10.5 miles walked today
412 miles walked in total
(average 12.87)
This morning, Sam and I were walking just before
ten o’clock. It had been a bit touch and
go whether we’d actually walk today – due to snow, sleet and me desperate for a
lay in! I left Portsmouth
Our first major landmark was the Dome again. I’d been at Christmas with Shannon and Nicholas
and had seen the huge queues of people, visiting before it shut on New Year’s
Eve. However, today it was
deserted. It looked very sad in the snow
and frost.
We followed the river path for a little while and
soon stumbled over a solar sundial. When
the dial shows twelve noon on the twenty-first of the month, it is actually
eleven minutes out. Apparently, this is
normal and nothing to be concerned about!
We got very excited as we approached the Thames
flood barrier – we walked through a covered tunnel which showed (in scale)
locks, bridges, lighthouses and other landmarks along the one hundred and
eighty mile length of the river, along with their corresponding heights above
sea level. We were eager to see the
visitor centre to find out how the barrier worked, but, unfortunately, it was
shut until February. Hey ho!
From here, it was inland again on roads,
pavements, HM Prison Belmarsh car park and dual carriageway central
reservations to Thamesmead and lunch.
Because it was so cold in the morning, we’d worn rather a lot of layers
so, by the time we got to Safeways for lunch, we were very hot and
bothered. On this basis, we sat down for
an hour and lost quite a lot of walking time!
After lunch, we were back on a very well
signposted footpath – the Green Chain Walk – to Erith. It meandered vaguely through lots of housing
estates until we finally got to some greenery again and stumbled across Lesnes
Abbey ruins. It looked so pretty covered
in snow and frost. We did quite a lot of
swearing too about Henry VIII and his savagery of the abbeys in general. The abbey has only been excavated since the
beginning of the twentieth century and is looked after by a conservation group
run by Bexley Borough Council.
The abbey is quite a way (uphill) from the river
and we were surprised to note that the grounds were completely under water
between 1230 and 1240, due to the disastrous flooding of the Thames . That must have been a flood and a half!
From the abbey, the path went through a wood and
we saw a fox, some squirrels and a jay. Or at least, Sam saw them and pointed
them out to me and I saw them eventually when we were a bit nearer. Perhaps I ought to start wearing my glasses.
We finally got to Erith and were very relieved to
call it a day. At four o’clock, we were
beginning to lose the daylight and we were beginning to feel the cold again,
despite the various layers of clothing.
Also, Sam’s knees and my feet were refusing to go any further. It’s been a great day – not too many miles
covered, but plenty to see.
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