Following on from
this….
Alan emerged breathless and in hi-viz from the lift-not-working Greenwich foot tunnel, followed shortly by Pluck sporting some of Rapha’s finest, who emerged resplendent from the misty gloom that was to accompany us for much of the day.
Our (loose) aim was to skirt the Thames foreshore, riding from Greenwich to beyond Gravesend as far as Grain and do some exploratory riding, included in which would be
° The first or last pub on the Thames, The Ship and Lobster at Denton Wharf just east of Gravesend.
° A reccee out to the foreshore on the Isle of Grain, to see The London Stone at Yanlet Creek. The southern foreshore’s counterpart of The Crow Stone, which some of us had cycled past last Friday morning, during TNRttC to Southend. (An imaginary line between the two demarks the eastern extent of the Port of London Authority) Amongst a myriad of other boundaries.
It is also the point at which the Thames stops being a river and starts being an estuary.
° A nose-around the eastern shoreline of the Isle of Grain, to see how far we could cycle before the barbed wire and chain link fence of National Grid, ground us to a halt.
Once we’d left Greenwich, a couple of panicked phonecalls ensured that the Promenade Café in Gravesend would be open and serving bacon sarnies on our arrival.
Northfleet was our first detour.
They stopped making cement there last year, having done so since the late 17th century.
The entire plant is being dismantled / demolished.
The good news is, the two chimneys which reach at least 17 miles into the sky (exaggerating) are going to have to come down.
These are them:
Having today contacted the demolition contractor, I am informed that this'll happen around this time next year.
Using explosives.
Watch this space….. I forsee a ride to Northfleet being planned to mark the occasion
There’s stuff there on the foreshore,reminiscent of a distant time…
The redundant Northfleet Lighthouse -
What’s left of Lafarge’s cement depot -
Some seriously large scale industrial processes are about to disappear from here.
If anyone is interested…….
Pedal power took us to and beyond the delights of Gravesend’s finest bacon sarnies from the Promenade Café.
We used NCN1 who’s convoluted ways took us to
::: Ship And Lobster Home Page :::It looked a ‘lights out’ closed – although Alan assured us it was open.
We paused but not for refreshment, just to get a quick look at the now-defunct Shorne Lighthouse…..
… currently residing in a scrapyard on Denton Wharf.
We crossed Shorne Marshes using the Thames and Medway Canal Path
Airborne insects were plentiful – there was much picking of bugs from teeth.
As we crossed the marshes of Cliffe, we passed by
Jools Holland’s placeWe didn’t stop.
High Halstow at 55 metres doesn’t sound mountainous, but the climb up to it is sufficiently steep to cause (as we found) some grimping.
Next, was out onto the Big Road. The A228.
I’m glad we did this on a Bank Holiday.
It’s the only road which connects Thamesport Container Terminal on Grain, as well as the power companies with the mainland.
I could imagine that during the week it’d be hell to a cyclist, with all the HGV traffic and only one lane each way.
We did get to see the London Stone, but nowhere near as close as this….
…. mainly because of where it is located. On the wrong side of a MOD demolition range.
There’s only one track across Lees Marshes, and that’s exactly where we should not have been. We ignored the signs, on the premise that while the fields were full of cattle, we didn’t think the MOD would be detonating very much.
Back through Grain village we followed the signposts ‘To the beach’ in eager anticipation.
A concrete promenade, which is perfect for cycling, took us for 3 or so kilometres into the mouth of the Medway. We could see Sheerness across the water some 1400 metres away.
Much closer to the shoreline was Grain Tower.
A derelict gun emplacement, accessible at low tide by causeway.
It was up for sale recently, and word has it that whoever bought it would have the eponymous address of ‘No1 The Thames’.
Dominating the sky behind us was one of the many power stations to be found in this part of the world.
Oil fired Grain produces 3% of The National Grid’s output
At 244metres the chimney is the second tallest in the UK. I recall having glimpsed it on the horizon whilst I was in Brightlingsea, some 44 kilometres away.
The path stopped with a chain link fence after 3 or so kilometres and we retraced our steps.
The sun had come out and the mist that had accompanied us for most of the day lifted.
We rested at High Halstow on our way back and had some some liquid refreshment.
Catching a London bound train from Higham meant I was home by 18:45, having completed about 70 miles in very fine company.
