03/04/13 - Capital Ring Phase 12 - Stokey!

Distance - 5.5 Miles
Geocaches - 7 Found, 2 DNF
Start - Highgate
End - Stoke Newington

Capital Ring Phase 12

Hurrah for British Summer Time... Although you would not know it when you are out and about and blast of the easterly hits you.  The day after this walk, I was in a snowstorm in Central London.  But we do have light evenings and I can resume my 3 year plan of completing the Capital Ring.

Highgate station is only a few stops up from where I am located and if you look at the Everytrail Map closely, you can see that I am having a lot of trouble actually getting going on the right track.  There are green arrows to get me on my way, but somehow, I manage to loop around on myself.

The start of this section is the disused Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace railway line, which ran from 1867 to 1970.  The Capital Ring guide book suggests that it is a haven for wild life... in reality, its a haven for muggles with dog walkers, joggers and cyclists getting in my way.  Hanging around here waiting for a find made me feel like a cross between a rent boy and a drug dealer.  Alas, an unsuccessful one as I wasn't propositioned for anything.

This is the Parkland Walk - your friend for the next three miles

There are 8 Geocaches down this stretch.  A couple had recent DNF recorded against them, so I didn't look too hard.  They were all quite straightforward but did require clambering up banks, sticking my hands in places I didnt really want to and lying of the floor at times.  And man, muggles on bikes don't half come at you fast. Only one was too wet to sign, so I took a photo as evidence.

Soggy Loggy

Disappointingly - and despite there being a cache named after it - I missed the Parkland Walk Spriggan.  Do a "Google Image" on it.  I must spend more time with my eyes open for things other than tupperware.  Quite apt as a cache custodian, mind.

 

We reach the end of the railway line at Finsbury Park.  The hoodies are merely keep fit fanatics - so I didn't need to hold my geopen ninja style.  We cross this to reach a great piece of advertising - "The New River".  What is it with Cockney's bigging everything up?  It's a canal.
 

New River, My Aris

Follow this on a dodgy Towpath, which is no doubt called "an aquatic walkway", looping around the East and West Reservoirs - with good views over Central London in the distance.

Stokey Church in foreground - The Shard in the distance

Picking up Green Lanes at Clissold Park is the start of civilisation.  There is a castle, a too poncey for words pub and the evidence of urban crime and red tape.

 

 

Reasonably Sinister - in fact a climbing centre

I mean really - is anyone going to claim a no wheeled, no seated bike?

There is also a very busy Capital Ring sign, that shows me that the quest is nearly coming to an end.

 

 

13.5 Miles to get back to the start.....

Clissold Park is rather pretty and brings me out to the foot of the spired church and into Church Street, Stoke Newington. There is an ambundance of eateries, pubs and too trendy for words outlets. With darkness falling (and a locked cemetary gate stopping a final cache), there is only one place to go.

Best Irish Pub, outside of Ireland