tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post399893003469929793..comments2024-03-29T12:30:31.492+00:00Comments on SWC - This Week's Walks: Sunday Walk 2 – The Thames Path and a Nature ReserveAndrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11395064086819994526noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post-74837130222231052182015-12-13T18:33:37.192+00:002015-12-13T18:33:37.192+00:00Just n=3 on this walk. The weather was in two halv...Just n=3 on this walk. The weather was in two halves: in the morning w= murky-cold-and-drizzly and in the afternoon w= brighter-and-mild. We reached the RSPB cafe about 12.15pm and it was already filling up. We had tasty basic snack meals: baked potatoes with fillings and lots of excellent salad and soup and bread and cake. None of us wanted to do a circuit of the reserve but an RSPB volunteer allowed me to look through his expensive telescope and pointed out some black tailed godwits and a large flock of lapwings.<br />We all agreed not to do the short distance back to Purfleet but retraced our steps to Rainham where towards the end we took a different path back to Rainham so we could experience just a little light mud for the proper SWC winter walk experience. We upped the pace for the last 1km to catch a homeward bound train at 2.40pm as it arrived in the station. A gentle and pleasant winter outing by the atmospheric Thames PeteBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02135468832090264900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post-75791950871447770792015-12-12T19:32:27.823+00:002015-12-12T19:32:27.823+00:00My comments re fly-tipping etc relate to the Purfl...My comments re fly-tipping etc relate to the Purflet to Grays section of walk 203, not to any part of walk 172PeteBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02135468832090264900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post-50048936336961828342015-12-07T18:42:38.298+00:002015-12-07T18:42:38.298+00:00I managed to speak to Thurrock Council recently an...I managed to speak to Thurrock Council recently and they informed me that the vast amount of illegal fly-tipping adjacent to the Thames Path near Purfleet that made the national news back in January this year has now been largely cleared. However this is still a challenging part of the eastern sector of the Thames path and in my view the general environment has badly degraded since I started intermittently walking it in the mid 1990s. You will need a high tolerance of rubbish, graffiti "art" and industrial desolation to "enjoy" this 5 mile stretch. So, do it if you're hard enough! PeteBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02135468832090264900noreply@blogger.com