Discovering new places and ways in lockdown

The long days of lockdown offered the chance to get out, discovering new routes and places to go locally. On the cycle, one of my favourite rides involved following the River Roding, from the point at Charlie Brown’s roundabout, through the Roding Valley Park, across Redbridge roundabout and along on the opposite side to Wanstead Park. The route then cuts in, through the exchange lands and alongside the City of London cemetery fence. The option then is to cut right with the rail line on one side and the cemetery on the other, up to the Rabbits or come round the longer way going along the Romford Road. A beautiful route, with the winding Roding, punctuated along its banks with features like the Community Orchard in Roding Valley Park. A great place for blackberry picking. Another scenic route involves cycling through Wanstead Park, out onto Wanstead Park Road, then cutting up to Cranbrook Road and into Valentines Park. In one side, and out the other, before cutting through the side roads on the way over to Fairlop Water. A fantastic place to cycle and watch the wildlife. A very popular spot during lockdown. If feeling energetic the next stretch takes you round to Hainault Forest, with its classic trees. Then back through Chigwell to Wanstead. Enroute it was fascinating to see people developing their own entertainment. In Wanstead Park, there was the sight of makeshift swings going up in different locations – a popular one was at the top end of the Ornamental Lake, which saw groups of youngsters waiting to swing out over the Roding. The area known as the beach on the Roding (at the other end of the Ornamental) was another popular spot. Parents and children crowded onto the gravelly area, where the Roding dribbles past. Some days there were more than 40 people gathered (all socially spaced ofcourse) on this small idyllic space. On another trip over to Walthamstow Wetlands, people massed on the banks and in the River Lea. This came as a real surprise, one day cycling along the path that runs parallel to the football pitches on Hackney Marshes, with the Lea on the right – suddenly there were people all over the banks and in the water. Just in one short stretch of water up from the bridge that goes over into Walthamstow Marsh. A real case of people finding their own entertainment. Go in the opposite direction along the canal, through the Olympic Park and you finish up at Three Mills – the site of many a film shooting. River mullet can be seen down in the water. It is a short winding cycle from there up onto the Greenway and past the Abbey Mills pumping station back to the Olympic Park and past the stadium. It was great over these months to see people out, relaxing, enjoying nature and trying to get away from the trauma of the pandemic. The numbers have gone down now, as the lockdown has relaxed, people have got back to work and gone away on holiday but what is for sure is that new ways and places were discovered during these times that should enrich life going forward.