The London Loop Part 9: Erith to Bexley
And I’m back, after a COVID-19 lockdown break, back walking the London Loop, and now South of the River !
Quite a contrast to my last visit to Purleet on the other side of the River on a cold and wet November, instead a beautiful sunny April Saturday..
This is officially the first section of the walk, starting in Erith (pronounced Earith) it is not the most picturesque section of the walk but captures the fact that this is a city walk and cities are a place of work !
The first section from Erith railway section to the mouth of the River Darent, is quite industrial passing through Erith itself and then a series of breakers yards until you reach a windmill and the banks of the Thames across Crayford Marshes
The first notable feature of the walk for me was the Darent Flood Barrier part of the extensive flood defences of the Thames and I guess a little brother to the more famous Thames Barrier at Greenwich.
The walk now heads south and then west along the River Cray across more marshland, heading South and West is going to be the general direction for a while !
Crayford was like much of England waking up to it’s first Saturday following the end of the latest lockdown and looked like any other busy commuter village on the outskirts of London, this is a good thing !
The route continues west along the banks of the River Cray, passing below the busy A2 London to Dover Road and then on to Bexley.
An easy restart then covering just over 8 Miles.