Although still April, the weather was sunny and warm for our Erith to Bexley walk, and I really appreciated Tizi’s kind offer of a sunhat to wear. After a little hiccup, we made it from the station to the path by the Thames, and started off on our waterside walk. The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge was often in view on this section. Firstly, we walked by the Thames, then by the River Darent, and finally the Cray, with its field of reeds.

Partway along the Cray we came across the sailing barge, Decima (built 1899). The well-known sailing barge restorer and shipwright Tim Goldsack, bought Decima in 2003 and completed a major restoration. Then Tim sold Decima to David Leal in 2016, our guide and historian.  David invited us through a locked gate and gave us some of the history of the barge including ‘one of the first steel barges carrying cargo from as far away as Cornwall, for the local mills, and bricks made locally from the Crayford marshes, up to London’.

David invited us to go onboard briefly. Some members did just that, carefully walking the plank, and a few disappeared down some steep steps into the engine room.  After the interesting diversion, we thanked David and carried on along the Cray to reach our lunch stop in Crayford. Here we dispersed to either have sandwiches in the park, visit Lindy Lou’s tea shop, the local Pie and Mash shop or The Penny Farthing micro-brewery.

After lunch a bit of road walking was needed, before we escaped across a sports field, into trees and continued along the Cray, whose water looked really clear. We proceeded to cross over a railway and almost immediately under a major road. On arrival in Bexley, we passed an interesting old church (St Mary the Virgin) with an unusual spire which starts off as a pyramid, has an octagonal hat and a weather vane on top!

Bexley town was attractive with its historic houses and old mill, and tea shop near the station. About a third of the party decided to check out the very nice Railway Tavern, others went off to the station nearby.

Jackie