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Medway

Walking
From the Swale to Bedlams Bottom, a Medway Marshes walk

by Ian Tokelove August 19, 2023

August 19, 2023

A circular walk in the Medway Marshes, from the Sheppey Crossing to the wrecks at Bedlams Bottom, then back to the …

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Walking
Walking the Hoo Peninsula, from Strood to Kingsnorth Power Station & back

by Ian Tokelove October 10, 2020

October 10, 2020

This looping Medway shoreline walk offers big skies & saltmarsh, a ship graveyard & a crumbling 17th century fort, a Second …

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Remote London

Remote London is a website dedicated to the quieter, wilder side of Greater London and beyond. Places away from the crowds, where nature can flourish undisturbed. Places where you can walk and see few others.

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ian.tokelove

Wild spaces, rivers & seas
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Kayaking, walking & writing

Memories of July, and a heatwave walk along the St

Memories of July, and a heatwave walk along the Stour Estuary, from Cattawade to Lower Holbrook and back. Saltmarsh gives way to long, empty beaches, backed by low earthen cliffs lined with scrub and oak. Exposed tree roots quest futilely into the air above the beach, and some oaks have fallen in winter storms. Where the cliffs are free of vegetation, their sandy earth is pocked with the nests of sand martins, and the smaller nests of solitary bees. In places the route wanders inland through peaceful countryside and expensive real estate, before reaching the small, tidal harbour at Lower Holbrook. On my way back I inadvertently lost the path and found myself walking through the extensive grounds of the rather elite Royal Hospital School, where a year’s boarding fee costs more than my annual earnings. I jumped a barbed wire gate, returning to the free path, and headed west towards the sunset. - - - #Cattawade #LowerHolbrook #StourEstuary #Estuary #CoastPath #CoastalWalking #Stour #StourAndOrwellWalk #Suffolk

Litter-picking London’s River Ravensbourne, as p

Litter-picking London’s River Ravensbourne, as part of a larger crew. I went solo and headed upriver for a bit. With one channel blocked I took the culvert under Elverson Road station, immersed in the sound of running water and the rumbling of overhead trains. The river was flowing deeper and darker than usual, swollen by overnight rain, and the flattened vegetation on the banks was entangled with discarded plastics. Occasional shafts of sunlight revealed small dark, darting fish, sparks of life in the urban river. We got a good haul of trash. With thanks to @BrookmillPark and @HealthyRiversProject. - - - #RiverRavensbourne #RemoteLondon #RiverCleanUp #UrbanRivers

“The rusting boat was a small tug and was towed

“The rusting boat was a small tug and was towed to where it remains now in the 1980's. I don't recall where it came from originally… There was a young boy of about 14 yrs and his dad living on it for a couple of years. "One night the gas tanks were set alight but the two were able to escape before the tanks exploded and burnt the boat to its existing condition. Dad and son never returned. The boat has been left in situ since then.” I’ve been intrigued by this curious, remote hulk since I first noticed it, out on the River Roach in Essex, close to the village of Paglesham and its small boatyard. Unable to dig up any info, I turned to the ‘Paglesham Past and Present’ website, and they responded to my request, for which I am grateful. Every boat has a story. I’d love to know more, so if anyone out there has more info, do get in touch. And thank you, Paglesham Past and Present: www.pagleshampastandpresent.co.uk - - - #RemoteLondon #RiverRoach #Roach #Essex #Creek #Paglesham #ThamesEstuary #Estuary #CoastPath #PagleshamBoatyard #Abandoned #Wreck #TugBoat

My favourite urban coastal walk, Purfleet to Grays

My favourite urban coastal walk, Purfleet to Grays in Essex, along the Thames estuary. Abandoned jetties, container ships, oil silos and chemical works. And lots of wildlife. Scrubby vegetation encroaches along the path, rich in late-summer seedheads, and house martins skim the saltmarsh edge. Blackberries in places, and damsons too, for those who like their fruit wild 🍇 - - - #RemoteLondon #ThamesPath #ThamesEstuary #Estuary #UrbanLandscape #edgelands #Essex #Thurrock #WestThurrock #Purfleet #Grays #Coastpath

Walking the River Roach last Monday, out from Roch

Walking the River Roach last Monday, out from Rochford and Stambridge Mills to Paglesham boatyard and back. Along the way, the seawall paths are tightly wrapped with prickly wild grasses and in places, the roads are surfaced with crystal-white fragments of crushed cockle shells. The remnants of Charles Darwin’s famous ship, the Beagle, lie hidden in the saltmarsh, just beyond Paglesham boatyard. In around 1847 the ship was repurposed as a Coastguard Watch Vessel, a static base for coastguards, whose principle job was stopping smuggling. And a lot of that went on in the Essex creeks, back in the day. The body of the ship is long gone, but the keel is believed to be preserved under the salty mud. Sadly there’s nothing to see, other than a small interpretation panel, overlooking the saltmarsh. - - - #RemoteLondon #RiverRoach #Roach #Essex #Creek #SaltMarsh #Saltings #StambridgeMill #StambridgeMills #Rochford #Paglesham #Darwin #CharlesDarwin #TheBeagle #ThamesEstuary #Estuary #CoastPath #SeaWall

Early August walk along the edge of Kent’s Hoo P

Early August walk along the edge of Kent’s Hoo Peninsula, drawn again to the sculptural remnants of old jetties, still standing after more than a hundred years. They served an inland explosives works, from roughly 1898 until 1920. The site closed following a reduction in post-war demand for munitions. The jetties would have remained in much better condition, but during World War Two they were deliberately broken, to render them useless in the face of wartime invasion. - - - #RemoteLondon #HooPeninsula #ThamesEstuary #Estuary #Thames #NorthKentMarshes #EnglandCoastPath #CoastPath #Abandoned

Wandering Kent’s Hoo Peninsula at the weekend, t

Wandering Kent’s Hoo Peninsula at the weekend, the flat landscape offset by the distant gantry cranes of London Gateway, across the wide reach of the Thames. The path was dry, beaten down by summer heat, and coated with drifts of thistle seeds. Inland, the quiet ruins of munition works dot the grazing marshes, and beyond the seawall, huge container ships slide past – their massive bulks slowing as they cautiously approach their berths. - - - #RemoteLondon #HooPeninsula #ThamesEstuary #Estuary #Thames #NorthKentMarshes #EnglandCoastPath #LondonGateway #CoastPath

Harwich, July 2025. There’s much more to Harwich

Harwich, July 2025. There’s much more to Harwich than these pics show, but these are some of the bits that caught my attention on a recent trip. I liked Harwich, with its beautiful old buildings contrasting with modern concrete banality, its slightly rough around the edges feel, and its views of Felixstowe, across the mouth of the Stour. - - - #Harwich #StourEstuary #Estuary #CoastPath #CoastalWalking #Stour #RiverStour #Folkestone

The disused, dilapidated gantry bridge at Harwich

The disused, dilapidated gantry bridge at Harwich Train Ferry Berth. Dating back to 1923, this once served train ferries to Zeebrugge in Belgium. The last service ran in 1987 and the structure is now Grade II Listed. The gantry controlled an adjustable train bridge which was hinged at the shore end, while the other end could be raised or dropped to rest on the stern of a ferry. The gantry was originally constructed in Richborough, Kent in 1917 to support overseas troops fighting in the First World War. Other parts of the structure are from a sister berth in Southampton, repurposed after the war’s end. These were Britain’s first ever roll-on/roll-off ferries. In their original role they played a critical part in resisting the German Spring Offensive of 1918. Pics from a week or two ago, while walking the Stour coastline. Lots more info at www.historicengland.org.uk - - - #HarwichTrainFerryBerth #HarwichTrainFerry #Harwich #HarwichZeebrugge #StourEstuary #EssexWay #Estuary #CoastPath #CoastalWalking #Stour #RollOnRollOff

Exploring the tidal River Colne last week, from Fe

Exploring the tidal River Colne last week, from Ferry Road, Fingringhoe to the head of navigation at East Mill in Colchester. A surprisingly green journey, alongside new housing and old and repurposed industry. And one old hulk, slowly melting into the river. - - - #RiverColne #Essex #Colchester #EastMillColchester. #RemoteLondon #Fingringhoe #Estuary #ThamesEstuary #Kayaking #Kayak #SeaKayaking #UrbanKayaking

Last week I stumbled across this intriguing, forgo

Last week I stumbled across this intriguing, forgotten curiosity, while walking the Essex Way between Copperas Bay and Ramsey. It’s a locally-built swather, a small harvester that cuts and ‘windrows’ grain and other seed crops, depositing the cuttings in a long row to dry before collection. This one dates back to 1981 and was built by @shelbournereynolds. The cutting blades are hidden in the brambles, at the opposite end to the unrelated yellow bucket. - - - #EssexWay #Swather #ShelbourneReynolds #ShelbourneReynoldsSwather #ShelbourneReynoldsEngineering #Ramsey

A couple of abandoned hulks on the Stour Estuary.

A couple of abandoned hulks on the Stour Estuary. Spotted while walking the Essex Way last week, from Mistley to Harwich. One hulk was within reach, one was not. The coastline is gorgeous, quiet and remote, but not always accessible. - - - #StourEstuary #EssexWay #Abandoned #Hulks #Hulk #Estuary #Wrabness #CoastPath #CoastalWalking #Stour

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Recent Posts

Walking Faversham Creek and Oare Creek, and the Oare Marshes in Kent
Walking the River Roach: Rochford to Barling Ness
From the Swale to Bedlams Bottom, a Medway Marshes walk
Walking the River Roding, from Redbridge to the Barking Creek Barrier & the Thames
Walking the River Ebbsfleet, from Northfleet Harbour to its Springhead source
Yantlet Creek: a short walk between two estuaries, the Thames & Medway
Walking the River Crouch: Burnham on Crouch to North Fambridge
Walking MOD Shoeburyness and the Wakering creeks
Exploring Milton Creek, from Sittingbourne to the Swale
Walking the Broomway, Britain’s deadliest footpath

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All content © Ian Tokelove 2025 unless otherwise stated.

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