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So Monday the 25th January 2020, its still lockdown and I have to exercise locally. So I drive the short distance to Purfleet and parked up for free in Centurion Way.
From there I walk to The Thames and follow the path past the Purfleet Magazine.
The Purfleet Heritage & Military Centre is housed within Magazine No.5 of what was once the Royal Magazine for Gunpowder situated on the banks of the River Thames.
In the reign of George III, Purfleet Garrison was built to service 5 powder magazines, arising from concern that powder stored at Woolwich presented a potential danger to London. It was designed by James Gabriel Montresor who also supervised the construction. One of the magazines (No.5) and the proofing house have been preserved. The magazines were built of brick with thickly copper plated doors. The nails are copper and the roof space was filled with sand. There are no windows. All the buildings were designed to protect the surrounding area should an explosion occur. The magazines could house 50,000 barrels of gunpowder.
The Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre is housed within what was once Magazine No.5. The centre contains a wide range of historical artifact's and memorabilia relating to the history of the magazines and local area dating from 18th Century to present day.
In April 2012, a plaque was unveiled at Purfleet celebrating Benjamin Franklin who visited the Royal Gunpowder Magazine in the 1760s and offered advice (that was rejected) on the most effective design for lightning conductors to reduce the risk of an explosion from lightning strikes.
I walk along the Thames with views to Canary Wharf behind me.
I walk past the Purfleet Beacon and sign.
I turn inland to avoid the path that ends further up. I pass the Royal Hotel.
Since being built in the 18th century, the hotel has had several names, one of which was the “Bricklayer’s Arms”, named after the workers from the nearby chalk quarries who were regular customers. They were eventually replaced by London actors, actresses and politicians who came to Purfleet for weekends. The name “Royal Hotel” is thought to date back to the 1870s from an alleged visit by Edward Prince of Wales to sample the famous whitebait suppers.
I take a path on my right just before Purfleet Train Station and walk past a graffitied wall back to the Thames Sea Wall.
Its a bleak walk here, overgrown and full of litter.
The Dartford Crossing comes into view.
I am now approaching Purfleet Deep Wharf otherwise known as Cobelfret.
Moored up here is the Huge ship Yasmine.
YASMINE (IMO: 9337353) is a Ro-Ro Cargo that was built in 2007 and is sailing under the flag of Malta.
It’s carrying capacity is 49166 Gross Tonnage and her current draught is reported to be 6.7 metres. Her length overall (LOA) is 203 metres and her width is 31.03 metres.
Home Port: VALLETTA
I walk pass Adm Pura Foods and under a tunnel.
This jetty has seen better days, anyone brave enough yo try walking out?
Now I am approaching the QEII Bridge and walking over the Dartford Tunnel.
Rope swings were attached to the ironwork here.
Sticking out of the ground are the white cones, these are the ventilation for the Dartford tunnel which runs 80 feet below.
The Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel carries the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurrock in Essex in the north. It consists of two bored tunnels and the cable-stayed Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.
The only fixed road crossing of the Thames east of Greater London, it is the busiest estuarial crossing in the United Kingdom, with an average daily use of over 130,000 vehicles. It opened in stages: the west tunnel in 1963, the east tunnel in 1980 and the bridge in 1991. The crossing, although not officially designated a motorway, is considered part of the M25 motorway's route, using the tunnels northbound and bridge southbound. Described as one of the most important road crossings in Britain, it suffers from heavy traffic and congestion.
The crossing's development started in the late 1930s, but was interrupted due to the Second World War and resumed in the 1950s. The original tunnel catered for a single lane of traffic in each direction, but rising traffic levels required the second tunnel to be built. The M25 connected to the tunnels at both ends when completed in 1986, and this increased traffic put pressure on the tunnels' capacity. A Private Finance Initiative scheme was started in 1988 to build the bridge. The combined crossing now handles four lanes of traffic in each direction.
The crossing has always been tolled, and though the cost of construction has since been paid back, the toll was retained, and rebranded as a congestion pricing scheme from 1 April 2003. Since 2008 it has been free from 10 pm to 6 am. An automatic number plate recognition charging scheme named the "Dart Charge" began in November 2014. As a result, the booths on the Kent side were removed and the charge is now only payable online, by post, or in certain participating retail outlets. A residents' scheme is available, offering discounts for people living near the crossing.
I am now the other side of the bridge and is just as industrial and bleak, passing a Oil Storage depot.
I now pass two graffiti covered WWII Pill boxes at Stone Ness.
As I continue into Long Reach and after we have passed under the new Queen Elizabeth bridge on the bend opposite Greenhithe and the mammoth Bluewater Park Shopping Centre we come across Stone Ness on the Essex bank and at 22 miles is lighthouse No.5. It was established in 1885 and is the first of the more interesting red metal framed lighthouses on the river. It carries a wind generator on its top and at 44 feet high the light is visible for 9 miles.
I pass the second Pillbox on the other side of Stone Ness.
The jetty here, with its distinctive bulk uploader, was built to serve West Thurrock Power Station. Built between 1957 and 1965 on unspoilt marshland, the station was decommissioned in 1993 and had been completely demolished by 1999. The jetty now serves a chemical works supporting the nearby Procter & Gamble works.
Now I approach the Proctor and Gamble Factory. Around here you can divert inland a short way to visit St Clements Church. This pretty church dates back (in places) to the early thirteenth century, and makes an incongruous neighbour to the huge chemical factory which towers over it. If you watched the film Four Weddings and a Funeral you may remember this church from the funeral scenes. The church owes its survival to Procter & Gamble, the company funding the church’s renovation in the late 80s.Sadly I didn't see the path that leads off so I missed this.
I am now entering Grays.
As the river path enters Grays, modern housing replaces the cement and engineering works which once lined the river. The Wharf pub dates back to at least 1780, when it was known as the Sailor’s Return. Now run down looking. Shame!
I pass The Thurrock Yacht Club.
The decaying wooden wreck next to Thurrock Yacht Club is The Gull, a lightship built in 1860. The ship’s mast and lantern were saved and still stand in the club, but the boat was lost to decay, vandalism and arson.
She was built in 1860 and served on previous stations including Lyn Well at the Wash. After another collision in 1940 at Brake Sand she was removed, repaired again, and sent to Mouse Station in the mouth of the river Thames and renamed 'Mouse'. She was attacked by enemy air fire in 1941 and then withdrawn to spend the remainder of the war laid up.
I follow the path up as far as Grays beach, I was expecting a actual beach not a play area!
Now I walk along roads to take me to Grays Train Station.
I pass St Pauls and St Peters Church.
The church existed before 1160, for it was given to the Knights Hospitallers of St.John of Jerusalem by William de Ferrers sometime between 1152 and 1159. William Ferrers had come into possession of the Church and Manor by marrying Margaret the daughter of William Peverel and grand-daughter of the first Norman Lord of the Manor. William de Ferrers not only gave away the Church "for the safety of my soul, and for that of my wife, and for those of my predecessors and heirs" but also sold the Manor at about the same time to Isaac, son of Josce the Rabbi, showing concern for both his spiritual and earthly needs.
The manor came into the hands of the King probably on Isaac’s death. This may have been a method of collecting death duties from those who were not the King’s subjects whereby their lands were confiscated and then sold back to the heir at a substantial discount. It was Isaac's son who sold the Thurrock manor to Henry de Grey in 1194. So started the long association of the de Grey family with the area, which was to give its name to Grays Thurrock.
I get the train one stop back to Purfleet Station and walk back to the car after a 6.5 mile walk.
