Monday 13^th December 2021

The tube and train journey to Romford was long but I eventually emerged from the station and tried to find Romford War Memorial. As the satnav on my phone said it was an 11-minute walk, I decided to abandon it (having made the decision that I won’t walk more than 10 minutes from any stop or station to find an interesting attraction) and saw a sign for Havering Museum. But it was closed when I got there and not opening until later in the week …

I found the bus stop and got on the number 5 … My first stop today was Barking Park. At first, I thought it was just a large open space but I found a really lovely war memorial in the middle of the park and a pretty small lake with hundreds of birds – including some interesting looking geese.

I got back on the bus and alighted at Newham Town Hall. It’s a Grade II listed building which was built in 1901-03. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go inside and explore so I hopped back on the number 5.

My final stop was at the end of the line at Canning Town. I walked round to the East India Dock Basin and City Island. I walked along the outside of the basin and as there wasn’t too much to see, headed back to City Island. I found a branch of the Royal National Ballet so took some brochures for forthcoming events. I then discovered a small art gallery, the London Lighthouse, which had an interesting exhibition by Orla Reynolds of functional furniture.

I then walked round a bit more and found the Lea Valley park, with a view over the river Lea.

If I hadn’t started on this venture, I’d never have found these places so I’m grateful that my adventurous spirit has enabled me to explore parts of London that I didn’t even know existed!