19/08/23 - London Spiral - Stage 11

Grim Urban Walking Along the North Circular 

There is no way this is a walk for the purist. Inner London at its most brutal.

Yet it starts with a rural feel - Epping Forest stretching its fingers down to Wanstead, Hollow Pond - providing some greenery.

The last reaches of Epping Forest

Hollow Pond providing boating

We then hit Walthamstow and I'm forced to take my pleasures where I can find them. An impressive town hall and a lovely adventure lab cache in Lloyd Park, buzzing with activity with a food festival. Too early for lunch, which saved me from a difficult choice of which nationality of street food would have received the Mappiman dollar.

Walthamstow Street Art

And the Town Hall

The walk dissects Banbury and Lockwood reservoirs and rather nicely, allows me to complete the Pymmes Brook Trail. This signposted path follows the watercourse from the source in High Barnet to where it empties into the Lea. For transportation reasons, I stopped the walk at Silver Street but the London Spiral allows me to mark the path complete.

Sunshine on Lea

A pathway through industrial estate London

Then it the unappealing North Circular from North Edmonton to Arnos Grove.  Its a tough walk, with things to ponder.  How did a four lane near motorway get squeezed into a housing estate? How can people have their windows open? Is it safe to walk the underpasses?

One thing is for sure, there is a paucity of pubs available. 10 miles in London and I pass two. The Bell at Walthamstow announcing itself on the London AZ Map. I was too early for that one, and rather snootily, I turned my nose up a Dicey Reillys in Silver Street. I'd made my mind up that the day was not going to be improved by a faux Irish theme bar and my fellow PubsGalore reviewers concur. 

So it’s true to say that the Upper and Lower Edmonton area covered by the N9 and N18 post codes in this area has suffered significant pub losses over the years and is now a bit of a pub desert and desperately cries out for a decent go to pub. Unfortunately this is not it.

To say I was pleased to see the umbrellas along the side of the Arnos Arms was an understatement.  I thought I was going to have to wait until getting back to Kings Cross for a post walk pint, but there, next to the tube station is a pub adorned with Bass lanterns and signage promising Craft Beers.

Anticipating the damage of Craft on the Mappiman Wallet

Looks like i had a bit of touch. Old reviews stating it had no real ale and it looks like it used to be a Harvester. I'd have had to console myself at the salad bar.

It's now independently owned and offering a fine selection of casks and keg. On most other days, it would have been Timothy Taylor Landlord. With the sun shining, it made sense for me to give the much heralded Lost and Grounded Helles another go.

A rare chance to use the "Bread" Descriptor on Untappd.

A quick look at where Stage 12 takes me. Wembley.

As a Baggies Fan, I'll need to ask for directions.

Walk Information

Distance - 10 Miles

Start - Wanstead Tube

Finish -  Arnos Grove Tube

Areas Walked - Wanstead, Walthamstow, Edmonston

Geocaches - 2 and an Adventure Lab Cache

Pubs - 1

Previous Walks - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10