@@JohnRogersWalks Try calling London Live - they have the 10 min snippets on London Places - anything for Cheap TV. Do you remember 01 for London (was that LWT or the Encom (?) Cable TV channel for London back in the early 1990s?
Every one of these videos is a potential completed television program as is. They could be transferred to television unedited and would achieve cult status.
Worked in Ilford for years and never knew the river was navigable as far as Ilford. We need people like Paul and his group to save our hidden spaces for future generations 👏👏👏.
Depending on how big your Super Tanker / cruise liner / narrow boat / day cruiser / rowing boat (often seen north of ilford from the rivers trust) or pallet on old oil drums is you could theoretically make it to Norwood end, although i doubt its very navigable past the M25
Those blocks of flats behind you at the start of your video were built when they pulled down all the back to back housing mid 60s that we lived in. The gas works ( The Whippetts we called it) and the river was our playground. We took our lives in our hands at times by building rafts out of anything we could find. I was a young lad then, I’m 71 now. Does Paul have any idea what the old small round building is sat on the banks of the Roding opposite the Strawberry fields day nursery. It resembles the foot tunnel buildings at Woolwich and Greenwich. It is just alongside the A13, also on other side Roding from entrance to Becton creek side nature reserve. Where the old houses were (before the flats)that were built early 1900 were watercress beds and the Roding would flood occasionally and the new houses were swamped. There are one or two old photos of the flooding.
Well that was a surprise. Paul’s enthusiasm is infectious, thank goodness for people like him that make a difference. Shame on the council for not offering support. Thank you John.
When l was 11 all the Cubs and scouts of Ilford has a project to try and clear the river. A whole weekend of dragging grappling hooks into the smelly rivet leaving us all covered in noxious mud.we wanted to find a safe abandoned my bloggers from The Sweeny ...we found shopping trolleys discarded from Tescos. A happy memory now nearly 50 years later
When I lived in Ilford, in the 60's and 70's, I remember standing on Ilford Bridge and looking at the sunken barges along the Roding, imagining what the traffic on the river would have been like in the heyday of working barges. Thanks for taking me back :)
Thank you John for coming over this side of the river Roding. I just live by that section . While I was walking this part yesterday I met Andrew who told us about you as I said to him by being inspired by you walking river Roding. We went up to the end of Buckhurst Hill, hoping to go up to the source next week. But can't find any good route description anywhere how to reach there. Many thanks to Paul, I am gonna to look for him tomorrow, now I know his boat and definitely going to work with him to make a beautiful river path in this area that people will enjoy . Thank you again.
You can see Paul, is enthusiastic with what he does, a real passion involved maintaining these rivers. It's a shame how neglected rivers and the ilk become, a real shame!
Well done Paul and the Friends of the River Roding for an amazing project . It’s people like you that make our world a better place . Brilliant achievement. Thanks John for taking us along. 😊👍
Incredible to think that people actually come down to this beauiful cherry tree lined path along side the river to throw out their garbage. It's also incredible that guys like Paul and other "friends of the Roding" are willing to clean up after them. I hope that in a year or two this will be a beauty spot. There's a lesson for us all here.
@telemachus I know what you mean. I live very very very close to the Ilford end of this path (infact John's video starts next my house) Coming home one night my dash cam caught a guy dumping rubbish in the "right of way" behind my house. The council cleaned it up and prosecuted the guy who had travelled from Leyton to dump his rubbish rather than risk paying to dispose of it in a local tip. Sadly to a fly tipper "out of sight, out of mind" means nothing even in an area of local beauty such as this
Enjoyed this video. I used to commute by on the train for several years and look at the land wondering why it wasn't used as public open spaces. The marshland by the Gas works I believe used to be playing fields where the likes of Harry Redknapp and Bobby Moore started their football careers as well as many other footballers from the East End. Redknapp talks about it in his autobiography.
Wow, having driven along that stretch of road many times in the past, i never realised what was there. All credit to Paul & Co for the work they are doing and i think shame on the council and TFL for allowing it to become so choked with rubbish.
@rick wills. Both councils (Newham & Redbridge know about the problem but say that because it is on the border between the boroughs it the others responsibility. Only when people are seriously injured in a fire (as if !) do they actually do something. Nothing compassionate, just a knee jerk / immediate eviction policy
Whilst they may not have been aware of people’s love for the river and desire to have it opened to the public before, we should say that both TFL and LB Redbridge have been enthusiastic about what we are doing since we got in touch with them and are keen to support the work of the Trust, including removing the rubbish and opening the Ilford to Barking section to the public.
This video was a total revelation to me. I used to live in Ilford some years ago and there was never a path I knew of that went from ilford to barking on the river Roding. Now I know there is one, but since then I don’t live there anymore. You must get Paul and yourself to canoe along the river Roding. That would be an experience.
@@JohnRogersWalks No worries. I really enjoyed that one. What a great thing they are doing down there. I’ve driven along the north circular there a thousand times and had no idea that strip of land existed.
In 60s-70s we lived in the big gas board house at 968 Romford Road, right on the river there. The place was demolished for the new flyover, though we had long moved out by then. I sent you an e-mail a while back with some pictures. We lived there as my Dad worked at the Gas Board sportsground, and it came with the job. Weird to see the old gasometer is still there. Anyway, thanks, enjoyed this one especially, brought back a lot of memories
What a river of contradictions - so much rubbish but a ‘cloud of cherry blossoms’! I love that stretch with the reeds and mudflats. How fortunate to walk this unknown footpath with you, to the self sufficient boating community, thank you.
Once again John I am amazed by your story telling. This is a story that should be told and I have a total respect for Paul and the volunteers with what they have done and will do to help this river be respected again. For those who have made their homes alongside the Roding I wish them all the best as this is clearly a space that has kept them from harms way. Terrific film! Thank you.
Fascinating and a revelation. A few weeks ago, we did a bike ride along the Roding from the greenery of Loughton to industrial Barking Creek but so much of the route cannot follow the river and requires a meander at the back of the City of London cemetery and through Little Ilford on the west side of the A406. This is a great initiative to open up the Roding: what Paul and his friends are doing is such a good thing to do. And thank you for promoting this work.
Fantastic video that really worked well as a two hander. Paul was incredibly passionate about the work of the group dedicated to opening up the riverside walk. It was also great to see the delight on your face John as Paul led you along the newly opened paths. I was particularly impressed with the walkways the group has built under the bridge at one point to ensure people following the path didn't end up in the Roding.
Epic walk that one, I worked in Ilford for years on Ilford Hill, one colleague remembered the original Mill House (now demolished) but part of the garden wall can still be seen, I never knew about those hidden parts.
Unbelievable, you filmed outside my house - again. Truly I am blessed As regards the first time tributary into the Roding it may be nothing more than an old conduit to the now long since demolished Ilford pumping station. An old sewage works that was on Uphall Road. The other tributaries are most likely channels that were cut for the Uphall camp. They're used to be a pond under what is now Lavender place
What a wonderful project. My heart was melted by the open joy and love young Paul has for this poor neglected environment. I just wish him and his colleagues all the luck in the world. They'll need it in the face of local government and corporate indifference. and of course rapacious developers. But what a wonderful goal and vision to have. Great film!
Paul mentioned that the river had an embankment called The Wall that ran along side that gave rise to the pathway. Well, the area of the Barking Road that crosses the River Roding is known as Wall End. The district to the west of the river up to The Wall was Wall End Farm, now long gone due to the urban sprawl of East London
Magnificent. All the years I spent driving along the A406 not realising what lay beneath the road. So glad the river is being brought back to life. A true hidden gem.
Soon after the A406 was rebuilt to resemble a motorway there was an accident in which a tanker lorry went off the flyover and fell into the Roding, spilling its load of insecticide which killed every living creature in the river down to its confluence with the Thames. It was because of this accident that the speed limit over the Roding flyover was reduced to 40mph, as opposed to 50 on most of the road. I can see that the 40mph limit is being often ignored.
Amazing hard work Paul and volunteers I hope Redbridge council help your project they should, Thank you for helping and preserving the environmental space incredible effort you have done
A big thank you to Paul and his fellow volunteers for what they have accomplished so far. Fabulous video John...always look forward to watching your videos on a Sunday evening.
Hi John What an astonishing video. It is great to find these secret places and local knowledge is so important. What a great bloke Paul is. I have been wondering for a while if you could get along the Roding back to Ilford as I regularly walk the stretch from Barking Creek to the Thames past the sewage farm. Fantastic reed beds mainly of Phragmites ( common reed). Such an important plant as it filters out pollutants. Will definitely do that walk in the spring to to see what birdlife is around. Gary
Thanks John absolutely loved it, I don't recognise Ilford at all, but last time I was there was 65 so not surprising, the friends of the Roding are all such amazing people and Paul is a top bloke , great stuff !!!! Cheers
what's crazy I see Paul boat outside my flat in barking harts lane as the Roding behind my flat. Being here 30 years never knew that hidden gem was just outside other side of river to me. this was so fascinating to watch this. thanks again
fascinating, inspiring, dire, noisy, sad, wonderful.... Community based grass-roots solutions are magnificent - well done Paul and the gang. Next time I'm in UK I'll walk this! Pause and breath at 22:13 to grasp how beautiful it could be
Amazing video John! I grew up in Little Iford and walked that path for decades from the 70's.I think the concrete squares might be left over plyon feet. Kids would set up swings on in the 80's. We pulled a war time motorbike and sidecar from the reeds and mud one day-there was hospital there in the war. The ilford side was a huge waste land for years called the big whips and the barking side was called the little whips with the path between the two running between the river and park.
@@JohnRogersWalks think my brother's mates dad sold it but it was exciting and a magical but dangerous place with collapsing ruins and different finds each visit.
I’ve been running this route for a few weeks now as part of my Sunday run from Wanstead Park to Barking Creek. Now I know who made it possible. Thanks!
Great to see people who care doing something to preserve wild parts of the river bank. It is to be hoped that the old sports field of the gas works is kept out of the tainted hands of developers who do not seem to care for green spaces only money. Well done John and Paul very informative and entertaining.
that was different class thank you john and paul what a very knowledgeable guy paul is i would like to thank him for all the great work him and his team do as i said another different class video thank you
I've always wondered about the old river route and wild areas which were so accessible before the relief road was built. Wonderful insight as always John and what a great initiative by Paul and Co!
Another great video John....I love when people take the initiative to do something themselves ....Paul was so proud of it all....what a fab job they've all done....thanks again...
Great video. Interesting to see the park being built under the A406. I used to use that slip road by Ilford Bridge a lot in the 80s and I remember seeing foxes there, and a pheasant! Used to be a Sunday market on Ilford Wharf where they have built the flats. Great to see the new path being created.
Ive lived in ilford for years and years and I never even knew there was a walking path there. This is absolutely brilliant brilliant brilliant. I hope to go there soon and have a walk. Thank you
Just discovered your vids this week - absolutely love them. So calming, informative, friendly. Very warm. Would love to see you cover my old neck of the woods - Dagenham. The Becontree Estate turns 100 this year, I think - could be a great stroll down the old track lines from Chadwell Heath station that are now covered by grass along Valence Avenue and beyond. Can’t wait to get out and try your Leytonstone pub crawl this summer!
So happy to have come across your videos. And how heartwarming to hear of Paul and friends and the fantastic work they’re doing. Grew up in Ilford and often thought what a wasted asset that stretch of the Roding is. Watching has inspired me to get in touch and volunteer 😊
Discovered your utube channel by accident and had to watch the your walk along the river roding and i recognised where me and my Dad when I was a child of 11 in 1965 he took me from Jenkins lane walking along the roding ,I remember a golf course there and when you started at ilford, we went across the main road and down the embankment the other side to carry onto wanstead at the edge of the forest,my Dad knew all the routes in those days,so pleased Paul with the River Roding Trust is making the walk more pleasant again.Its not lost anymore.
So good to see people like Paul with a vision that benefits everyone and not just the few. I reckon the friends of the River Roding will create something very special. Thanks J for taking us along. Rob
What a fascinating walk John. We stayed in the Travelodge in Ilford about 10/15 years ago, just for a couple of nights and only used it as a base, handy for London. I wish I'd known something of the history of the area. I'm finding these videos very surprising, for several reasons. The most obvious revelation, to me anyway, is just how much history and nature still exists in these rather faceless areas. That may sound like a harsh description but I really believe that's how 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 people would describe places like Barking and Ilford. Discovering these nuggets of urban wilderness is a real eye-opener but, better still, is finding out that there are folks 𝑖𝑛 these places who care about them. The endless graffitti, litter and fly-tipping gives the impression that nobody gives a **** about these little-known places but then we meet guys like yourself and Paul. I'm no tree-hugger John and not every patch of weeds needs "re-purposed" but seeing Paul's attitude to his home is truly heartwarming. Having a barrister involved with a community group such as this could be hugely beneficial to all involved - I certainly 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 it is. "𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍" tends to be a very over-used word but I really found this video inspiring. If there's folk out there who give a **** about Ilford, there just might be some hope for the rest of the planet too. Thanks for another half-hour of great, educational entertainment.👍👌😁 Cheers for now, Dougie.
This is a great video. Really exciting to see what the Friends of the River Roding want to do. Really impressed with Paul's enthusiasm and knowledge. Brilliant.
Fascinating, and very topical. I tried and totally failed to walk that stretch of the Roding a couple of years ago. I'm looking forward to having another try at it when appropriate thanks to the efforts of this fantastic community group.
I attempted this walk in reverse last summer. I was route planning with google maps, trying to cycle the Roding Valley Way and spotted the narrow boats so knew there was some access. Starting at Becton I found the small nature reserve hidden behind the Showcase cinemas but also found the RVW pathway completely overgrown. There was a way in on Jenkins Lane and I headed Northwards. Soon finding myself in a narrow path beside Langdon school and lugging the bike over a foot bridge. There are some subsiding pathways either side of London road then it opened up into the reed beds where the boats are. I didn't get much further because of the railway bridge and so turned around and didn't pick up the Roding again until the Aldersbrook section. I kept going as far as I could, leaving the Roding at Buckhurst Hill and cycling through Knighton Woods and Epping Forest then back down the Lea. This path is quite exciting. I've been trying to do this walk since they built the A406 when I was a kid.
@@JohnRogersWalks He certainly is! Very competent! I live in Dagenham and know that part of the Roding quite well where paul is moored! Does he have a TH-cam channel John?
Great walk, yet again. And extra thank you for the subtitles. That clean-up & rehabiliation is a glorious effort and achievement. Glad that the Friends of the River Roding have a committed barrister on their side.
Brilliant! Ive walked or ran the River Roding from the Thames to just past the M25, but there are parts you have to go round inaccessible areas. Thanks to Friends of the River Roding, im so glad to see there is a way down this section, without needing to go on diversion! Cant wait to explore!
Another great film John. A riverlation! I had a walk of discovery around the Ilford Bridge area during the first lockdown to see where Ilford Wharves would have been and took some photos which I’ll inbox you. Very interesting
I really enjoyed this excellent piece. Very interesting and good to see that people are taking the time to improve the environment. I used to work in the offices by the footbridge at the end of Hertford Road so I am familiar with the river at this point. Great work! James
That pumping station at 20.12, we used to play down there as kids long before theN C R was even thought about, and I’m sure I’m right, but behind that in that big old open marshy field used to e barringtons playing fields where we played football for Essex junior school manor park. The other side of the N C R Ilford end was all waste ground that we called the Wippets, dont know why lol, their used to be lots of underground tunnels but are now covered in grassland next to little ilford park right behind the tall tower blocks, i lived behind them in Lawrence Avenue as a kid. Then we used to go up to the railway bridge where you went and put up rope swings and played on the railway, as you do in them days and in the river. Brings back some good memories of my childhood coming from Manor park, third watch John lol, brilliant, and top bloke with you, oh the good ol days👍👍👍
This is amazing to see for the first time, having lived in Ilford for so long. Hope that we can put pressure on TFL/Redbridge Council to preserve this resource.
This video has sent me on a journey of investigation into the past, knowing that my Dad was born in Bengal Road in Ilford and that my mum was born in Barking I felt a connection with this journey and now specifically with the River Roding. My mum spent her childhood at 14 Park View Gardens in Barking which is now under the A13 Alfreds way, North of Waverley Gardens, though if you take the footpath from Alfreds Way to River Road, through the grassed area you cross their back garden where they kept chickens. You will also see the ditch that ran along the end of their garden, feeding into the Mayes Brook and hence into the Roding. My Dad's family later moved to Eton Road where my Dad's Brother was killed by a bomb while on Air Raid duty in 1941, and their house was destroyed by another bomb while they were in the shelter. I think this may have been motivation for my Dad to Join Bomber Command as soon as he was old enough and eventually dropping a few bombs on German cities. Later my parents both worked for Plessey, which seemed to occupy most of the South Side of Vicarage Street in Ilford, though they didn't meet until they were both relocated to West Leigh near Havant in Hampshire to work in the new Plessey plant they had opened down there. I ended up being born in Swindon after my Dad was moved to the Plessey factory there. I Loved the video as always, looking forward to seeing the last section as you follow the Roding the rest of the way to the Thames. Now going to watch this one again with a closer eye on Google Maps.
Brilliant video, great work by Paul and the volunteers. I will probably never visit as I am from the Midlands but it's nice to know stuff like that is happening around us. Thanks for posting John.
Geart walk thanks john. Barking and the River Roding use the my home and birth place so it was great to see a bit of the Roding i have never seen befor so thanks.
What a top bloke Paul is and he’s friends for doing all that great work
Absolutely LOVE your channel. Why aren’t guys like this on tv instead of all the fake tosspots we get? For God’s sake, BBC, GIVE THIS GUY A SHOW!
Thanks very much - I would indeed love a TV show
@@JohnRogersWalks Try calling London Live - they have the 10 min snippets on London Places - anything for Cheap TV. Do you remember 01 for London (was that LWT or the Encom (?) Cable TV channel for London back in the early 1990s?
Yes!
Every one of these videos is a potential completed television program as is. They could be transferred to television unedited and would achieve cult status.
Worked in Ilford for years and never knew the river was navigable as far as Ilford. We need people like Paul and his group to save our hidden spaces for future generations 👏👏👏.
Depending on how big your Super Tanker / cruise liner / narrow boat / day cruiser / rowing boat (often seen north of ilford from the rivers trust) or pallet on old oil drums is you could theoretically make it to Norwood end, although i doubt its very navigable past the M25
Those blocks of flats behind you at the start of your video were built when they pulled down all the back to back housing mid 60s that we lived in. The gas works ( The Whippetts we called it) and the river was our playground. We took our lives in our hands at times by building rafts out of anything we could find. I was a young lad then, I’m 71 now.
Does Paul have any idea what the old small round building is sat on the banks of the Roding opposite the Strawberry fields day nursery. It resembles the foot tunnel buildings at Woolwich and Greenwich.
It is just alongside the A13, also on other side Roding from entrance to Becton creek side nature reserve.
Where the old houses were (before the flats)that were built early 1900 were watercress beds and the Roding would flood occasionally and the new houses were swamped. There are one or two old photos of the flooding.
Well that was a surprise. Paul’s enthusiasm is infectious, thank goodness for people like him that make a difference. Shame on the council for not offering support. Thank you John.
When l was 11 all the Cubs and scouts of Ilford has a project to try and clear the river. A whole weekend of dragging grappling hooks into the smelly rivet leaving us all covered in noxious mud.we wanted to find a safe abandoned my bloggers from The Sweeny
...we found shopping trolleys discarded from Tescos. A happy memory now nearly 50 years later
When I lived in Ilford, in the 60's and 70's, I remember standing on Ilford Bridge and looking at the sunken barges along the Roding, imagining what the traffic on the river would have been like in the heyday of working barges. Thanks for taking me back :)
Thank you John for coming over this side of the river Roding. I just live by that section . While I was walking this part yesterday I met Andrew who told us about you as I said to him by being inspired by you walking river Roding. We went up to the end of Buckhurst Hill, hoping to go up to the source next week. But can't find any good route description anywhere how to reach there. Many thanks to Paul, I am gonna to look for him tomorrow, now I know his boat and definitely going to work with him to make a beautiful river path in this area that people will enjoy . Thank you again.
that's fantastic to hear Mohammed - best of luck on your walk to the source, I've yet to get there
brilliant Mohammed!
You can see Paul, is enthusiastic with what he does, a real passion involved maintaining these rivers. It's a shame how neglected rivers and the ilk become, a real shame!
Well done Paul and the Friends of the River Roding for an amazing project . It’s people like you that make our world a better place . Brilliant achievement. Thanks John for taking us along. 😊👍
Paul's enthusiasm was a treat to experience. Thank you John.
Incredible to think that people actually come down to this beauiful cherry tree lined path along side the river to throw out their garbage. It's also incredible that guys like Paul and other "friends of the Roding" are willing to clean up after them. I hope that in a year or two this will be a beauty spot. There's a lesson for us all here.
@telemachus I know what you mean. I live very very very close to the Ilford end of this path (infact John's video starts next my house) Coming home one night my dash cam caught a guy dumping rubbish in the "right of way" behind my house. The council cleaned it up and prosecuted the guy who had travelled from Leyton to dump his rubbish rather than risk paying to dispose of it in a local tip. Sadly to a fly tipper "out of sight, out of mind" means nothing even in an area of local beauty such as this
So many riverlations in one walk. Wonderful work that Paul and his friends in the River Roding Trust are doing.
Big kudos to Paul and Friends of the River Roding for the amazing contributions to revive the area.
And thanks again John for the fascinating walk.
What fantastic potential that project has. Fair play to Paul and company.
Enjoyed this video. I used to commute by on the train for several years and look at the land wondering why it wasn't used as public open spaces. The marshland by the Gas works I believe used to be playing fields where the likes of Harry Redknapp and Bobby Moore started their football careers as well as many other footballers from the East End. Redknapp talks about it in his autobiography.
Wow, having driven along that stretch of road many times in the past, i never realised what was there. All credit to Paul & Co for the work they are doing and i think shame on the council and TFL for allowing it to become so choked with rubbish.
@rick wills. Both councils (Newham & Redbridge know about the problem but say that because it is on the border between the boroughs it the others responsibility. Only when people are seriously injured in a fire (as if !) do they actually do something. Nothing compassionate, just a knee jerk / immediate eviction policy
Whilst they may not have been aware of people’s love for the river and desire to have it opened to the public before, we should say that both TFL and LB Redbridge have been enthusiastic about what we are doing since we got in touch with them and are keen to support the work of the Trust, including removing the rubbish and opening the Ilford to Barking section to the public.
@@paulpowlesland That's great, Paul! Congratulations on what you've achieved already. (From DownUnder)
This video was a total revelation to me. I used to live in Ilford some years ago and there was never a path I knew of that went from ilford to barking on the river Roding. Now I know there is one, but since then I don’t live there anymore. You must get Paul and yourself to canoe along the river Roding. That would be an experience.
Nice one John. Watching your videos has become a Sunday evening tradition.
thanks Jay
@@JohnRogersWalks No worries. I really enjoyed that one. What a great thing they are doing down there. I’ve driven along the north circular there a thousand times and had no idea that strip of land existed.
Great video John and well done to Paul and his mates for all the work they do cleaning up all that rubbish. Paul sounds so enthusiastic good on him
Very exciting to discover new green spaces in London. Great work by Paul and his friends.
Paul seems an amazing young man, he and his friends give me hope for the future. Wonderful video, thank you.
John - one of there best yet ... and Paul is a star -- funny, interesting and with such a strong sense of what is right - wonderful
thanks so much for that Martin
Just found this. Spent my childhood playing along the Roding, in Wanstead Park. Well done to the friends. This river should be loved.
In 60s-70s we lived in the big gas board house at 968 Romford Road, right on the river there. The place was demolished for the new flyover, though we had long moved out by then. I sent you an e-mail a while back with some pictures. We lived there as my Dad worked at the Gas Board sportsground, and it came with the job. Weird to see the old gasometer is still there. Anyway, thanks, enjoyed this one especially, brought back a lot of memories
What a river of contradictions - so much rubbish but a ‘cloud of cherry blossoms’! I love that stretch with the reeds and mudflats. How fortunate to walk this unknown footpath with you, to the self sufficient boating community, thank you.
Thanks Paul and Friends of river Roding 🍀
Once again John I am amazed by your story telling. This is a story that should be told and I have a total respect for Paul and the volunteers with what they have done and will do to help this river be respected again. For those who have made their homes alongside the Roding I wish them all the best as this is clearly a space that has kept them from harms way. Terrific film! Thank you.
I lived in Harts Lane for 30 years and did this walk during lockdown for the 1st time. Amazing walk.
I find watching your videos the most perfect Escapism John
Fascinating and a revelation.
A few weeks ago, we did a bike ride along the Roding from the greenery of Loughton to industrial Barking Creek but so much of the route cannot follow the river and requires a meander at the back of the City of London cemetery and through Little Ilford on the west side of the A406.
This is a great initiative to open up the Roding: what Paul and his friends are doing is such a good thing to do.
And thank you for promoting this work.
Your videos are often uplifting but this one was something else. Made me feel good to know there are people like Paul doing great things.
paul and his friends have done a fabulous job in keeping the river walkway clear great video as usual john
thanks Angelo
that was amazing - cheers to paul and his friends to get together to make a difference! well done, indeed!
Great video. Best of luck for Paul and the Friends in their plans for improving the landscape.
Fantastic video that really worked well as a two hander. Paul was incredibly passionate about the work of the group dedicated to opening up the riverside walk. It was also great to see the delight on your face John as Paul led you along the newly opened paths. I was particularly impressed with the walkways the group has built under the bridge at one point to ensure people following the path didn't end up in the Roding.
What a wonderful, mind-blowing film. Thank you and a huge thank you to Paul and the Friends of the River Roding.
Epic walk that one, I worked in Ilford for years on Ilford Hill, one colleague remembered the original Mill House (now demolished) but part of the garden wall can still be seen, I never knew about those hidden parts.
Unbelievable, you filmed outside my house - again. Truly I am blessed
As regards the first time tributary into the Roding it may be nothing more than an old conduit to the now long since demolished Ilford pumping station. An old sewage works that was on Uphall Road.
The other tributaries are most likely channels that were cut for the Uphall camp. They're used to be a pond under what is now Lavender place
Thanks for that info Jon - interesting to see the relationship between those channels and Uphall Camp
Anyone who cares for the Roding is golden in my books. Well done to the trust and thanks for the video John :-)
glad you enjoyed it Mouxbar - great work they're doing along the Roding
What a wonderful project. My heart was melted by the open joy and love young Paul has for this poor neglected environment. I just wish him and his colleagues all the luck in the world. They'll need it in the face of local government and corporate indifference. and of course rapacious developers. But what a wonderful goal and vision to have. Great film!
Paul mentioned that the river had an embankment called The Wall that ran along side that gave rise to the pathway. Well, the area of the Barking Road that crosses the River Roding is known as Wall End. The district to the west of the river up to The Wall was Wall End Farm, now long gone due to the urban sprawl of East London
great info, thanks Jon
Did Burges own Wall End Farm at one time ?
Magnificent. All the years I spent driving along the A406 not realising what lay beneath the road. So glad the river is being brought back to life. A true hidden gem.
Soon after the A406 was rebuilt to resemble a motorway there was an accident in which a tanker lorry went off the flyover and fell into the Roding, spilling its load of insecticide which killed every living creature in the river down to its confluence with the Thames. It was because of this accident that the speed limit over the Roding flyover was reduced to 40mph, as opposed to 50 on most of the road. I can see that the 40mph limit is being often ignored.
Love films like this. Thanks to Paul and the Friends for the amazing work, and thanks John for showing us
Amazing hard work Paul and volunteers I hope Redbridge council help your project they should, Thank you for helping and preserving the environmental space incredible effort you have done
A big thank you to Paul and his fellow volunteers for what they have accomplished so far. Fabulous video John...always look forward to watching your videos on a Sunday evening.
Thanks Lloyd - hope you can get down there some day
@@JohnRogersWalks Once out of our lockdown shackles I intend to head down from North Yorkshire. I will happily embrace any of your walks.
Hi John
What an astonishing video. It is great to find these secret places and local knowledge is so important. What a great bloke Paul is. I have been wondering for a while if you could get along the Roding back to Ilford as I regularly walk the stretch from Barking Creek to the Thames past the sewage farm. Fantastic reed beds mainly of Phragmites ( common reed). Such an important plant as it filters out pollutants. Will definitely do that walk in the spring to to see what birdlife is around. Gary
I grew up in Redbridge in the 60s and I'm loving your walks.
I played along the Roding, the Cranbrook and in Valantines park.
Thank you.
Amazing Mr Rogers
Thanks John absolutely loved it, I don't recognise Ilford at all, but last time I was there was 65 so not surprising, the friends of the Roding are all such amazing people and Paul is a top bloke , great stuff !!!! Cheers
what's crazy I see Paul boat outside my flat in barking harts lane as the Roding behind my flat. Being here 30 years never knew that hidden gem was just outside other side of river to me. this was so fascinating to watch this. thanks again
❤
fascinating, inspiring, dire, noisy, sad, wonderful.... Community based grass-roots solutions are magnificent - well done Paul and the gang. Next time I'm in UK I'll walk this! Pause and breath at 22:13 to grasp how beautiful it could be
Amazing video John! I grew up in Little Iford and walked that path for decades from the 70's.I think the concrete squares might be left over plyon feet.
Kids would set up swings on in the 80's.
We pulled a war time motorbike and sidecar from the reeds and mud one day-there was hospital there in the war. The ilford side was a huge waste land for years called the big whips and the barking side was called the little whips with the path between the two running between the river and park.
Thanks for sharing that - must have been an amazing day when you found that motorbike
@@JohnRogersWalks think my brother's mates dad sold it but it was exciting and a magical but dangerous place with collapsing ruins and different finds each visit.
Another quasi-bucolic voyage. What an inspirational figure Paul is. "Puckish", perfect adjective there, John. Peerless.🇯🇪
I’ve been running this route for a few weeks now as part of my Sunday run from Wanstead Park to Barking Creek. Now I know who made it possible. Thanks!
Great Video John, and hats off to Paul and the Friends of the river Roding!
Great to see people who care doing something to preserve wild parts of the river bank. It is to be hoped that the old sports field of the gas works is kept out of the tainted hands of developers who do not seem to care for green spaces only money. Well done John and Paul very informative and entertaining.
that was different class thank you john and paul what a very knowledgeable guy paul is i would like to thank him for all the great work him and his team do as i said another different class video thank you
thanks for that Steven
I've always wondered about the old river route and wild areas which were so accessible before the relief road was built. Wonderful insight as always John and what a great initiative by Paul and Co!
nothing in the world beats genuine passion, interest and enthusiasm...very inspiring guys!
quite right J!
Thanks a lot guys I loved this.
I can remeber walking some of this route before the North Circ was built.
Your best video so far , Paul was a great guest presenter
Another great video John....I love when people take the initiative to do something themselves ....Paul was so proud of it all....what a fab job they've all done....thanks again...
Great video. Interesting to see the park being built under the A406. I used to use that slip road by Ilford Bridge a lot in the 80s and I remember seeing foxes there, and a pheasant! Used to be a Sunday market on Ilford Wharf where they have built the flats. Great to see the new path being created.
Ive lived in ilford for years and years and I never even knew there was a walking path there. This is absolutely brilliant brilliant brilliant. I hope to go there soon and have a walk. Thank you
Just discovered your vids this week - absolutely love them. So calming, informative, friendly. Very warm. Would love to see you cover my old neck of the woods - Dagenham. The Becontree Estate turns 100 this year, I think - could be a great stroll down the old track lines from Chadwell Heath station that are now covered by grass along Valence Avenue and beyond. Can’t wait to get out and try your Leytonstone pub crawl this summer!
So happy to have come across your videos. And how heartwarming to hear of Paul and friends and the fantastic work they’re doing. Grew up in Ilford and often thought what a wasted asset that stretch of the Roding is. Watching has inspired me to get in touch and volunteer 😊
Really great video, showing the brilliant work done by the Friends of the Roding.
What a wonderful job the Friends of the river Roding are doing. Thank you !
Discovered your utube channel by accident and had to watch the your walk along the river roding and i recognised where me and my Dad when I was a child of 11 in 1965 he took me from Jenkins lane walking along the roding ,I remember a golf course there and when you started at ilford, we went across the main road and down the embankment the other side to carry onto wanstead at the edge of the forest,my Dad knew all the routes in those days,so pleased Paul with the River Roding Trust is making the walk more pleasant again.Its not lost anymore.
So good to see people like Paul with a vision that benefits everyone and not just the few. I reckon the friends of the River Roding will create something very special. Thanks J for taking us along. Rob
What a fascinating walk John. We stayed in the Travelodge in Ilford about 10/15 years ago, just for a couple of nights and only used it as a base, handy for London. I wish I'd known something of the history of the area.
I'm finding these videos very surprising, for several reasons. The most obvious revelation, to me anyway, is just how much history and nature still exists in these rather faceless areas. That may sound like a harsh description but I really believe that's how 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 people would describe places like Barking and Ilford. Discovering these nuggets of urban wilderness is a real eye-opener but, better still, is finding out that there are folks 𝑖𝑛 these places who care about them.
The endless graffitti, litter and fly-tipping gives the impression that nobody gives a **** about these little-known places but then we meet guys like yourself and Paul. I'm no tree-hugger John and not every patch of weeds needs "re-purposed" but seeing Paul's attitude to his home is truly heartwarming. Having a barrister involved with a community group such as this could be hugely beneficial to all involved - I certainly 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 it is.
"𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍" tends to be a very over-used word but I really found this video inspiring. If there's folk out there who give a **** about Ilford, there just might be some hope for the rest of the planet too. Thanks for another half-hour of great, educational entertainment.👍👌😁
Cheers for now,
Dougie.
Thank you John a great walk and loved what Paul and his compatriots are doing and have done.
Thanks for another ramble in London and nice to see such passion for making that path
This is a great video. Really exciting to see what the Friends of the River Roding want to do. Really impressed with Paul's enthusiasm and knowledge. Brilliant.
Fascinating, and very topical. I tried and totally failed to walk that stretch of the Roding a couple of years ago. I'm looking forward to having another try at it when appropriate thanks to the efforts of this fantastic community group.
I love these videos so much. Please dont stop 👍
I attempted this walk in reverse last summer. I was route planning with google maps, trying to cycle the Roding Valley Way and spotted the narrow boats so knew there was some access.
Starting at Becton I found the small nature reserve hidden behind the Showcase cinemas but also found the RVW pathway completely overgrown. There was a way in on Jenkins Lane and I headed Northwards. Soon finding myself in a narrow path beside Langdon school and lugging the bike over a foot bridge. There are some subsiding pathways either side of London road then it opened up into the reed beds where the boats are. I didn't get much further because of the railway bridge and so turned around and didn't pick up the Roding again until the Aldersbrook section. I kept going as far as I could, leaving the Roding at Buckhurst Hill and cycling through Knighton Woods and Epping Forest then back down the Lea.
This path is quite exciting. I've been trying to do this walk since they built the A406 when I was a kid.
Very enjoyable watch John! What a lovely fella Paul is.
thanks - Paul's a great chap
@@JohnRogersWalks He certainly is! Very competent! I live in Dagenham and know that part of the Roding quite well where paul is moored! Does he have a TH-cam channel John?
What an interesting & dedicated chap! Wonderful to see somebody doing such good work in his chosen world. Great stuff as ever, sir!
Great walk, yet again. And extra thank you for the subtitles. That clean-up & rehabiliation is a glorious effort and achievement. Glad that the Friends of the River Roding have a committed barrister on their side.
cheers Ridgely, I actually enjoyed adding the subtitles, made me really appreciate some of Paul's wonderful language
I found that very uplifting. Hidden Britain and active citizens to rediscover these "lost" sights. Good job to all and continue the work.
Brilliant! Ive walked or ran the River Roding from the Thames to just past the M25, but there are parts you have to go round inaccessible areas. Thanks to Friends of the River Roding, im so glad to see there is a way down this section, without needing to go on diversion! Cant wait to explore!
It's great to see people like Paul doing the right thing. A quick 'Google' tells me that Paul is a proper 'stand-up' chap. 👍🏼
Another great film John. A riverlation! I had a walk of discovery around the Ilford Bridge area during the first lockdown to see where Ilford Wharves would have been and took some photos which I’ll inbox you. Very interesting
As usual, a pleasant video to watch on a Sunday afternoon. I had no idea that path existed
Hi John - I enjoyed that and never knew those parts of the Roding existed and what a Top Bloke is Paul is.
Cheers Kev
Hi Kev - total revelation for me as well
This was the highlight of my Sunday evening - so inspiring to see the hard work and vision of Paul and his fellow volunteers.
another great video john..paul is as passionate as yourself about nature and history
Thanks John, thanks Paul and all of the other boat dwelling volunteers 🙌
I really enjoyed this excellent piece. Very interesting and good to see that people are taking the time to improve the environment. I used to work in the offices by the footbridge at the end of Hertford Road so I am familiar with the river at this point. Great work! James
That pumping station at 20.12, we used to play down there as kids long before theN C R was even thought about, and I’m sure I’m right, but behind that in that big old open marshy field used to e barringtons playing fields where we played football for Essex junior school manor park.
The other side of the N C R Ilford end was all waste ground that we called the Wippets, dont know why lol, their used to be lots of underground tunnels but are now covered in grassland next to little ilford park right behind the tall tower blocks, i lived behind them in Lawrence Avenue as a kid.
Then we used to go up to the railway bridge where you went and put up rope swings and played on the railway, as you do in them days and in the river. Brings back some good memories of my childhood coming from Manor park, third watch John lol, brilliant, and top bloke with you, oh the good ol days👍👍👍
Thank you to you for bringing on this wonderful character - we all need more of them!
we do indeed John - thanks for watching
Good video if local council build new footpath and cycle lane links to barking
Very helpful 👌
This is amazing to see for the first time, having lived in Ilford for so long. Hope that we can put pressure on TFL/Redbridge Council to preserve this resource.
It is always a good start to the day when a new walk by John appears! Something to look forward to watching!
This video has sent me on a journey of investigation into the past, knowing that my Dad was born in Bengal Road in Ilford and that my mum was born in Barking I felt a connection with this journey and now specifically with the River Roding. My mum spent her childhood at 14 Park View Gardens in Barking which is now under the A13 Alfreds way, North of Waverley Gardens, though if you take the footpath from Alfreds Way to River Road, through the grassed area you cross their back garden where they kept chickens. You will also see the ditch that ran along the end of their garden, feeding into the Mayes Brook and hence into the Roding.
My Dad's family later moved to Eton Road where my Dad's Brother was killed by a bomb while on Air Raid duty in 1941, and their house was destroyed by another bomb while they were in the shelter. I think this may have been motivation for my Dad to Join Bomber Command as soon as he was old enough and eventually dropping a few bombs on German cities.
Later my parents both worked for Plessey, which seemed to occupy most of the South Side of Vicarage Street in Ilford, though they didn't meet until they were both relocated to West Leigh near Havant in Hampshire to work in the new Plessey plant they had opened down there. I ended up being born in Swindon after my Dad was moved to the Plessey factory there.
I Loved the video as always, looking forward to seeing the last section as you follow the Roding the rest of the way to the Thames. Now going to watch this one again with a closer eye on Google Maps.
Really enjoyed this one, John. Such a positive experience.
Brilliant video, great work by Paul and the volunteers. I will probably never visit as I am from the Midlands but it's nice to know stuff like that is happening around us. Thanks for posting John.
Thanks for watching Steve
Geart walk thanks john. Barking and the River Roding use the my home and birth place so it was great to see a bit of the Roding i have never seen befor so thanks.