The Saxon Shore Way ends at Gravesend and the Thames Path does not properly begin until the Thames Barrier. Nevertheless, a proper path does run from the Dartford Creek Barrier, some two miles west of the Dartford Bridge. But, on Sunday, taking the opportunity of clement weather, I took the more challenging and ugly approach between Gravesend and Dartford.
Part of this revolves around shorter, urban walks during the winter months; even on the shortest day, you can walk for fifteen miles with an early start. One forgets that it is light at 8, dark at 4.
The fourteen miles that I undertook is some of the most aesthetically pleasing: a mixture of urban decay, factories, wasteland and sewage farms. All of the route has litter in some shape or form. Half of the world's plastic is strewn across the countryside. Nor is there a distinguishing building, sights, or other marks: unless one considers the approach to and from the Dartford Bridge. Although, nestling between the marshes is Greenhithe, a pleasant enclave of cottages and olde-world charm within the blight.
No doubt my masochism still views this as a fine walk: perhaps better in frost. One does not get the views that are, perhaps, more impressive further west; and, trotting to and from the shoreline via industrial estates, can be frustrating. Better to follow a footpath through a meadow than past Asda. Nevertheless, the Swanscombe Marshes east of Greenhithe (dominated by transmission lines) and the Dartford Marshes provide sufficient greenery. At the end, one follows the twisting River Darent back towards Dartford on the Darent Valley Way. That final part of the walk is a frustrating yet rewarding passage. The path twists far away from the river, then back again, set up on a ridge over the marshes. A direct path along the riverside is impassable. And this meanders almost back to the Dartford Bridge again, giving thoughts of a U-turn. One can see all the way: in flat marshes, you can see where you are going and imagine how long it is before the phone beeps eleven or twelve miles.
Most fortunate of all, it did not rain until I stepped back on the train to London Bridge.