Barking & Dagenham - Countryside

Eastbrookend Country Park 

My latest walking challenge is to get out and about in Greater London, discovering the countryside and cultural heritage that is on my doorstep. What better place to start with than my home borough of Barking and Dagenham, (henceforward known as LBBD), it's the nearest and the first on the alphabetical list of London Boroughs. You may think that LBBD is not fertile territory for either culture or countryside but read on and you may be surprised.

Countryside
Less than one hundred years ago Dagenham was all farm land, indeed there was a market garden at the end on my street in the sixties. The far north of the borough has some actual farmland but there is little real countryside. What we do have is the Dagenham Corridor, a green strip in the east of borough made up two country parks, two nature reserves, one open space, and three parks. You can walk from the Ford Factory on the A13 to the Peace and Memorial Garden in Central Park crossing just two roads and a railway line, a route of about four miles.

Eastbrookend Country Park has been brought the land back to life since it was created in 1995. The area was used for gravel extraction and then the holes either filled up with water or were filled up with assorted rubbish, including rubble from the Blitz. I remember it from my childhood as a toxic wasteland. I was very sad to discover that the seven Park Rangers are to lose their jobs, a part of the Council's cost cutting measures. The Country Park is something for the borough to be proud of and I hope that all their hard work is not sacrificed on the altar of George Osbourne's fiscal policy.



The Chase

With so much water around The Chase Nature Reserve is a haven for wild fowl. On the day I visited it was mostly swans, but apparently there are skylarks in summer. The Chase is also home to very rare Black Poplar, which looks a bit like a young Whomping Willow. The other nature reserve in the Corridor really is on my doorstep. The local Parish churchyard is no longer used for burials and is now managed for the benefit of nature. Know as God's Little Acre, the meadow will be full of wildflowers in spring, so I must remember to take a look. Rippleside Nature Reserve occupies some derelict land next to an electricity sub-station in Barking Riverside. There is a little wood of Silver Birch that has colonised the area as apparently they don't need much in the way of topsoil.

Thames riverbank

The best kept secret in LBBD is the Thames riverbank. It has taken me years to find out how to get to this remote footpath, a little oasis of green between Dagenham Dock and Creekmouth. How long will it remain remote, secluded and peaceful? There are plans to build many new homes on derelict land nearby. There was another riverside open space at Creekmouth where the Roding joins the Thames, with picnic benches and steps down to the shore.

LBBD is blessed with some very large parks throughout the borough with an assortment of attractions. In my youth it was a real treat to visit Barking Park and ride on the little train (still there) or on the paddle steamer on the lake (not so sure that is still there). London County Council who built the Becontree estate created three large parks, Parsloes, from the old Parsloes Manor estate, Mayesbrook and Central. I doubt whether todays developers would be so generous or thoughtful to the needs of the residents. A BMX track is a recent addition to Old Dagenham park, my local.

Matchstick Island, Mayesbrook Park

Walking in LBBD

Sadly none of the seven strategic routes promoted by WalkLondon pass through LBBD, although one day the Thames Path North East Extention might (it was part of the Olympic plan). This idea was to extend the Thames path from Canary Wharf to Purfleet. May happen one day! The only self-guided route accompanied by a little booklet is the Timberland Trail around Eastbrookend Country park and the Chase. My booklet was about ten years old and most of the waymarks seem to have disappeared. LBBD produced a helpful leaflet on the Dagenham Corridor but it isn't available on pdf.  Eastbrookend, The Chase and the Beam provide us locals with a little bit of countryside to enjoy, it may not be the prettiest bit of open space in London but it'll do.

Click here for more pictures of LBBD