Distance - 12 Miles
Start - South Kensington
Finish - Canada Water
Areas Walked - Chelsea, Battersea, Stockwell, Camberwell, Peckham, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe
Geocaches - 3 and 2 Adventure Lab Caches
Pubs - 3
Previous Walks - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4
The London Spiral creators have little to say about stage 5 on their website. Hell, they don't even recommend starting where the last leg ends - giving up on Battersea as
"alarming for the solitary walker – a mix of railway embankments, light industrial units, razor wired properties and islanded council blocks"
Not to worry, later in the walk we move into Camberwell, Peckham and Millwall.
I'm a brave solo walker - so pick the route up where I finished in Feb - South Kensington dropping down through Chelsea to Albert Bridge. On another day, in honour of Jordan, I'd have gone looking for sex. The punk, not the model. The shop on Kings Road, not the activity.
First distraction of the day is crossing the Albert Bridge and taking a circuitous route across Battersea Park to find the 5 locations of an Adventure Lab Cache.
Albert Bridge - remembering to break stride with my fellow walkers. |
No flying pigs over Battersea Power Station today |
The most interesting location was the statue of a dog, dedicated to the anti-vivisectionist movement that sparked riots in the early 1900s. Atlas Obscura has the details but it did get me thinking what would get us rioting in the 2020s. The Sunday Times (and Martin Lewis) predict fuel poverty, but bizarrely not until it warms up in the summer.
Yes, I walk around London looking like I am about to conquer Kilimanjaro |
Until arrival at Rotherhithe, the remainder of the walking is plodding the streets of possibly the most unloved parts of London. No carrots in Camberwell. No three wheelers in Peckham. Millwall at 2pm when there is a home game is frankly terrifying. You know that Verve video where he knocks all and sundry down in the street? I am the rambling polar opposite of Richard Ashcroft. Stone Island imprints on my Berghaus soft-shell.
So if I'm not recommending the walking, how about the pubs? Three Good Beer Guide Ticks are available;
The Masons Arms, 169 Battersea Park Road, London Pride
Grade II listed, refurbed in 2019 |
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