One of the strangest things about walking these North Kent sections of the coast path is the transition from being jammed like a sardine on a London bound commuter train, to completely isolated walking, where I barely see anyone all day. The contrast is striking in terms of proximity to other humans, but there is very little difference in terms of isolation. There is very little interaction between train passengers, each has their head in a phone, laptop, book, or blog writing (or knitting as on my train this morning). It had been quite difficult to work out the best way to get to Erith (and back from Gravesend) using the rail planning websites. They kept routing me on much later trains to get my railcard discount, and it was still more than £50. I thought I knew better, so I got the 8.54 train to London Bridge (£12.90) and planned to buy a London Bridge to Erith single for £3.65. I tried to buy this on the train, but the £3.65 price was for contactless only (i.e. an Oystercard that I would need add my railcard to which costs £7 for the card) or £6.25 something if I bought a railway ticket (with railcard). It seems the ordinary contactless fare is £5.60 so I went with that (well using one ticket to get out, and swiping back in). Its very confusing. The website seems to say I can get back from Gravesend for £3.65 (as contactless), but when I got there you couldn’t use oyster anyway – it’s a bit of a mess! Anyway I did today’s journey for £29.40  (12.90+5.60+10.90) so undercut the website a bit! Ironically, I think the fares should reduce as I get further around the coast as I should be able to avoid going through London (“Terminals” in official speak) .

Luckily, on the Southeastern train to Erith I was asked to fill out a customer questionnaire. So I was able to report that I was extremely likely to recommend the service, however the fare options were extremely confusing. Hopefully things should improve when they read my comments!

Arriving in Erith was a surprise. Its amazing how a bit of sunshine can lift a place, it had a much better atmosphere and even the slightly rundown, but still grand buildings, looked good. There was a ship passing as I reached the river. It was the same one I saw going in the opposite direction  when I walked the last leg, two weeks ago. Looking up the Celandine, it’s a RoRo ferry and it was heading from Dagenham to Vlissingen in Holland. I expect something to do with Ford. I made a quick stop in Morrisons for a meal deal and headed off along busy roads, and heavy industrial areas (mainly metal recycling).

After a few kilometres, a small turning led to the Coast Path proper (and the Thames Path and London Loop). It was nice to get on muddy paths and it seemed like the last two legs had been on pavement most of the time. I was planning on a 30km day today and was hoping that these paths would help. It seems that my legs get tired much earlier when walking on had pavements, so I’ll treat this like a scientific test. It was very pleasant walking, mainly along grassy flood embankments with views of the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge (more commonly called the M25 Dartford Bridge) gradually getting larger. You get a feel for how slender the whole thing is when compared to the articulated lorries going over.

The next landmark was the Dartford Creek Flood Barrier. During my research I’d found that you couldn’t cross over it, and it was a six kilometre diversion around it. I saw the gates were open, and wishful thinking wondered whether I could sneak across. Unfortunately it was a security guard locking up so I didn’t bother to ask. So I headed inland following the River Darenth, knowing I would be returning on the opposite bank in an hour or so. Once again it was very pleasant countryside walking along side the creek with plenty of bird life. Although the sound of industry never quite disappeared, and got much louder as I approached the busy road into would need to use to cross the river. The sight of a lovely old Thames sailing barge, against the back drop of a recycling works, sort of sums up this walk.

I reached the busy dual carriageway and my map offered the unappealing route to follow it.  However, there were some Thames Path signs sending me down a small path, and who was I to refuse! It followed a small canalised stream between various industries, it had an old world charm. While the water was crystal clear, I did wonder if anything could live in it. The sight of a heron fishing lifted my spirits.

It was just as well my spirits started from a high point, as they plummeted drastically as I came across the worst case of fly tipping I’ve ever seen. The path and gate were blocked, and I had to clamber across a variety of debris, from huge “American” fridge freezers to tiny children’s plastic toys. This is really bad.

I crossed the River Darenth on the A206 dual carriageway and rejoined the path. There was fly tipping here as well, but not quite so bad (but still terrible, my tolerance was affected by the first dump). The path returned to the fields and riverside, but my mind was preoccupied with the fly tipping. I do think it is one of the worst crimes ever, or rather committed by the worst criminals, as they have absolutely no regard for anybody or anything. It is a crime committed against everybody and the environment. Its probably best not to put me in charge of sentencing offenders! The was lots more evidence of more fly tipping, with some smaller piles absolutely miles from any road. Maybe the landowners are doing it?

Anyway, pondering the fly tipping used up much of the time it took to get back to the Dartford Creek Barrier. Although I had stopped to eat my Morrisons meal deal, it was still nearly a two hour diversion to get back to the Thames.

Turning to the east again, the QE bridge was looming large. I do enjoy seeing big pieces of civil engineering up close, and from unusual angles. A little way past the bridge were two huge pylons, carrying cables high over the river. Again great to see so close up.

One thing that had been bugging me was a ship that was loading on the opposite bank. For most of the morning I thought that it was one ship, and somehow the sides folded down to allow easy loading. This seemed to me to be a crazy design as it would really weaken the ship. As I got closer I had other ideas of what I was seeing, such as the ship was split in two for loading and slid back together for the sea (is it a crazy idea?). When I got really close, it was clearly two ships, exactly the same colour, each reversed up to a low loading platform. Really obvious when you think about it.

After the QE bridge, the path was bordered by much more industry. Including gravel being unloaded from a ship. I have walked under numerous conveyor belts, which I had assumed were for unloading gravel, so it was nice to see one operating. I could see the bucket excavator rotating in the boat (much like a water wheel in reverse), could hear all the clanking and squeaking of the conveyor overhead and finally two big piles of gravel being created. It was good to see and hear.

The path headed inland, I think specifically so I could do an ASDA meal deal comparison. At £3.47 exactly the same price as Morrisons, although I swapped out the Worcester Sauce crisps for a white Twix, and I chose an IruBru as I needed more energy! I don’t think I’ve said it yet, but it was really good walking weather today, and there are the first signs of spring with some blossoms coming out and quite a few butterflies flitting around.

After a quick  diversion through Ebbsfleet, which from my view, Ebbsfleet United seems to have a pretty fancy football ground and is the major focal point. I’ve just Googled to find they are 5th in the South League, and Dorking are top of the league (strangely I am writing this in a pub in Dorking now – spooky!). Anyway, the path plunged into the middle of a big new housing construction site. Despite all the “hard hat” signs, I marched in, knowing I was on a “right of way”. I did stop at the office, only to find I had missed a (completely unsigned) diversion around the site. A rather uninspiring channel between site hordings and the river wall.

The next stage was the opposite, in terms of access, with the path directly through operational sites. The public footpath bypasses all the security on a site through special gates. You just need to stick to the marked path. There was a monument marked on the map here, called Bevans War Memorial. I thought it might something to do with Aneurin Bevan who created the NHS. It wasn’t, but an equally important memorial for the workers of the Bevan Cement Works that lost their lives in the first world war. Even though we are used to seeing memorials in towns and villages, I think it demonstrates the huge loss felt by even small establishments.

The final leg was through quite urban areas and not really close to the river. One stretch of the official path was closed to pedestrians, but I didn’t investigate too closely as I had the 16:29 train in mind. I took the quickest route back to the river, and decided to follow the path for the last few hundred metres. This was a mistake as it was up and down various steps and stairs going up and over the sea wall. It did however, end up at the Gravesend Ferry, which would be a perfect shortcut to Essex for any non-purists walking the Coast Path. I’m not tempted in the least (mainly because I’ve already committed to London Bridge being the proper crossing point!). Damn, I could have saved days! [Note: It seems the ferry was stopped in 2024, although there are campaigns to get it back, it justifies my distrust of anything but fixed bridges ;)]

I’ve not been to Gravesend before and it really surprised me. Nice streets of old shops, preserved as the “Heritage Quarter” and some really remarkable old buildings. Its definitely somewhere to come back to.

I caught the 16:29 to London Bridge, which plunged me into peak time trains home. At London Bridge I jumped on a packed Thameslink and ended up standing and squashed by the door. It was terrible and I started to feel a bit unwell. By the time I reached East Croydon I burst off the train  which was the only advantage of being by the door. I decided to wait out the rush hour and only get on a train that I could get a seat on. Luckily I only had to wait 10 minutes for the next one, and it was half empty. I’m so glad I don’t have to commute. I think I’ll try to avoid peak trains in future, as walking 30 km and then standing on a packed train do not seem to work out for me.

I seem to be writing far too much – luckily I’m only walking once a week!