There was a little
rain through the night but by morning it had stopped. I was packed
up and away by 7am. I wheeled my bike out of the woods and re-joined
the main road to Esher. It was getting busy as the rush hour
approached and was not pleasant cycling. My first main objective was
Hampton Court Palace, originally a favourite of Henry V111.
From the traffic
chaos of Hampton Court Bridge over the Thames I was on a quiet cycle
path along the banks of the Thames. I couldn’t see much of the
palace except for the entrance and surrounding ornate fence which
was also behind another fence. I left the peace and quiet when I
reached the next bridge and crossed back over the Thames and started
many miles through busy traffic. There were many stretches of
constant queues of traffic and I was mostly able to get past on the
outside or short stretches on the pavement. I stopped briefly to
photograph my bike by the Tooting Bec Tube Station when a man asked
about my cycle journey.
He said he had also
been a keen cyclist. I re-joined the busy roads and eventually
reached my second main objective of Greenwich Observatory. The main
access drive was very busy with tourists walking up to the main
buildings. I Reached the Wolf Statue and asked the man at the
entrance about the Meridian Line. He told me that the main brass
line set in the courtyard within the locked gates. Access is by
entry charge. He told me of a short length of line in a path through
a kissing gate which is where I was able to take a photo. Near the
statue was a van doing hot drinks and food. I bought a £4.75 bacon
roll.
I freewheeled down a
long descent back to the busy streets and to the cycle track by the
Thames. I had a look at the Cutty Sark sailing ship as I passed but
the new building structures around the base spoiled the appearance.
There were also
plenty of barriers set up which were left over from yesterday’s
London Marathon race.
The Cutty Sark
Further along the
embankment I looked down to the muddy shore where many people were
excavating and surveying remaining timbers from what looked like an
old jetty.
Surveying the excavations
The cycle way wound
its way through some very scruffy areas until I reached the O2
Millennium Dome building. I reached the Thames Barrier and left the
Thames shore to join the roads again. I stopped in Erith for a bag
of chips and continued my way towards Gravesend and the ferry.
The cycle route
marker took me down a long descent to a strange area of Blue Water
Retail Park. This was off my route but I managed to find a way back
to the A2 without going back the way I’d come.
Wall painting at Thamesmead
Wall painting at Thamesmead
Wall painting at Thamesmead
Thankfully there was
a cycle track. When I turned off towards Gravesend the heavy rain
started. On the outskirts of the town I called in at Asda to buy 2no
2lt bottles of water. I rode into Gravesend to find the pier for the
ferry to Tilbury. The way in wasn’t obvious and I had to ask a
couple of people where the entrance was. It turned out the access
door to the pier was marked Restaurant and Pier. I just got there in
time for the current sailing and joined others waiting as the ferry
got ready
Crossing from Gravesent to Tilbury
Mine was the only
bike on board. It was still very overcast and dark cloud with rain
as I arrived at the Tilbury jetty. I rode along the cycle path by
the riverside barrier to Tilbury Fort. Although it was closed I was
able to look in through the main gate. The cycle route continued
past the fort but then I came to a substantial steel gate welded
shut. To get past I would have to take all my panniers off and carry
the bike over. The continuing track didn’t have any cycle tracks so
I returned to the fort and asked a fisherman. He said the gate had
been welded shot for years.
I had to scrap my
planned camp by the Thames estuary north bank and decided to
continue along the lanes. I was astonished at the amount of rubbish
dumped by the road. I reached East Tilbury and up a steep hill to an
area of scrub land by an industrial park. I was able to wheel my
bike up a trials bike trail and found a pitch in some trees.
Return to
Whittle Wanderer
