Open post

The last & the first 24 -25

The Brief

I had one more hike left to do in the series and, one more day in which to do it. That was new years eve, it seemed like a great idea, I don’t party anymore and I love hiking. Benfleet to Shoeburyness, I have done it a few times now, maybe I am too comfortable with it for it to be a real challenge. I checked the Southend website and they were putting on a fireworks display, I knew then I could time it to come back to the seafront and see the new year in. I left for Leigh on Sea around 4:45, got there an hour later and discovered I’d left my walking boots at home. I changed the route accordingly as the original Hadleigh route takes you across the sea wall which is potentially muddy. It added a further 3 minutes to the journey, it wasn’t very scenic. I jumped on the train at Leigh to make my way to the start point of Benfleet and got there 5 minutes later, knowing that I would pass Leigh 1 hour and 40 minutes later. As I did, I passed my car and got a sinking feeling that leaving my car in a open station car park until the early hours of the morning would add to my anxiety.

I made may way towards Shoeburyness and by the time I could see Chalkwell station (the next stop after Leigh), I thought, I could jump on the next train in 4 minutes, travel 2 minutes back to Leigh, pick up the car and drive back to Chalkwell and park it on the seafront in front of a residential area and feel more comfortable. 20 minutes and £1.90 later I was back on track and heading to Shoeburyness. Apart from the savage wind and the darkness, Southend was quite empty and there were even less people as I passed through. By the time I reached Shoeburyness, there weren’t any people other than 2 people getting out of a car in the distance. I made my way up to MoD fence on the beach, put my feet in the north sea and then made my way back. When I reached Southend or Highcliff, it was packed, which made me feel better only because I knew then the fireworks weren’t cancelled. When midnight came around the display itself was very good, just a shame it was so windy the fireworks couldn’t get up in the sky very high. I also got to speak to Lucas. Once it was all done, I still had a few miles to walk back to my car in Chalkwell. Totally worth it though.

It was a great way to see in and start the new year.

The only photos my cold fingers could take

The route and back on myself



The Podcast

Open post

The New Frontier

This podcast is on anchor/ spotify, so I am not going to double post. In a desperate bid, yes desperate bid, to get you to listen to the podcast, I have attached the file here as well as the hikenpod page.

Yesterday I walked from Enfield to Hertford again, it is my go hike when I want to practise or have been out of practise. It was 19 miles and a bit but it was fun. Have a listen, it is a long podcast but I think it is worth it.

Thanks for visiting.

Open post

Parkland

On the south western section of Alexandra Palace, lies the disused railway line that has been turned into the, you guess it, Parkland walk. A nature reserve in Haringay. It is split into two sections north and south, divided by Highgate woods. On the south side there a about 3 disused platforms that you can walk along and signage to explain where the old stations used to be. The walk takes about an hour (ish) and to pass through the north and south sections, you have to travel through a bat cave. I didn’t not because I was scared but I wanted to visit a shop and get a drink. Also the last time I did the walk, the caves were closed and I wasn’t aware you could walk through.

I made a youtube video the first time I visited a few years ago but my voice really annoys me in it. You’ll have to make do with the podcast for now.

It was something to do on a Saturday afternoon at a moments notice.

The Parkland Podcast

Posts navigation

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Scroll to top