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John Tippetts

Stage 1 - Grain to Gravesend - 6th June 2024


The England Coast Path (or rather King Charles III England Coast Path as it’s now called) section of the Thames Path is officially 47 miles in length. This section starts/ends at Grain Beach on the Isle of Grain. In 2022 and 2023 I broke the 47 miles down into 3 stages – Grain to Cliffe, Cliffe to Greenhithe and Greenhithe to Woolwich. Grain and Cliffe are relatively isolated with each served by a bus service to/from the Medway towns. These bus services make Cliffe a good place for a stop and any one of the Medway towns a good place for staying a couple of nights in a hotel.


For 2024 I want to challenge myself more than in previous years and thought that I might be able to break the 47 miles into just 2 stages – Grain to Gravesend and Gravesend to Woolwich. I always had the option of stopping at Cliffe if necessary.


Bearing in mind I live in Northamptonshire, in order to get a really early start for my first walk I chose to stay in the Premier Inn in Gillingham the night before. Next morning I was down for my cooked breakfast at 6:30 and was actively encouraged to take some fruit and pain au chocolat with me for a mid-morning snack – such lovely staff there. The 191 bus to Grain at this time of day stopped all over the place as it was a school service but by 8:50 I arrived at the Isle of Grain Beach and was ready to start my challenge. I’m always gobsmacked that the 5 mile wide estuary of the Thames at Grain began life 232 miles earlier as just a trickle of water in Gloucestershire. I set off on a lovely sunny morning, confident that the weather would deteriorate during the day as it has done for much of this year!

Grain Beach at low tide with Southend & Shoeburyness in the distance

The Isle of Grain is so called because at one time Yantlet Creek used to flow from the Thames to the Medway cutting off the land to the east from the mainland. Over time the creek silted up to such an extent that the Isle of Grain is no longer a true island. Yantlet Creek does however still fill with water from the Thames end as far as Grain, meaning that you can’t actually walk alongside the Thames from Grain Beach round to the creek and beyond as there is no crossing point. Coupled with this, much of the land on Grain to the east of the creek is off limits being a former firing range and is marked on maps as ‘Danger Area’. So, for the first 3 miles of this walk, you first walk inland and then alongside the west of Yantlet Creek before reaching the Thames.

All the land to the east of Yantlet Creek is out of bounds
The church in Grain
Heading down to Yantlet Creek. Signs bear testament to the land ahead
Grain LNG is Europe's largest importer of liquified natural gas
Grain is the largest LNG storage site in Europe
You have been warned!
Yantlet Creek fills with water from the Thames as the tide comes in
The mouth of Yantlet Creek

One mile after turning left at the mouth of Yantlet Creek I reached Allhallows Holiday Park, or Haven Kent Coast as it’s called these days. This would be the last point for the next 12 miles to stock up with water as you’re totally isolated until reaching Cliffe. Needless to say you must also have a charged phone with you if you’re walking on your own.

Now walking alongside the Thames towards Allhallows
Haven Kent Coast
Looking back towards the North Sea from Allhallows

From Allhallows onwards the cranes of the London Gateway container port on the other side of the river near Corringham would dominate the skyline for most of the day but no matter how far I walked towards them they were always still miles away! The walk itself to Cliffe was uneventful. The path basically follows the river wall with a few minor detours. The land itself is marshland and salt flats. I passed 3 other people between Allhallows and Cliffe and 1 herd of cows, about par for the course.

The next 12 miles are like this
London Gateway container port is always there in the distance
A herd of disinterested cattle. One was a bull & thankfully he was disinterested too!

By about 3:30, I was finally level with the London Gateway cranes on the other side of the river and was following the river as it turned to the left towards Cliffe Fort. At this point I would normally leave the ECP and walk alongside the lakes of RSPB Cliffe into Cliffe where I would catch the bus back to Chatham. It was another 6 miles to reach the centre of Gravesend and as I wanted to challenge myself, I decided to continue.

At last I'm level with the cranes
DP World London Gateway port & logistics facility can accommodate some of the world's largest container ships
Former explosives factory. The buildings had to be well built
To continue to Gravesend I have to walk down, across & up Cliffe Creek
I've now crossed Cliffe Creek looking across to where I've walked from

The ECP passes through the aggregates plant at Cliffe, in fact under one of the conveyor belts. The company that owns the aggregates operation at Cliffe also owns Cliffe Fort itself. The fort is listed on the English Heritage "Heritage at Risk" register. You can see a little of the old fort from the path but you get a much better view of the scale of it from a drone. After the excitement of the aggregates plant and fort, the river and path completed a near 90 degree turn and the cranes of Tilbury port and Gravesend came into view in the distance.

One of a number of aggregate facilities at Cliffe
The footpath passes under this conveyor belt, even when the belt is running
This is as much of Cliffe Fort as you can see without trespassing
Cliffe Fort from the air. Abandoned after WWII & sold to the owners of the aggregates plant
What remains of the Hans Egede - once a 3 masted vessel
One of the most uninviting Thames Path gates. I suspect it's to prevent dirt bikes from getting through
I'm now heading down towards Gravesend

After passing what’s left of Shornemead Fort, sadly covered in graffiti these days, I was well and truly on the home run into Gravesend. By now I’d run out of water and after walking more than 20 miles today I was in need of something to drink. The Ship & Lobster pub is literally on the path. From the outside it’s not very inviting, despite having an elevated deck overlooking the sea wall. However, inside was what I call a proper old fashioned boozer and I was given a very warm welcome by the lady behind the bar.


Duly refreshed I made my way into Gravesend, finishing my walk at the railway station at about 6 o’clock. That was 22.5 miles completed today and best of all I wouldn’t have to rely on going back to Cliffe on the bus. I got the train back to Gillingham and walked the short distance to the Premier Inn where I had a relaxing evening.

Shornemead Fort - abandoned in the 1960s
'New' Shornemead lighthouse. The old one can be seen in the PLA's depot in Gravesend
Coming into Gravesend with Tilbury Docks on the other side of the river
After running out of water a couple of miles earlier I urgently needed refreshment
The PLA's depot has some seriously impressive anchors & chains
Small marina in Gravesend
Gravesend Promenade
Gravesend. Now where's the railway station?
Today's walk - 22.5 miles. A great start to my challenge!




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2 Comments


Guest
Jul 09

Utterly impressive. I plan on doing Gravesend to Grain with a couple of friends at some point, so it's encouraging to see someone else brave (foolish?) enough to tackle it. How were your feet the next day? -Ellie.

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jt8859
Jul 25
Replying to

Hi Ellie. Thanks & apologies for delay in replying as I don't get notified when people comment.


When I thought about it whilst planning, Gravesend wasn't that much further to walk than Cliffe, especially as if you leave the river at Cliffe there is still quite a walk to get to the pub in the village where the bus stop is. I have to admit my legs were a bit achy at the end of the walk but not too bad. The next day I walked from Gravesend to Erith & after a day's rest I walked from Erith to Vauxhall but I've not yet updated my blog for this stage or the subsequent 8. I reached the source of…


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