Forgotten paths and winding memories

a discovery of London’s bike trails

Fairlop Waters — photo by Terry Freedman

Chapter 7: Fairlop Waters Country Park

We’ve enjoyed the green delights and cycling in other parts of London, such as Chiswick and Hammersmith in the west, and Tottenham to the north. But now we dally in the London Borough of Redbridge in the east, just touching the county of Essex.

Redbridge sports a number of parks, each different from the other. In this chapter I’d like to consider Fairlop Waters Country Park.

As I rounded the bend directly into a headwind and a slight but noticeable incline, I wondered if I'd made a terrible mistake. Too far from home to turn back, yet not near enough to my destination to relish the thought of going forward. But what choice did I have? And, after all, I could promise myself a reward of a coffee at the end of this phase of my journey.

Fairlop Waters was once a Royal Airforce base, in active use during the second world war. Today it is home to a sailing club and a lake and, more to my taste, a wildlife haven. For example, it boasts 145 types of bird, plus myriad other creatures. Wild and open, yet not too far from civilisation, Fairlop Waters presents itself as a natural destination for walkers, twitchers, families and, of course, cyclists.

The lake at Fairlop Waters — photo by Terry Freedman

Another view of the lake — photo by Terry Freedman

Swan on the lake — photo by Terry Freedman

Off the beaten track — photo by Terry Freedman

The biggest challenges facing the last category of visitor are the wind, as I've already mentioned, other users not always visible as you approach a bend and, by no means a trivial consideration, getting there in the first place.

If you are travelling from the south of the borough you enjoy a choice of several routes. Let’s assume you are starting from Goodmayes Station, on the Elizabeth line. If you have travelled by train to this point, alight at Goodmayes and turn right when you emerge from the station.

The first, highly Unrecommended, route is to cycle across the lights into Barley Lane, and then from Barley Lane, straight over the lights (once they have turned green of course) and onto Painters Road.

"Narrow" hardly begins to describe this road, and it is a brave cyclist indeed who would risk life and limb on this route. Even riding on the pavement, hardly an ideal solution at best of times, is one long hazard, replete with pot holes, foliage that knows no boundaries and, like the road itself, desperately lacking width.

The second route involves, again, turning right when you emerge from the station, but this time turning left at the fist set of traffic lights. Continue going straight along the road, past Seven Kings station (also on the Elizabeth Line) and then turning right at the roundabout onto Aldborough Road. Continue until you reach the A12, a busy dual carriageway, and go straight ahead at the traffic lights. Carry on until you reach a large turning into Oaks Lane, just before a church (St Peters). Follow the road round -- it's quite bendy -- but rather than continue on the right-angled bend towards the left, veer off to the right onto a gravel path, and turn left again, past a large house, and on to Fairlop Waters.

Sketch map of Oaks Lane, by Terry Freedman

Back up a little: if the weather is clement and it hasn't been racing in the last day or so, you may refer to eschew Oak Lane's meanderings and, instead, go a few metres beyond St Peter’s. There, desperately attempting not to draw attention to itself, hides a bridleway.

Just after St Peter’s Church, where the “30” road marking is, lies the entrance to the bridleway. Blink and you’ll miss it. Photo by Terry Freedman

The bridleway. Photo by Terry Freedman

While narrow by anybody's standards, it is pleasant and shielded from the traffic. When you reach the end, you will find yourself on the gravel path referred to earlier, except that you will have reached it from the opposite direction. Logic dictates that you must therefore turn night rather than left just before you reach the happy tarmac of the road, which by now you will have deduced is Oaks Lane.

I mentioned that there are three possible routes, and I am not about to abandon you having covered only two. The third one is to travel along the cycle route designated as C16. London is threaded with cycle routes and cycleways (not quite the same thing). Cycle routes tend to have dedicated cycle lanes for at least part of the route. These are meant to be sacrosanct, for use by cyclists only, although that does it always prevent monists from entering them or even parting on them. Nevertheless, they are, by and large, safer to cycle along than non-cycle routes. At least, they imbue one with confidence that they are so. The C16 is especially pleasant as it goes through several parks. If, for example, you set out from Wanstead, you will enjoy a pleasant cycle through Wanstead Park, Valentines Park, and Seven Kings Park before alighting on Fairlop Waters. All you have to do is follow the blue cycle signposts or road markings or both. However, since the C16 is quite long and I have no idea of the point at which you will be joining it, if indeed you choose to do so, I suggest you consult the Appendix for a fuller description of where the C16 leads.

Once you have cycled around Fairlop Waters, follow the signposts to Barkingside. When you leave Fairlop Waters, a short ride along the road and over a hair-raising roundabout (Fulwell Cross) will bring you into Barkingside High Street. There you will discover a plethora of eateries, including several coffee shops. Go on, indulge yourself: you know that you’ve earnt it!

I hope you enjoyed this brief extract from my latest book. All the information included here is correct to the best of my knowledge. However, the book from which this extract is supposedly taken does not exist. The extract is a response to Nathan Slake’s review.

Yes, the timing is indeed out of whack. Nathan and I decided to try out an experiment I read about somewhere, which involves someone writing a review of a story, book, poem or book or whatever that doesn’t exist, to which the author responds by actually producing it, or some of it. I believe that Borges also wrote reviews of books that did not exist, and if that is true we are in excellent company.

The next stage of this little game is for me to write a review of something that Nathan hasn’t written. I will do my best to make it challenging (snigger). To ensure you don’t miss that, or Nathan’s response, please subscribe to Nathan’s newsletter and mine.

And please let us know in the comments what your thoughts are.

Thanks for reading.