All the Grid Squares: Purfleet-on-Thames Riverside

Following on from my last post, I'm starting my exploration of Thurrock by ticking off the two blue riverside squares in the south-west of the borough. These are blue because they are boundary squares with the Thurrock/Kent boundary running down the middle of the River Thames.

I'd been close to them before, really close, but I don't think I'd ever stepped into these two grid squares. 

Let's take a detailed look at the map:

The squares in question are TQ5577 and TQ5676. I walked from Rainham to Purfleet on the London LOOP back in 2016 but stopped at the station, and in lockdown I walked from home along the roads to Purfleet and along the river to the Queen Elizabeth II bridge, both about three miles from home and both times stopping tantalisingly short of these squares. I've marked all three excursions in green above.

A lot of this area is industrial, with oil terminals, container terminals and aggregate works leading to the piers and wharves along the river, BUT there is a public footpath running all along this section of the Thames. 

I parked at RSPB Rainham Marshes for convenience and headed to the riverside, turning my back on views of Canary Wharf and heading east, past the Purfleet Heritage Centre (an old gunpowder store) and the new town sign, erected after Purfleet became Purfleet-on-Thames in 2020.

I'd been this way before, and shortly afterwards followed the path inland and then the road to the station where I would enter new territory. I had had a recce on Google Streetview and identified that the path started between two buildings opposite the station. However, on arrival, I found both buildings (or perhaps the space where they used to be) hidden by hoardings, but spotted a gap at one end which seemed to lead to the path. The way felt a bit trespass-y at first but soon opened out on to what was obviously a proper footpath, complete with waymarker a little further on.

After a while, this path climbed a bank and I popped up beside the river again. Sadly the views were brief and the path dropped down behind the river wall, past Purfleet Fuel Terminal, complete with notices about the court injunction which bans protesters from obstructing the site.

Further on, a couple of ships were moored at the jetties and I took a closer look by climbing some steps on the wall, but the majority of my walk was still along a narrow strip running between walls and fences.

At one point, I thought I might have reached a dead end but the path jinked left and ducked under the road leading to one of those jetties. I popped up another set of steps, to see the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge ahead and the second moored ship alongside.

A set of ramps finally took me over the river wall and onto a wide path under the conveyor belts of the Aggregate Industries depot. I headed onwards, toward the bridge, secure in the knowledge that walking that far would guarantee me the second grid square. I stood there for a bit, watching the Adeline go upstream.

My return journey was quicker, with knowledge of the route and less climbing of steps to check what could be seen. I did disturb a flock of what I think were starlings from a patch of rough ground, and they alighted on the steps ahead of me which I had to pass over and move them on again. Once I reached the point where my original path left the river, I kept going straight on to see what I would find. I was rewarded with a selection of street art, but nothing of any value. In contrast I've seen some excellent art on the river wall closer to home.

From here, I cut back towards Purfleet station and retraced my route back to Rainham Marshes. Here's the route map:

And an update for my Thurrock grid squares map: 

I've amended this compared to the version above; I've re-coloured previously visited squares in a lighter green, and switched to a darker green for squares that I've walked in since I started this project. These include not only this Purfleet walk but also my normal weekly activities. 

I'm undecided about whether to re-walk all the old squares or not, but by doing it this way I have the data on hand if I do make that my goal.