I began working my way through the TFL Capital Ring Walk, a series of 15 walks designed by Transport for London. It covers 78 miles of open space and natural reserves circling central London. Section 15-1 of the TFL Capital Ring Walk starts at Beckton and goes through Woolwich, ending in Falconwood. During the walk we saw city buildings, stunning Thames views, industrial sites and beautiful woodland.
We started the walk at Royal Albert DLR, section 15 of the Capital Ring map. From here we walked to the University of East London on the Thames where we watched the planes take off from London City Airport and continued towards Gallion’s Way. This is the last stop on the DLR map and we were impressed with how desolate and industrial the place was. A lot of construction was happening and we passed several models having their photos taken against the backdrop of all the industry and the river Thames. In five to ten years, I can imagine this place will be a bustling marina river town with shops and restaurants along a Thames boardwalk. But for now it is an undeveloped part of East London that is interesting to explore.
We passed through here and saw a group of youths attempting to tightrope across a piece of string as we went towards the Woolwich foot tunnel. The tunnel offers pedestrians an underground route to cross the Thames however there is also a free ferry you can opt to take as well. We had a break for lunch at this time at Clockjack chicken rotisserie restaurant in Woolwich village and refuelled with some hearty chicken salads and hot chocolates. We then continued our way along the Thames on the southside viewing Woolwich Arsenal and the Thames Barrier, an amazing feat of modern-day engineering and design. The Thames Barrier is the worlds largest movable flood barrier and prevents the city from flooding by shutting the water out.
We finished section 1 of the Capital Ring Walk, by passing the posh Charlton School through Charlton Park up Shooters Hill to Severndroog castle. We finally made it to Oxleas Wood and continued to our final destination Falconwood. There are many beautiful and green open areas in Falconwood including the Falconwood Field and Park and Eltham Park. We then took the train from Falconwood station home.
Key Statistics:
Miles: 11.80
Time: 4:04:16
Calories: 117
Download the map here.
