doof.me.uk

I went for another outing on Saturday, this time from Saunderton to Henley. I wanted to go all the way to Goring but it was way too boggy for that. In the mud I managed less than 2mph on average.

Church at Radnage

Muddy

I went for an adventure on Thursday and ventured further east out into the Thames estuary from Dartford to Gravesend and then across the river to Tilbury in Essex.

Dartford had a lively market and a Wimpy, rumours of the latter’s demise proved unfounded. The highlight of the walk was definitely going under the QE2 bridge at the Dartford crossing. Reminded me a little bit of my excursion to Hull many years ago.

Dartford crossing

Walking along the salt marshes in the sunshine was quite pleasant, although it got a bit sketchy between Northfleet and Gravesend, ending up in some industrial estate. At Gravesend I hopped on this ferry to Tilbury on the other side. As the light was fading I hurried over to take a look at Tilbury fort: it was closed.

Tilbury ferry

Tilbury is a rather bleak place. Dominated by the docks and more lorries than I ever saw in one place before. And that infamous Amazon warehouse. This poignant Newsnight documentary gives an accurate feel for the town.

I went to visit a friend in York last weekend. The Friday afternoon was really sunny so I took some photos of the minster. And also nearly froze to death. It’s cold up north.

York minster

On Sunday, somewhat inspired by All the Stations, I went on a rail adventure around west Yorkshire. First stop was Pontefract. It has a rather delightful market town centre, but almost everything is closed on a Sunday.

Pontefract

I heard Pontefract had a castle, but the reality was rather disappointing. Most of it was destroyed after the civil war, and what’s left is being renovated. The views over the countryside and power plants were quite good though.

Pontefract castle

After Pontefract I went to Wakefield and discovered there’s not much worth visiting there. They have a modern art gallery but I soon remembered I don’t like modern art and got back on the train to Doncaster.

Doncaster Minster

Doncaster has an old marketplace which looked interesting but closed. So I walked around the minster instead. And rather nice it is too! Very petite compared to the one in York.

Way back in 2010 I walked along the easternmost section of the Thames Path, to a rather dreary town called Erith. Actually the official end of the Thames Path extension is a little bit further at Crayford Ness so I’ve had this niggling sense of unfinishedness ever since. Well, time to put that right!

I was a bit disappointed when I got to the Thames Barrier that the exhibition centre was closed for refurbishment. Not sure when it’s going to open again but based on the scale of construction it should be pretty epic.

Thames barrier

The wind was bitterly cold and I was walking into it the whole time, but the late afternoon was beautifully clear and I managed to take some nice photos of the Dartford crossing and the Thames estuary.

Dartford crossing

I wanted to finish up in Dartford itself as I’ve never been there, but it had already gotten dark and it seemed a bit far so I caught the train back from another drab commuter suburb called Slade Green.