Purfleet to Grays along the Thames (7 miles)

This quirky walk follows the Northern shore of the Thames passing under the Queen Elizabeth II 'M25' Bridge. The journey is full of interest, with industrial sites, oil depots, and jetties on one side, and views across and along the river on the other.

NB The map shows my route, with various diversions and excursions which you may not wish to follow precisely. You can download the Google map info, as a KML/KMZ file, then convert to GPX using a site like GPS Visualiser.

Essentials:

Start/Finish: By train, start at Purfleet station (regular service from Fenchurch Street). Finish at Grays station, and get the train back to Purfleet. By car, park at the RSPB Rainham Marshes (charge); check closure times (at the time of writing, 4:30pm).

Walk: If coming by train, it is worth walking 'upstream' to visit the RSPB Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve. Then take the riverside walk back to the station, passing the Purfleet Heritage Centre. Nearly opposite the station a path heads across scrub down to the river flood wall. Just follow the obvious path downstream, between the wall to your right, and the fence of the industrial sites to your left. Pass under the M25 bridge, and soon the path crosses to the shore side of the wall, giving views over the river. Emerge on to the esplanade in front of apartments on Grays riverside and make your way to Grays station.

Distance: 7 miles from the RSPB visitor centre to Grays Station, plus 0.6 miles mile to walk back there from Purfleet station.

Refreshments: Nothing obvious in Purfleet. Unfortunately, the cafe at the RSPB Visitor Centre has closed. In Grays, there are several pubs (for example, The Wharf on the esplanade) and usual outlets in the High Street.

Points of Interest: RSPB Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve. Purfleet Heritage Centre in an old gunpowder magazine, with an affecting memorial to Purfleet's war dead comprising 26 silhouette soldier figures. The various industrial complexes along the river, which have interest and a strange beauty all of their own. The Thames: quite a lot of big ships come up beyond Tilbury. Walking beneath the M25 Bridge. Walking alongside the Thames foreshore on the latter half of the walk. The high quality graffiti on the river wall: arguably the longest artwork in Britain? Views across the River towards Greenhithe, and down river to Tilbury Power Station and the cranes of Tilbury Port. Optional short excursion to St Clements Church, incongruously situated next to, and dwarfed by, the Proctor and Gamble works (it was used as one of the locations for the film 'Four Weddings and a Funeral). Grays Esplanade and river frontage.

Notes: The access to the riverside path is nearly opposite Purfleet station. The area of scrub does not look promising, but stick close to the river wall and the path is clear. There are some stretches on earth/grass, but mostly it is a concrete path. There are several sets of steps, bridges and tunnels. Don't be put off by somewhat draconian 'keep out' warnings on the fences, these refer to the industrial sites and jetties to either side, not to the path itself. Up to the QEII bridge, the river wall precludes views of the river, though you cam catch glimpses by climbing the occasional ladders and steps. Shortly after the bridge, the path crosses to the foreshore, following the concrete platform at the base of the wall. The wall is covered in continuous brightly coloured graffiti. So far as I know, the path does not normally flood, though I suppose it might with an exceptionally high tide: use common sense.

Great War centenary installation at Purfleet Heritage Centre

On the first sunny warm day this year, after seemingly weeks of gloom and rain, I parked at the RSPB Rainham Marshes Reserve at about 11am (£5 for a day, closes at 1630). I cycled this route many years ago, and was disappointed to discover the cafe at the Visitor Centre had closed in the meantime. I was not keen to wander about Purfleet looking for an alternative, so I decided I would have to wait till I reached Grays. After briefly looking out over the marshes, I set off along the riverside path which can be accessed directly over a footbridge form the Visitor Centre.

RSPB Visitor Centre, Rainham Marshes Reserve

This took me along a riverside 'community green', passing the Heritage Centre. This is housed in the sole surviving brick Gunpowder Magazine, of which there were several from which ammunition was ferried out to ships sailing down from Greenwich. There is a recently installed monument here to the Gurkhas, and also a line wooden silhouettes of soldiers. I didn't really take this in: only when I returned did I view them from below, and realised they make an arresting silhouette against the sky, erected in 2018 as a centenary tribute to the 26 men of Purfleet killed in the Great War.

Purfleet Heritage Centre

The park had a slightly 'dodgy' feel, with groups of young men 'hanging about'. I walked along in front of an apartment block, but this ended in a dead end, so I retraced my steps. A lady with two rather snarly dogs shouted to them to 'leave him (ie me) alone'.

Purfleet Community Green

I followed London Road. I was concerned that with recent developments, the riverside path I had cycled before would be closed off. This fear was heightened as I passed a depot for tower cranes, standing like the towers of San Gimignano. However just before I reached Purfleet station, I found an entrance into an area of scrub, through which the path leads to the river wall. Once again, I felt slightly uneasy about entering this brown field area, but my fears proved groundless.

Tower cranes for hire

The path beside the wall soon entered a 'channel' between the wall and the fencing of the industrial sites which line the river most of the way to Grays. Part of this fence had fallen (or been pulled down) covering the path, but I was able to gingerly step over it. Quite often, one feared the path would be blocked by a gate or fence, but a bend, bridge or subway always provided a through route. The notices prohibiting entry are also quite off-putting, until you realise they refer to the facilities on either side of the path, not the path itself.

Fence obstacle - passable with care

The industrial sites are impressive, with storage tanks, pipework, pipelines, large buildings, containers and specialist vehicles. Just before reaching the M25 bridge, there is a jetty, where a large ship was was loading (or unloading) containers from the adjacent depot.

Storage tanks for something

The river wall is about 8 feet high, so you can't get a continuous view of the river. However, you can, at your own risk, climb one of the ladders and get a peek of the foreshore and the views across the river to Dartford.

Optional ladder to peek over the wall

The path passes right under the Queen Elizabeth II 'M25' bridge. Actually, it is not strictly the M25, but the A282, since the road is not subject to Motorway regulations. It's an impressive structure from below. You can also see ventilation shafts for the Tunnel, which now carries northbound traffic - the bridge carries southbound.

QEII Bridge

Shortly after the bridge, the path crosses over the wall on to the foreshore giving uninterrupted views across the river to Greenhithe, up river back to the bridge, and latterly down river to Tilbury Power Station and the cranes of Tilbury Docks. Despite the inevitable river detritus, the foreshore itself has potential for biodiversity: I encountered a trio of operatives from the Port of London Authority, who 'own' the foreshore, doing a drone survey of the triangle of land at Stone Ness Point in order, they said, to recommend measures to protect the habitat from further erosion.

Foreshore graffiti wall

The view ahead is dominated by the massive Proctor and Gamble chemical works. A worthwhile excursion a short way 'inland' brought me to St Clements Church, an unlikely survival amongst the industrial complex. It was restored at the expense of the Company, and is available for use by the local community. It was the location for the funeral of Simon Callow's character in the film 'Four weddings and a Funeral'. Check ahead if you want to see inside, it was not open when I passed by.

St Clements-beside-Proctor-and -Gamble

The river wall has been decorated with graffiti which seems to my untutored eye to be of high artistic merit, making a colourful backdrop to my walk, and arguably it must be the longest work of art in Britain.

Graffiti artists at work

Finally, I arrived at Grays waterfront. Once a busy port on the Thames, the Grays riverside now has a good esplanade in front of riverside apartments: Tilbury Power Station and the cranes of Tilbury Docks loom ever larger. The esplanade runs out at Thurrock Yacht Club, from where I made may way up to Grays Station, for the train back to Purfleet (after buying a cheese roll at Grieg's on the High street as a long delayed lunch).