All the Grid Squares: Grays Riverside

I'm going to change my approach to the posts I write for my project of walking every grid square of Thurrock. I've found describing the walk in detail with appropriate photographs to be too time-consuming so I'm going to write shorter accounts with 'highlight' photos in future. My blog has always been primarily for myself and I don't need the level of detail that I've been recording here. If you have any questions about anything I share then please ask them in the comments and I will answer.

I returned to the River Thames for this walk, following the waterfront in Grays which runs through four grid squares.

There's a footpath all along here but it's ultimately a dead end. I was aiming to walk off the end of that footpath if possible and get as close to Tilbury Docks as I could. I'm certain that there is an inaccessible grid square (TQ6275) in the docks, but I'll do my best to approach it from all sides before I finally declare it to be so.

I walked from home to a point a little downstream from my previous walk. This area used to be all industrial (much as we have seen further upstream) but the old wharves and jetties have mostly been swept away to be replaced by housing.

Overview of the Route

There's a reminder of that history with a small park and sculpture of Britannia at Heritage Wharf.

The only building of any age is the 18th century, grade II listed pub, previously known as The Sailors Return.

The path still weaves round the remnants of old docks,

including Grays Town Wharf, which dates back to medieval times.

I passed Thurrock Yacht Club, which holds the mast and lantern from The Gull, a lightship which saw service from 1860 to 1941 before being laid up. She was bought by the club in 1947 and used as the clubhouse until 1971, before falling into disrepair and ultimately being destroyed by arsonists in 2002.

I walked along the foreshore as far as possible, rather than on the path which was tucked against the perimeter wall of the docks, before retreating back to the path when the ground underfoot felt less safe. 

There was no obvious point where the public footpath was supposed to end, and I was able to walk right up to the docks' outer fence. Mission accomplished. 

I walked back to the Yacht Club and then left the river to tick off a couple of footpaths on the way home.

And finally, a look at how this walk fits in to my grid, being the four squares highlighted in yellow. I've also added a red outline to the Tilbury Docks square that I'm sure I'm not going to be able to visit.