) I followed the well-marked, albeit ugly concrete pathway that wound it’s tortuous way past rotting jetties, old dilapidated buildings, urban dwellings, construction works, razor wire fences and the many industries that rely on the river for their business…whatever that may be. These concrete and metallic surfaces are not good for the feet (or shoes – I’m on my 2nd pair in 6 months! At £70 a pop…I feel like I’m working to buy shoes 🤪🤪)

The tediously grey landscape was relieved by a couple of colourful mosaics, sadly damaged, that told of a ‘wildlife superhighway’ and depicted the variety of creatures that make the edges and the waters of the Thames their home.

A few modern windmills (turbines) dotted the landscape and the Crossness Nature Reserve offered a welcome relief to the grey industrial landscape. I spotted a bird-watcher walking around with a enormous camera and tripod over his shoulder.

And then the Gadwells as mentioned in my prelude…they really looked as if they were having a wonderful time.

I passed very few walkers or cyclists and a few passed me by. The cyclists do race along, and you can’t walk around a blind corner without checking that a boy racer isn’t about to slam into you! At least most of the regular cyclists ring their bells to warn you of their approach. 🙌🙌🔔

I absolutely loved the sketches that hung on the walls at intervals, they provided an interesting view of the river over the centuries. The Crossness Pathway information boards too were so interesting to read.

The sewerage farm is best left unspoken about LOL but I loved the apparently abandoned Victorian building on the site. Clearly progress has been made! or not? Built by Joseph Bazalgette in 1865 it contains the largest rotative beam engines in the world and is a Grade I listed building (probably a good thing or progress would have bashed it down by now). It’s function was not that great…it used to pump south London’s untreated sewerage into the Thames 🤮🤮 – the old Crossness Pumping station. This was built as part of the development of London’s sewer systems and operated from 1865 until the 1950s. The engines used to pump sewage directly into the Thames at high tide, the idea being the tide would then carry the sewage out to sea as the river level reduced in the city centre. Ewwww. Good idea…feed it to the fishes that we then eat. 🤢🤢

The trash dumped alongside the edges of the river is quite simply appalling. Perhaps the new London Mayor can be petitioned to get a crew in to clean it up!! Although Lord knows it’s an never-ending issue, the more you clear away, the more the numbskulls dump their trash…wherever they please.

The nature of the path changes continuously and whilst I didn’t photograph each and every difference in the path, I captured a few for interest….

The closer I got to the Thames Barrier and Greater London, the more greenery made it’s appearance and occassionally I walked alongside trees and grass which provided a welcome relief from the grey dull concrete.

Suddenly as I rounded a bend in the river, there in the distance, on the horizon, I could see the towers of ~~Babel~~…I mean Canary Wharf! Hoorah!! I’m getting closer. The river up to the Thames Barrier is really wide and with the tide out you could probably walk along sections of the riverbed. Although after my experience with the mudflats at Faversham, I wouldn’t recommend it 😁😁

This seemed like a good place to have a snack, so I spread my eats out and rested here for a while, just enjoying the view and the sunshine.

I passed an apartment block at Thamesmead that had a row of four cannon mounted on a ledge leading down to the path. I love seeing these remnants of London’s past history.

Next up, the navigation light at Tripcock Ness, and this is where navigation takes on a more serious element and the area has a tragic history; in 1878 Tripcock Ness was the site of the sinking of the Princess Alice after a collision with another vessel that resulted in the loss of over 650 lives.

The opposite side of the river is no less industrialised and wherever you look there are jetties jutting out into the river with large container ships moored alongside, tall cranes and buildings line the banks.

As previously mentioned I passed a number of National Cycle Network markers. They are all individually decorated and show distance to places behind or in front of you. Useful if there are no Thames Path markers… albeit not much use when they tell you how far it is to Inverness!!! 😉

From this point on, Thamesmead, the area became more residential than industrial and frankly some of the places were so lovely I wouldn’t mind living there myself…the views across the river must be amazing, and a terrific vantage point for watching events like the Tall Ships arriving, or cruise ships leaving.

Soon I arrived at Royal Arsenal/Woolwich. One of my favourite places along the Thames Path and I’ve visited a number of times in the past, as well as walked past on my Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales walk from Southwark Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral in 2017.

There is so much to see in Royal Arsenal Woolwich, with an incredible history, and you could easily while away the day here. Sadly the fantastic Firepower Museum is no longer located here and has been move to a site close to Stonehenge in Wiltshire. If ever you are out that way, I can recommend a visit….it’s marvellous. But I digress.

I didn’t tarry long and after taking a few photos of the many cannons and big guns littering the historic waterfront, Anthony Gormley’s ‘Assembly’ and the 1815 Riverside Guardhouses (Guardhouses were built at points on the perimeter; one at the main gate (1787–1788) and a pair by the new wharf circa 1814–1815 are still in place today). One is now a small restaurant and the other a flower shop.

I continued upstream on my journey towards the Thames Barrier.

There was an interesting little sculpture on top of a wall ‘Elephants are people’. I saw quite a few of these as I progressed. Heading over to Google I entered a few key words and voila, found this site elephants are people

I noticed a beautiful plaque inserted in the paving ‘Millenium Heritage Trail’. I love discovering little features like this.

Next up, a (new since I was last there), development of apartment blocks. At least the developers have gone some way to making it look attractive with an array of fountains in the forecourt. On the opposite side are another set of many-storied apartment blocks being built.

Soon I passed the ferry and encountered my first annoying diversion: ‘footpath closed’. Ugh!! I loathe those developers that buy up tracts of land right up to the riverside and build something or other right at the edge…so inconsiderate and I cursed them 😤😤🧙‍♀️ This closed footpath required a diversion along a busy road (by the amount of traffic, you could tell – lockdown is well and truly over in Woolwich).

Back at the riverside, I stopped briefly to chat to a couple of ladies who were walking jauntily along. I asked them where they were heading, and where they started….Erith!! Crikey. They left more or less the same time as I did, how did I not see them before? Anyway, they had decided that morning, on impulse, to walk to Greenwich from Erith. No prior training and wearing sandals. LOL eish. I would not want to know how they felt the next day…

Then to my delight not much further on I spied the world famous Thames Barrier – still a fair way off but getting closer.

I had to pass through an industrial estate, but fortunately they had some marvellous storyboards lining the building…so I stopped briefly for a read. At this point the Thames Path winds it way through residential and industrial.

And at 14:16:40 I arrived at the Thames Barrier! Hoorah! After searching for the public toilets, thankfully open, I made my way to the benches that line the grassy area in front of the riverside facing the Thames Barrier and had some lunch.

Afterwards I made myself comfortable on the benches next to the building that houses some of the mechanics of the barrier, removed my shoes and socks, put my jacket under my head and had a 30 minute snooze. Bliss.

The day was absolutely gorgeous and since I was still well early and not in the mood to head home just yet, I decided there and then to continue to Greenwich, or as far as my feet would take me. So to that end at 15:13:16 I captured the immortal sign: ‘Thames Path National Trail – 180 miles from the Thames Barrier to the river’s source’ – and then some, if you count the dispute about where the true source is: Kemble or Seven Springs. I’m going to opt for both and after I’ve been to Cricklade/Kemble (eventually) I’m planning on walking the next 31 miles over 2 days to Seven Springs.

Without further ado, I set off towards Greenwich. It had been a most satisfactory day so far and I was pleased with the distance I had travelled: 15.37 kms (9.6 miles) – 4 hours 13 min

Walking the Thames Path – Stage 1b to follow shortly : Thames Barrier to Greenwich.

postscript: I had planned on putting my ‘mileage’ towards my Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania – 97.1km) Virtual Challenge, but by the end of Stage 5, because I had walked so much further than expected, I put the km towards The Cabot Trail (Canada – 299.4km). So, although I didn’t walk the full length of the Thames Path (294kms/184miles) this time around, I will add my walks along the Saxon Shore Way and the English Coast Path when I get to do them.

One thing I do want to note in retrospect is that walking the Thames Path sounds very romantic, and you mostly see images on the net or blogs of previous walkers, showing the pretty rural villages and meadows or attractive cities that the Thames flows through, from source to sea, but you seldom see the reality of the downstream areas. You kinda get this idea that the path is a pretty, perhaps dusty but attractive route that follows the river as it wends it’s way downstream…and on the upper reaches it certainly does pass through some gorgeous villages, but without doubt there are a lot of residential and business properties too, and there are some really ugly and very unpleasant areas as you near the estuary.

Quote: Below us the Thames grew lighter, and all around below were the shadows – the dark shadows of buildings and bridges that formed the base of this dreadful masterpiece. Ernie Pyle

You do occasionally get a little splash of colour to relive the grey…nature always finds a way

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Walking the Thames Path – prelude

Posted in around the UK, Fun Stuff, Health, Historical, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, plastic pollution, project 101, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021, walking the Thames path, tagged baby boomers travel, long distance walks in the uk, not just a granny travels, solo travel for women over 60, walking the Thames path on May 16, 2021| 4 Comments »

Hello…and welcome. Thanks for dropping by. I ‘may’ have mentioned before that I planned to walk the Thames Path to celebrate my 66th birthday, retirement age in the UK and the start of the next phase of my life. Not that I’m planning on actually retiring, but the government does start to give me some of my NI money back 😉 and I do plan to work less and spend more time with my grandson and travelling….gradually the two will be combined.

Ever since my daughter and I lived in Richmond I’ve dreamed of walking the full length of the River Thames, or as much of it as is possible.

“There are two things scarce matched in the universe, the sun in heaven, and the Thames on the earth.” Sir Walter Raleigh.

Over the years I have certainly walked many, many stretches of the Thames between Woolwich and Hampton Court. But the last time I walked the lower reaches of the Thames Path was back in 2017 when I walked Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales route from Southwark Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral. Although his actual route follows Jamaica Road, I felt that if Chaucer had the option, he would have walked alongside the river rather than clatter along a polluted road, so that’s what I did.

Further to my previous post – the Progress Report, as promised I will start posting what will be 5 posts detailing the start of my journey along the Thames Path. I will mostly share images, because seriously, this river is so gorgeous and holds a really special place in my heart, as well as which she has a long and illustrious history (which I will only touch on briefly for interest sake at certain points. Hopefully the images will give you a fairly good idea of what the Thames Path looks like. Ultimately I will share the follow on stages from Staines-Upon-Thames as and when I get to do them.

The Thames Path is listed as one of the official National Trails in the UK, all denoted with the instantly recognisable acorn symbol.

I was well impressed with the markings and sign posts along the way, and haven’t needed to use the guide book even once between Erith (pronounced Eeerith) and Staines-Upon-Thames. I did however study it to a certain extent before my walk just to get an idea of what to expect, and to try figure out how to traverse the river from south to north at Walton to Shepperton. I love swimming, but hadn’t planned on including that in my journey, although the water on a hot summer’s day looks inviting to soothe achy feet. I needn’t have worried…it was clearly marked and of course the ferry was there. It was also famously featured in H. G. Wells’ novel War of the Worlds. But unless you actually knew the Thames met with the River Wey at this point, you could end up walking the wrong river path.

I could go into more detail about the National Trails but that would take up too much space, so here is a link to their website should you wish to find out more about the National Trails of the UK. There are 16 National Trails in the UK from what I can see; and I’m really keen to walk more of them…..watch this space – we are spoilt for choice.

Although not the official start of The Thames Path, I decided to start at Erith and walk to the Thames Barrier near Woolwich and try to get in as much of the pathway along the Thames as possible. I also decided to walk from sea to source since lockdown restrictions forbade me from staying overnight in hotels until 17th May, and then it wouldn’t be a ‘walk in celebration of my coming of age’ – OAP status is now mine 🙂 LOL

Also it’s relatively easy for me to get to these earlier stages by train from home and make them day trips, albeit a tad pricey (train travel in the UK is not cheap) and long-winded….because it takes roughly 2.5/3 or 4 hours just to get to the relevant station each time to even start the walk! But be that as it may…I was determined to get started and not be put off by the limitations of lockdown, and since we are now allowed to travel farther afield….that is what I did.

I arrived at Erith station by 10:15 on 17th April for Stage 1 of ‘Walking the Thames Path’, and set MapMyWalk ready to go. I’ve been using this walking app since 2016 and it suits my needs. I don’t need much more information than how many kilometres I’ve covered, how long it takes, how many steps I’ve walked and what the elevation is…..

This was the first time I’ve been to Erith and although I didn’t have much time to explore, I can say…I probably wouldn’t want to live there. Sorry to all Erithians who are reading this 😜 I may have a repeat visit at a later stage and explore more, which may change my mind. It does however have the longest pier in London – I guess that’s something! As well as which it was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Lesnes or Lessness. Erith “alias Lysnes” has a written history that goes back to 695, and traces of a pre-historic settlement have been uncovered. So that’s another place added to my Project 101 list! As long as I have feet on the ground in a place mentioned in the Domesday Book it counts…an overnight stay is desirable, but not always attainable, so feet on the ground.

The River Thames is a maritime river and has serviced the City of London and upper reaches for centuries, and the lower reaches onto the Thames Estuary have been brutalised by progress and ‘civilisation’ – it is not pretty. There are of course small pockets of prettiness and it gets better the further upstream you go, but although the path was wide, it was mostly grey, dull and uninspiring concrete.

What was shocking though, albeit not surprising was the amount of trash and pollution that litters the riverbed. Oh what are we doing to this planet???

plastic pollution on the river thames — plastic pollution on the River Thames

Of course the river is also littered with boats, big and small and many a varied jetty strode out into the channel.

jetties jutting out into the river thames - walking the thames path — jetties jutting out into the River Thames – walking the Thames Path

Because the tide was out, I didn’t see any large ships go by, but a few smaller vessels made their way, either up or down stream.

ships on the thames - walking the thames path — ships on the thames – walking the Thames Path

In case you’re a first time reader, just to bring you up to speed….the original plan was to walk the whole length in one go over 2-3 weeks, but Covid lockdown restrictions got in the way, so I had to ‘pivot’ and change my plans. To that end I decided to do the first 6 stages between Erith and Staines by day tripping. As it turned out I did the distance in 5 stages, which is brilliant.

And so, onto Stage 1a – Walking the Thames Path : Erith to the Thames Barrier (this post will follow tomorrow night).

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Just a quick preview

Posted in around the UK, long distance walks - solo, memories of days gone by, walking the Thames path, tagged long distance walking, national trails England, scenes of London, walking the Thames path on May 14, 2021| 5 Comments »

Okay so here’s the thing….I have learned over time to not expect plans I make to actually happen, so that when they don’t happen I’m not too disappointed, make a different plan and hope for the best. Post 2020 I just ‘pivot’. LOL Damn I love that word. Rishi may be a CONservative but that phrase of his should go down as the ultimate useful/useless phrase of Covid-19 history.

You know I was ‘planning’ on walking the next stage of the Saxon Shore Way today? Well yesterday afternoon while at my daughter’s house I got the shakes….hands and knees. And no, Elvis wasn’t in the building haha… I felt ‘off’ if that makes sense, not poorly or ill, just off. I put it down to the 2nd covid innoculation jab I had on Monday, because after the reaction I had back in February, I was kinda waiting for some sort of reaction this time around too. Didn’t think much more of it, and went to bed (rather late) and slept like a log.

Woke up a bit later than usual this morning and still felt a bit offish and really tired. The weather had turned and it was raining and icy cold so I decided to have a bed day instead and catch up on some online stuff I wanted to do and later some chores that needed doing in town. Trying to listen to my body, now that it’s another year older!! So I had a cup of tea while relaxing in bed and started preparing some videos of things I saw along the Thames Path. As usual I took between 100-200 photos each day, and since I can’t share them all online, I decided I would make a few short videos instead, and share them separately till I’ve completed the various write-ups.

But as the morning wore on I realised that something else was amiss….my eye felt a bit funny, the back of my head felt tender and my jaw felt sore….oh gawd!! I took one look in the mirror and my fears were confirmed. My damn parotid gland was swollen again. Ugh. The first time this happened (October 2019) I ended up overnight in A&E on a drip and then hospital for 3 days on a drip of strong antibiotics. It looked like I had been stung by a swarm of wasps…I kid you not. I looked bloody awful.

It happened again in December 2019 while I was at a booking in the deep south of Somerset with the nearest surgery 20 kilometres away. An emergency dash to the surgery in my client’s car and a double dose of very strong antibiotics brought it back under control. A few months later (during the initial Covid lockdown) it swelled up again and after speaking to the doctor he agreed to give me antibiotics, but said that I had to have a proper check-up if it happened again.

So, it wasn’t the jab that made me feel off, but this blessed gland. I’m currently waiting for a call back from the surgery…so figured I may as well write up while I’m waiting. So now that I’ve blathered on for the last ??? minutes, here are the videos I made of some of the interesting things I saw along the Thames Path last month. Mostly the sculptures because they are all so beautiful, but not of the main attractions which I’ll save for the posts.

Stage 1a – Erith to the Thames Barrier (tune The Departure – Nisei23)

Stage 1a – Erith to the Thames Barrier

Stage 1b – Thames Barrier to Greenwich (tune The Shine – Jahzzar )

Stage 1b – Thames Barrier to Greenwich

Stage 2 – Greenwich to Battersea Park (tune Alive – Jahzzar)

Stage 2 – Greenwich to Battersea Park

Stage 3 – Battersea Park to Richmond (tune Let’s Just Get Through – Doctor Turtle)

Stage 3 – Battersea Park to Richmond

Stage 4 – Richmond to Hampton Court (tune Happy Birthday to you – Blue Monkey Music) of course

Stage 4 – Richmond to Hampton Court – this day was also my birthday, hence the tune LOL

Stage 5 – Hampton Court to Staines-Upon-Thames (tune Water in the Creek – Josh Woodward)

Stage 5 – Hampton Court to Staines-Upon-Thames

I made these off PhotoGrid; used their free music and tried to choose music that was relevant to the day. I hope you enjoy them. Although the quality isn’t brilliant, it’s quick and easy to make the videos from their app.

So be good kids. I will try to get the Thames Path posts up asap. I’m working on them…..

p.s. I just got a call from the Doc…antibiotics it is because of course it’s now too late for an appointment. Seriously. He said I must phone for an appointment when it swells up again…’hello!!’ that’s what I did this morning!! Anyway, next time it swells up again I’m just going to go straight to A&E for an ultrasound because I can’t be having this nonsense and the gland doesn’t swell up to suit the Doctor’s schedule. gahhh

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Rotting carcasses of abandoned boats

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, Fun Stuff, Health, idiot category, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, project 101, saxon shore way, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021, tagged #walk1000miles long distance walking, coastal walks, coastal walks of england, conqueror virtual challenges 2021, country walking long distance walking, english history, long distance walks - solo, saxon shore way, walking the Saxon Shore way on May 13, 2021| 6 Comments »

So hey….I did it!!! Yesterday; Faversham to Sittingbourne along the Saxon Shore Way 😁😁😁 9 hours. 30.06 km. Holy moly what a long day. If I add on the distance from home to the station and back, I can add on another 2.5 kms. The last time I walked 32km on any one day was 4 years ago on the Portuguese Camino in Spain…destination: Caldas de Reis. I swore to never do such a long walk ever again 🤪🤪🤪 Hah. I’m very comfortable with 16kms, so this is a bit of a stretch, but hey, it’s done. Now I can concentrate on the next section; Sittingbourne to Rochester….

I’ll do a proper write up in due course, but for now, what I really wanted to tell you about were all the abandoned boats I saw along the way; boats of all sizes, their rotting carcasses littering the creeks.

I wondered why they were abandoned? Who abandoned them? What were their names before being dumped, and why have they been left there to rot.

They are beautiful in their various stages of decay, but how sad. I’m sure they were beautiful craft at some time, sailing proudly along the channels, brightly painted, flags fluttering in the wind, decks alive with chatter.

And now, they’re lying there, forlorn and forgotten….too sad. This post is to honour all boats that get dumped and forgotten. In order of appearance, these boats were seen in Faversham Creek, Oare Creek, The Swale, Conyer Creek and Milton Creek.

I’d love to know their provenance and how long they’ve been lying there….

Long may they rest in pieces and provide food and homes for the fishes.

Extra image of previous two boats from a different angle.

I’ll try get my post up as soon as I’ve caught up with the Thames Path posts, the Pilgrim’s Way posts (2 years ago 😱🤪🤪) and the initial stages of the Saxon Shore Way I’ve already walked. 🤞🤞🤞 Thank you for your patience 😁😁

And yes, after walking 30 kms, I’m feeling every. single. one. of. my. years. 😂😂😂 but lots of vitamin C, Aloe Heat Lotion paracetamol and feet up…I’ll be right as rain…😉

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Almost like living in the Caribbean

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, gratitude, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, seaside towns of Britain, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021, tagged #walk1000miles long distance walking, being a grandmother, seaside towns of England, walking the English coast on May 11, 2021| 2 Comments »

I’ll say it right up front…I live in a stunning part of the world. The town itself is a bit of a rats ass and some days I despair at the human race, but the seashore….now that’s another story.

I set off quite early this morning to join my family for tea and buns and spend a few minutes with my BooBee before he went to school. I’m not sure it was such a good idea coz then he didn’t want to go 😄😄😄

The other reason for such an early visit is that my daughter, who is a photographer and videographer had arranged for me to be ‘interviewed’. She’s working on a project to record the grandparents life stories for posterity and so that future generations can know who we were.

It’s such a good idea. My Mum died when she was 52, I was just on 29 years old at the time, the oldest of her 4 daughters, the youngest just 13. Although we spoke a lot and she told us stories about her life, now that I’m older I have so many questions, that will never be answered.

My daughter is keen for us to leave a record of our lives, and so today we started what will be the first of I guess 6 interviews…1 for each decade.

The questions she asked were simple, but good and some of them really generated a lot of emotion… occasionally surprising even me. It took just on 2 hours and then I walked to Broadstairs to get my vaccine card laminated and some photos printed.

It was a sublime day…blues skies, fluffy white clouds, sunny but with a stiff breeze and warm. I was overdressed for a long walk.

Ramsgate beach looking towards Broadstairs

The tide was still high when I left at just on 1pm, but receding. This meant I had to take the high road and walk across the clifftop to Broadstairs, but coming back I pushed the boundaries a little and walked along the beach to see how far I could get – I’m delighted to say that I managed to walk just about all the way back from Broadstairs to Ramsgate with just one tiny diversion to avoid some still high waves.

A new bench has been added on the cliffs near Dumpton Gap – a sad little memorial

The tide was receding, so I pushed through from Dumpton Gap

Looking back from the promenade at Ramsgate

A fishing boat returns to harbour trailing a swarm of seagulls

The walk was so beautiful and for all the world I could have been in the Caribbean. It took me just over 2 hours there and back and approximately 12kms.

I had a brief stop off at home for a cup of tea, and then I went to fetch my BooBee from the childminder and take him to the park. He rode the whole say up high on my shoulders, sat ever so still and chattered away about the day’s events.

Daddy met us at the park and took him home after some running about. I picked a few dandelions that had gone to seed and I showed him how to blow them so the ‘fairies’ could fly away. 🥰🥰🥰 what a joy.

Now I’m preparing for tomorrow’s walk from Faversham to Sittingbourne along the Saxon Shore Way. I can’t pin the distance down and the sites I read had different distances….9 miles or 17 miles…take your pick??? so I’m just going to go and see how far I get. I’ve checked for railway stations in case I need to cut my walk short, and I’m hoping the tide isn’t too high along The Swale, or if the tide is high, that the pathway isn’t affected. If it is, I could have a repeat of my last walk along The Swale, albeit a different reason.

The weather forecast is good…hoorah.

I guess I’ll find out tomorrow 🤪🤪

Oh, and I also started writing up another stage of my Thames Path walk…I’m getting there.

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Not another one!!!

Posted in conqueror challenges, Fun Stuff, Health, Inspiration, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021, tagged baby boomers travel, conqueror virtual challenges 2021, romantic road germany, walking for health, walking the Conqueror virtual challenges on May 6, 2021| 5 Comments »

Yes!!! I did it again! Signed up for the next Conqueror Challenge! 🤭🤭🤷‍♀️

This one is set in Germany; The Romantic Road – awesome. The medal is of course, beautiful as always. 💙💚

conqueror challenges — Romantic Road, Germany – Conqueror Challenges

I just couldn’t get online quick enough to bag the number 1 vest, so I guess #42 will have to suffice. Damn!! 🤪🤪 I’m always ready, finger poised above the keyboard, card at the ready….but for some peculiar reason, I just couldn’t get the link to activate….but finally I got there.

the conqueror challenges — The Conqueror Challenges – Romantic Road, Germany 431 km

So here it is. Looking at the challenge map on the app, I can see that a number of people have already started the challenge. Wow. Impressive! I’ve got another 5 waiting in line before I can start this one, so probably only in 2022. But if I do enough walking I ‘may’ just be able to start this one in 2021….we’ll see.

I’m currently walking The Ring Road, Iceland alongside my Conquer 2021 challenge for my daily perambulations, and updating The Cabot Trail with my specified walks….like walking the Thames Path, and coming soon; continuing along the Saxon Shore Way. 🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️ Got my latest postcard on The Ring Road yesterday

conqueror virtual challenges — Ring Road, Iceland – Conqueror Virtual Challenge

I’ve got an extra 2 days at home in June before I return to this booking, so I’ll make the most of them and get some mileage in.

Anyway, in other news (and no surprise really) this is the 18th challenge I’ve signed up for!! Addicted? nahhhh

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Walking the Thames Path – progress report

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, conqueror challenges, Fun Stuff, Health, Historical, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021, walks around the UK, tagged baby boomers travelling, https://notjustagranny.co.uk/2021/05/14/just-a-quick-preview/, long distance walks, national trails England, over the hill and still travelling, walking solo, walking the Thames path, walking the thames path from sea to source on April 27, 2021| 21 Comments »

Finally after talking about it for years, and planning for the last few months, I started Walking the Thames Path – in honour of reaching my OAP status; I’m now officially a Pensioner!! Best part of that…free bus pass. Oh and my pension pay-outs, although I won’t be retiring anytime soon on that!! But it will be good to get some of my hard-earned money back from HMRC

As mentioned in a previous post, due to current Covid-19 lockdown restrictions I was unable to proceed with my original plans to walk the whole of the Thames Path over a period of 3 weeks. So instead I took Rishi’s advice and pivoted LOL. Not that I want to take advice from a CONservative government representative, but nonetheless, I had to re-plan my plans….so to that end I decided to walk the first 5 stages as day trips…

I will, going forward, write in detail and share images from each day’s walk but for now I thought I’d give you a progress report, showing where I started and ended and how far I walked each day. I did 5 stages and make super progress reaching my target of walking from Erith in Kent to Staines-Upon-Thames in Surrey.

I had the most superb weather on 4 days of 5 and had a wonderful time just walking and exploring. My distances are not accurate to the mile according to measured distances because I tend to go off-piste and explore a church or building I may spot along the way, I also head off the path to take photos of things I may see in the distance, and for the sake of my ‘boots on’ walking challenges, I start measuring my kms from the minute my feet hit the platform at the relevant station/s, as well as my walk from home to the station (1.25kms each way). I’d love to measure just how much walking I do in transit, but that would just get too complicated….suffice to say that the walk from the platform at St Pancras via the Victoria Line underground passage, would I’m sure, add another couple of kms.

The timings too are not at all related to anything you may find in a guide book or online, because firstly I’m a slow stroller (although my daughter would contest that!!), I stop frequently to take photos of things that may interest me or I wish to share, and I stop quite often to rest my feet for 10-15 minutes a time or even 30 minutes if the mood takes me and I don’t have a deadline to meet. Or it’s a sunny day and I feel like just lying in the sun.

Planning the day trips wasn’t necessarily the easiest way of doing this because I had to take account of train times so I could get home before midnight LOL and also calculate the cheapest way to do the walk….e.g. buy a return ticket from point A to B after morning peak time, and then work out to which station I had to buy a single ticket to fill the gap between point C and point B. This was not only for timings but budgets as well. Although I did originally budget to use the cheaper train routes, I decided by day 2 that speed of transport was more important than food, so I increased my travel budget and reduced my food budget, and took sandwiches plus nibbles and fruit and a flask of tea with me. There’s also the issue of battery life on my phone. It seems to reduce rather rapidly because of all the photos I take….and the highspeed train has charging points. Also I’m not a great ‘staring out the window’ traveller and prefer to actually ‘do something’ while I’m travelling. So I move photos to dropbox and edit those I want to share….

So, in all I did 5 stages starting at Erith on 17th and reached Staines on the 24th. I didn’t walk consecutive days but had a 2 day break in between to rest and take my grandson out, and a one day break to spend with the family to celebrate my birthday. We had awesome fun – went to The Old Bake House in Broadstairs for breakfast, then a ramble on the beach, and a game of mini-golf which was hilarious…my grandson went crazy with his stick, whacking the ball all over. This was followed by crepes and fruit juice. Delicious, and a fantastic day.

without further ado…

Stage 1 : Erith to Greenwich. 17.04.2021 – 27.08 kms – 6 hours 47 min – 41,812 steps – elevation: 46 meters

I had originally planned to walk as far as the Thames Barrier which is the official starting point of the long-distance Thames Path route, but it was a beautiful day and I was having such a good time that I decided to push on to Greenwich, and thereby shorten my next day’s walking. This section was new to me. Although I have in the past walked from the Thames Barrier to Greenwich, the path from Erith to the barrier was completely new ground. The original section from Erith to the barrier was not the most scenic and there are a lot of really ugly industrial buildings and a sewerage plant (yes it smelled), but the path was amazingly straightforward, albeit bloody boring concrete a lot of the way.

Stage 2 : Greenwich to Battersea Park 18.04.2021 – 24.51 kms – 6 hours 20 min – 38,376 steps – elevation 102 meters

Again this day was longer than I originally planned, but I wanted to push through as far as possible and thereby get further along and also shorten a later day’s journey. I’ve walked this whole route dozens of times over the years, different sections at different times and absolutely love (almost) every inch of it. I did NOT like the diversions…..it’s so inconsiderate of developers to buy up property that runs alongside the river and build bloody apartments, thereby blocking people from walking along the riverside. This section also runs through the centre of London and has the most bridges, so I stopped a lot for photos. LOL Also in London’s past the riverside was very industrial as since the Thames is a marine hotbed, there are a lot of old buildings and wharves etc that hog the riverside. hmmm.

Stage 3 : Battersea Park to Richmond 21.04.2021 – 27.02 kms – 6 hours 24 min – 40,316 steps – elevation 82 meters

This day nearly bloody killed me LOL. It was much further than I calculated, or perhaps it felt like it because I started off already tired, and had a deadline for my train back home. It was though, one of the best days, walking familiar paths and passing familiar places where I spent many a happy hour walking in the past, and I got to meet a friend from instagram for a brief hello in Richmond. And despite my plans, I missed my train at St Pancras by literally 1 minute…as I got to the ticket barriers, I heard the doors being locked – ho hum!! ‘Hold that train!’ LOL

Stage 4 : Richmond to Hampton Court 23.04.2021 – 18.14 kms – 4 hours 47 min – 28,390 steps – elevation 40 meters

This day I had planned in celebration of my birthday. We used to live in St Margarets near Richmond and as with the previous stage, I often walked along sections of the Thames Path at different times; and in every season, including in the snow from Twickenham Bridge to Kew… 🙂 I also wanted to reach Hampton Court Palace on my birthday because it is my absolute favourite palace in the world and although I wouldn’t have time to actually visit, just walking past would make me happy. It was a belting hot day, so I had 2 ice-creams on the way…one in Richmond as I started and one in Hampton Court as I finished. Just because. My daughter had given me £5 to buy a tea and cake along the way, but I felt ice-creams were more appropriate…also I could eat and walk!

Stage 5 : Hampton Court to Staines-Upon-Thames 24.04.2021 – 25.16 kms – 6 hours 47 min – 40,560 steps – elevation 43 meters

Staines is infamous for being the ‘hometown’ of Ali G (Sacha Cohen Baron for those who don’t know, who was actually born in Hammersmith). Again this was a long day and because I only had 6 hours to walk this stretch, I really had to push myself. I was also quite tired by then and found the final stretch between Shepperton and Staines really difficult. I was tempted to quit at Shepperton , but I loathe quitting and felt like I would be letting myself down if I did and it would mean either an extra day later on, or longer sections going forward. This section was new territory for me and I decided to take the guide book along…just in case – I didn’t need it. The path is well marked all the way from Erith. The stretch from Richmond to Staines is quite rural and if you didn’t know there were towns nearby, you’d think you were right out in the countryside. I missed my deadline by 47 minutes, but still managed to get an earlier train from STP

What an amazing journey so far. The history of the River Thames is quite extraordinary and I discovered that the Vikings actually sailed right up the river as far as Chertsey, possibly further. We tend to think of them as coastal raiders and certainly they raided London a fair bit, but to my surprise they went as far as Chertsey…to raid the abbey. It was wonderful to revisit places I’d been before but not seen for years. Discovering new places and sections of my beloved river was a real treat. So even though I was really disappointed to not be able to walk The Thames Path in one go, in retrospect this is as good a way to ‘walk the walk’ as any. Frankly, I was quite exhausted by the 5th stage, and grateful I didn’t have to walk again for a while….how long that while will be is anyone’s guess. I have a few work bookings coming up, a few babysitting commitments and of course time with my grandson is more important than anything else and I try to spend as much time with him as possible between bookings…also I have 3 big walks planned for August/September that will take me away for nearly 6 weeks and those need to be saved up for. I have diarised another few days into my calendar to possibly do another 2 or maybe 3 day trips and then I’ll complete the rest of the walk in April 2022. Mostly because the accommodation is thin on the ground and VERY expensive. In comparison to accommodation on the Camino, it’s actually quite extortionate, but I’m guessing they don’t have that many guests and walkers staying over, so to charge £120 per night is reasonable – but WELL out of my price range. I’ll save the overnight excursions for out of season.

I will endeavour to write up and share images from these 5 stages as soon as possible. I subsequently created a preview; some short videos to show some of the fabulous sculptures and scenes of the river.

Meanwhile I’ve planned dates to continue walking sections of the Saxon Shore Way so I can get that under my belt, and of course my epic ‘walking the whole English Coast’ – I have a few dates diarised to fit some more days in for that as well this year. I hope to complete the Kent and Sussex coastline by end of 2021. I’ll still do small sections of other counties where and when I get the opportunity with work travel. Talking of which, I really must get to write up about the section of the South West Coast Path I recently walked….from Berry Head to Paignton and Paignton to Torquay. Super awesome walk and soooo beautiful. More on that later….

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Sunset at Pegwell Bay

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, Granny and Jamie's adventures, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, seaside towns of Britain, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021, walks around the UK, tagged being a granny, conqueror virtual challenges 2021, walking the Thames path on April 20, 2021| 15 Comments »

Hello!!! 😃😃 yes I’m still alive….and walking. What’s new?? 😁😁

Sorry I’ve been so quiet lately, my only excuse is that I have been working and walking and enjoying time with my grandson.

I had a super couple of weeks in Devon recently where I got to visit 5 new places, revisit 1 and do a lot of walking and exploring, and added another section of the English Coast Path to my collection.

I got back home last week and as is usual I’ve spent as much time as possible taking my grandson to the beach and the park.

And yes, I started my Thames Path adventure 😃😃👏👏👏🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️

although I can’t walk the whole route as I originally planned, I’ve completed 2 sections; Erith to Greenwich

And Greenwich to Battersea Park. Super awesome. Tomorrow I’ll be walking Stage 3 from Battersea Park to Richmond and on Friday, Stage 4, Richmond to Hampton Court. The 5th and final stage for now, I’ll be walking on Saturday from Hampton Court to Staines. The rest of the walk? Who knows??

Not the route I’m following, but the river certainly is long 😁😁

As a result I’ve only managed 1 sunset walk at home and a couple of other sunsets I saw from the train on my way home from London. Sunrises = 0. The sun gets out of bed too early for me in summer 😆😆

Seen from the train at Rochester station

So my blog has sadly been neglected. That’s not to say I haven’t been writing….I have quite a few posts sitting in drafts waiting to be completed, but I need to edit the photos that go with them.

I’ll get there.

Meanwhile, after taking my grandson to his 2nd gymnastics class yesterday I finally opened my computer again to update my budgets and plan my savings strategy for the next few years. Gosh I really do wish I had enough money to give me more time to do all the walks I’d like to do.

I completed the Giza Pyramids Conqueror Challenge while still in Stoke Gabriel so I should be seeing the medal in the mail soon.

I’ve started the Ring Road, Iceland challenge although that’s a long term challenge that I’ll flip in and out of over the next few months.

I’ve been dithering about which challenge to allocate the Thames Path walk ….Mt. Kilimanjaro (97.1kms) or The Cabot Trail (299.4kms)?? 🤔🤔🤔

The Cabot Trail would have been perfect if I’d been able to walk the whole Thames Path route in one go and I’m reluctant to break it up…and Mt. Kilimanjaro will be completed in 4 days….or maybe 5 depending on my final tally on Saturday. See my quandary??

So anyway, now that I’ve blathered on for the last 10 minutes…here’s the promised sunset 😆😆🚶🏻‍♀️🌅

Interesting to note that the position of the sun set has changed in the last few weeks

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End of the assignment

Posted in around the UK, Fun Stuff, Holidays, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, project 101, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021, walks around the UK, tagged #walk1000miles long distance walking, Cindy's Travels in the UK, Country Walking, planning a long distance walk, walking solo, walking the Thames path on March 18, 2021| 6 Comments »

Today I’m on my way….heading home.

Its really nice to be able to say ‘home’, even though it’s a room in a shared house, its a base and home – for now. Although it was quite suitable in the past to stay in a b&b or guesthouse between jobs, the security of having a base is so much better.

Part of the reason I enjoyed staying at b&bs etc was because I used to travel between jobs, but now my little 💙 lives in Ramsgate and I have a powerful reason to want a base to return to so I can spend precious time with him.

So today has finally arrived after what has, once again, been a very stressful 2 weeks. I’ve had 3 very stressful assignments since the beginning of the year and my goddess I’m tired.

I was hoping to start working again next week, but as has been the case in the last year, the agency do not have much work available. So I’ve accepted a position in Devon that only starts on 31st. Although this will have a slightly negative impact on my income, it does mean I have a good break and space to breathe.

I’ve started the process for claiming my pension, albeit insufficient to even pay my rent, it will give me a wee boost to save for my walking trips. I’ve not worked in the country long enough to qualify for a decent amount, but as the blurb goes….every little bit helps.

So talking of trips, crikey – after much rejigging my dates for my planned 🤔🤔🤔 Thames Path walk in April, and trying for the last 2 days to squeeze the dates etc, I finally got a decent looking schedule worked out, sat down last night to start changing the dates for the bookings I had already made, only to find that the prices are almost double in May. So that puts paid to that little escapade. Ugh. My head.

Back to square one as they say. I was so upset last night that I just shut my computer, used a few choice words at commercialism 🤬🤬🤬 and went to bed.

So over the next few days I’m going to go back to basics, cancel all the bookings I made for April since I can’t travel then anyway, do a new search. Thank goodness for booking.com where you can reserve a place, but have the option of cancelling within a reasonable time.

However, I am determined to do this trip….

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Green Pilgrimage and the 7 stages

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, Historical, Interesting articles, long distance walks - solo, my Canterbury Tales, project 101, The Pilgrim's Way; Winchester to Canterbury, Travel, walks around the UK, tagged baby boomers travel, going on a pilgrimage, green pilgrimage canterbury, the seven stages of pilgrimage, Thomas Becket on March 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

During my research of different pilgrimage routes in the UK and elsewhere, I came across this website http://www.greenpilgrimageeurope.net/ What interested me and encouraged me to read further was the mention of Canterbury.

Canterbury has been my final destination a number of times, it’s a fascinating city with an incredible history and I love visiting and exploring and especially passing beneath the West Gate at the end of my walks; Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Way of St Augustine (In 597AD, St Augustine arrived on England’s Isle of Thanet upon the instructions of Pope Gregory to bring the good news of Christianity to Kent, as Queen Bertha was already a committed Christian) and The Pilgrim’s Way.

the west gate canterbury — the West Gate Canterbury

The 119-mile (192km) Pilgrim’s Way from Winchester to Canterbury has been trodden by pilgrims for more than a thousand years but the origins of the pathway date back much earlier, to 1800-1400BC. The route was probably used for trade but after the death of St Augustine of Canterbury in 604, pilgrims started coming to venerate his remains at the Great Abbey. Canterbury also became an important stop for pilgrims making the long journey to Rome; Via Francigena.

After Thomas Becket was canonised in 1173, his shrine at Canterbury Cathedral became the most important in the UK. According to Christopher John Wright, author of A Guide to the Pilgrims’ Way, Canterbury was ‘after Rome… the chief shrine in Christendom’, and drew pilgrims from far and wide. Henry II is also said to travelled this route – as part of his pilgrimage for atonement for the murder of Thomas Becket.

a choral evensong service to commemorate Becket’s martyrdom 29.12.2018

Pilgrimage is one of the fastest growing movements in the world, with more than 330 million people going on pilgrimage every year. The vision of Green Pilgrimage is that pilgrims leave a positive footprint on the earth, and that pilgrim places become models of care for the environment.

Besides being the final destination for the walks I’ve mentioned above, Canterbury is often the starting point for those enroute to European Pilgrimage sites such as Santiago de Compostela in Spain and the Via Francigena to Rome.

I love what they say about the 7 stages of pilgrimage

Number 7 definitely resonates with me; although I’m not a religious or even pious person and believe in evolution rather than creation, I relish the challenges I face and find that yes, in ways that I sometimes don’t even notice immediately, I am always a different person at the end of each walk.

For me it’s the journey as well as the destination, and my stages of pilgrimage are:

1. Discovering a new pilgrimage that venerates a Saint I usually have never heard of and then learning more about them.

2. Researching and planning the route; usually gives me a series of headaches LOL but it is definitely enlightening.

3. Since I usually travel solo, my interactions are invariably brief and with strangers, yet each brings their own little story and memories of so many of these interactions linger for years, and I still think of certain people I met.

4. Understanding the story is usually where I am totally honest; I walk these routes because I love walking, adventure and discovering new places. If I’m not walking for a religious reason, does that make me less of a pilgrim?

5. For me this was about finding my ‘Camino’ eyes. A weird term until you realise it’s about suddenly realising you ‘see’ the signs along the way without having to search for them. This I have found on all my walks.

6. I definitely resonate with this; there is nothing I enjoy more than just looking around me and taking it all in – hence the number of photographs I take, and why my kms are way more than the stated distance – I have to explore.

7. I’m not so sure about the ‘should‘ recognise, but I definitely do recognise the differences. Sometimes they are emotional, or mental, but without doubt they include physical. With each walk that I do, along with the challenges they bring, I find I am more courageous and less fearful of what difficulties I may find along ‘the way’. I have overcome, and will continue to overcome the challenges.

There are so many different pilgrimages around the UK and Rep. of Ireland as well as Europe, and farther afield in Japan that I would love to do. I have added them to my vision board….and sent a telegram to the Universe.

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