Day 30 – Saturday 18 November 2000 - Grays to Becontree

13 miles walked today

390 miles walked in total (average 13)

I left Portsmouth at 6.30 am and made it to Grays at 8.30 am.  The weather looked a bit humptydoodlum (one of Mum’s words) so I decided to go and have breakfast and see whether it was going to rain.  It didn’t, so I started out along the sea wall, through a housing estate, over and under oil jetties and under the Queen Elizabeth Bridge.  I was surprised at how peaceful it was – although I was alarmed to note that the bridge squeaks!

The footpath followed the Thames all the way to Purfleet where I was back on roads, desperately trying to avoid the A13.  This meant a detour via Rainham where I stopped for a drink at The Phoenix.

After a short stop, I pushed on through Dagenham and past the Ford motor works.  This certainly wasn’t the prettiest walking I’ve ever done, although necessary to avoid the A13.  I ended up walking through a huge housing estate of low rise terraced houses, which seemed to go on for miles.  It wasn’t actually as awful as I thought it would be.  This walk is full of surprises!

I carried out my usual decision making process about whether to carry on or not by standing in the middle of the pavement studying my Ordnance Survey map.  A teenage girl came and asked if I was lost and, when I explained my predicament – Barking or Dagenham – she assured me it would only take an hour to walk to Barking.  Unfortunately, neither of us had a watch, so couldn’t work out when I’d get there.  I decided to push on anyway.

However, the weather had other ideas.  Only halfway to Barking, the rain came down.  Luckily, just as I was passing a tube station.  What else could I do but go home?!