GREENWAY W>E

Few days ago I have walked the whole length of the Greenway from West to East in opposite direction of the sun on a boiling day. I did half of the walk few years ago but stopped by the East London Cemetery in Plaistow. The walk starts between the A12 and  Old Ford Lock in Hackney Wick. At first nothing has much changed part that local artisans/artists have put their touch here and there in the background with little installations and graffitis. As you approach the London Stadium the bit on the right remains a vacant in limbo piece of land similar to a laboratory. I have seen this part changing so many times over the past 10 years. It is the perfect allegory of the East End, a land in fusion. On the right stands the new West Ham Football Stadium and right in between a new running track and new plain building whose function is unknown to me.

As I started this walk I was expecting walking the full length of the Greenway hoping the bit by the ViewPoint Green Container Café would have been restored and open to the public. Sadly it isn't. Speaking to a warden officer working on the other side of the train track on a parking lot/allotments temporary area he told me that wouldn't happen before 3 to 4 years. So I walk along the canal to reach the A118 High Street and carry on.

Nothing has much changed here apart that the Abbey Mills Pumping Station seems to have been partially restored and properly protected. The once public areas are now closed. I carry on and the path is stretching long. The vegetation is lush and comforting. The partial background noise of traffic can be heard but the Greenway keeps you sheltered.

As the path slightly bends by crossing Balaam Street in Plaistow you suddenly discern the Barking Creek Barrier in the far distance. It strangely looks much bigger than it should be being so far away. Perspective illusions occur when the surrounding landscape is so flat and barren. The path is now quite empty and you can hear people's music, discussions and occupations behind the wall of vegetation. It is a very peaceful and pleasing experience.

The greenway has now reached the East Ham interchange by the A13. You walk around it and carry on South-East. Walk by the artificial Hill and verge right. You then enter the last proper section. This one is empty of souls and is squeezed between 2 vast industrial estates. The one on the right is company based and the one on the left is retail. Out the of the flatness experienced totems of all shapes emerge.

 The tail of the Greenway divides as you reach the Royal Docks Road A1020 (or Northern Circular extension) I choose the one on the left to walk towards Barking. The decor becomes busy and dirty, I don't like it. Here and there you find some oddities such as wind turbine and horses. My journey ends as I leave Newham by the Roding River.

The Greenway isn't the most exciting of trail but it has its charm. It is a very convenient corridor for the locals to reach various point either by walk or ride. But for me the joy it has provided me lied in the disconnection experienced despite being so present within the urban landscape. It offers a unique mental space where you can breathe, think and project on its blank canvas.

THE CORNERS

New publication of Chris Dorley-Brown with Hoxton Mini Press "The Corners" now available to pre-order.
This man is on fire!

https://www.hoxtonminipress.com/collections/books/products/the-corners

RODING RIVER part 2

Easter weather has been a bit of a uninviting one for my type of photography. Luckily we had a spell of sunshine on Friday 6th so I took my chance to complete my investigation along the river Roding. I started where I left it in Barking by the Highbridge Road (smallest bridge in the area) Since my last visit it seems that the East bank of the river has been visited by the contractors and work is under way. Most of my walk will take place on the West bank of the river. You start the walk by going through the Tesco car park. What first strikes me is the pollution. People dump trolley, plastics and so forth - sad. You cross the A124 and the walk becomes pleasant. Mix of 60's building on the right and industrial warehouses on the left. An actual path takes you along the bending stream. Glorious vegetation, strolling swans and gentle breeze put you in a good mood, until you reach the "official" end of the path. You then have to venture in the unknown going under the low train track.

There another world unveils. One of wild bushes where the path is hard to find. An uninspiring landscape filled with rubbish, stuck between a grim and poisonous Northern Circular and an unaccessible river punctuated by fly-tippings. You constantly have to watch out where you are walking to avoid nasty surprises. Some homeless people have built shelters in what you can only describe as slum. And this goes on until you reach Ilford and Romford Road. Quite depressing really. But I keep on walking despite the misery and try to find a way to follow the river. The actual banks are closed to the public and toxic anyway so I try my luck (silly me!) by walking along the NC on the other side of the junction hoping to find some kind of hidden path that would take me to the Aldersbrook part but I walk there in vain. There is no access whatsoever and I have to come back to the Ilford junction.

If you wish to do that walk bare in mind that this section requires a detour. You have to walk on Romford Road Westbound for about 5 min and take a path just before the Bell Pharmacy to enter a small residential estate and reach Aldersbrook Lane. You will find a couple of signs Roding Valley Way (see pic below) Turn right down in an underpass filled with graffitis. Then again, you enter a different world. One which is green, calm and poetic. You have to walk a bit more until to merge with the river. On your left sits the City of London Cemetery which is vast and beautiful. On your right   allotments and behind it the stream and the Ilford golf course.

There is a hidden path that takes you to the river by the golf course. There you understand that the only way to walk by the river from the Ilford junction is actually to be a golf member. Once again the Roding has become a private property. Anyway, at the intersection mentioned above you can follow the river by taking a trail. You then enter the further South/East tip of the Epping forest designated area. The landscape becomes open, lush and healthy. The flow of the water is very pronounced especially at this time of the year. You keep walking North and take a small hidden sheltered path. Everything is peaceful there. You then reach a small pedestrian bridge, walk over it and follow the East side of Wanstead Park.

The section described before and this new one are familiar territories to me. As a runner I enjoy the beauty and peace of those trails. Nothing really occurs there until you reach another fence with no further access by the end of Royston gardens. You have to make you way to the Redbridge Roundabout. To conclude this journey turn left towards Wanstead on the A12 and there on your left you will meet for the last time the Roding river. This area is again private. The left side belongs to Thames Water and the right hand side belongs to the Wanstead Gold Club.

Epilogue: The Roding carries on towards Chigwell and offers many tranquil and beautiful vistas. Even if most of this later part is still connected to Northern Circular and later M11 you can actually detach yourself from the constant buzz. That said your walk will end by the Ashton Playing Fields as the trail is then blocked by a dense bushy area. The Roding source is to be found all the way up by Stanted Airport.

ES 27/3/18

Found those two articles yesterday in the Evening Standard about two East End proposals. The one in blue is about what I just said in my previous post about Barking and the River Roding. In the other Tower Hamlet expresses the wish to invest for the homeless, which sounds a bit demagogic. Anyway, let's see how it goes...The East-End is always full of surprises - not.

RODING RIVER part 1

Day 1 of my trip along the Roving River. I was a bit worried of not getting access to the mouth of the river but after having a good read of the Google map I noticed a road access along the Beckton Sewage treatment Works. Left Barking train station towards the Northern Circular and realised there was a pathway starting at the junction with Jenkins Lane. So I hurried my way first to the Thames and decided to start photographing on my way back. As soon as you pass Frankie & Beany's and the Cinemas you are in a new territory. An endless road access goes between the river and the fence of the  Sewage Plant. After a bend you have the option to take an alternative route through the Creekside Trail Natural reserve (which doesn't appear on the Google map) There I met a born and bred Cockney gent who was taking care of the site. We had a lovely chat about the East End and its visceral appeal despite its constant transformation.

I started taking pictures as soon as I arrived at the Barking Creek Barrier. The weather was grey, the birds enjoying the industrial wastes and I was making my way back to Barking. I decided to return into the Creekside Trail and realised there were quite a few alternative dead-end paths to explore. This was a good move as the terrain was slightly elevated and I had now a better view of the surrounding areas. The sun shone through the clouds, the dense vegetations turned gold, the rabbits ran free, what beautiful time to be there. To be there and to be alone! I didn't see any soul on my hike apart from the caretaker - what a bliss! Soon my happiness melted down as I realised that my camera had the wrong settings and therefore the results weren't sharp enough. I got this second hand Fuji X100S mirrorless camera few weeks ago and am planning to use it for the Phase 2 of my project. But for some reasons the focusing system of my digital rangefinder which I love was not set properly. I can't believe it happens to me after 30 years of experience and of constant sharp results! Anyway, took it on my chin, changed the settings and moved on praying for some decent images of my first leg. There was not way I would go back to the mouth of the river, didn't have time. And I couldn't have replaced the joy I experienced then, it would have been a draw back mentally.

Left the trail and approached the A13. Weather grew darker but only few drops. Whereas my side of the river was only occupied by the Sewage Systems it is not turning and industrial Estate sort of area, similar to the opposite East side of the river. Got closer to Barking and entered a revamped area of the banks despite some relics of boats buried in the mud. The path is now made of tarmac, it's clean and modern. Walk over the Lock and I contemplate a familiar view, typical of the new East-End. Cheap, versatile, colourful new buildings glued together. A new shiny Industrial estate sits between the Northern Circular and the river Roding on the West banks. New Wharfs, Quays and so forth are burgeoning on the East side. Either side no access to the river - it's all private (in Barking, can you believe it) In the middle - barges, typical. And there is a lot more to be built!

I eventually managed to enter a Court and access the river. Opposite me is a waste empty terrain under demolition, waiting to rise up. Again sitting between the river and the Northern Circular. A bit further there is a small bridge and I photograph another vast empty zone on the East side. I knew my move further East was a good one but I wasn't expecting such a rapid continuation in Barking of what I have witnessed happening in the East End in the last few years. Next leg and probably final one of my Roding River Special between Barking and Wanstead.