Thames walk 2: Northfleet to Dartford // A dull anecdote

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A week after my first walk, I was out again. It was a grey day, like almost every day since this interminable winter began. The light seemed pretty good for photography though, with no harsh overhead sun. My vague plan was to walk as far as Erith. When I walked this section with Jo back in summer 2010, the weather was baking hot. The fairly lengthy detour around the River Darent and Dartford Marshes was hard work given we had no water with us and there was zero shade along the way. I bet I was wearing Converse too. Young and foolish.

These days, I’m middle-aged and proud of it (sort of). I’ve got the OS map on my phone (I love OS maps) and I plan my route in advance. I carry a spare battery just in case (I know, I’m in zone 6 of London, but you can’t be too careful). Lots of water of course, and a packed lunch too. And I wear hiking boots now.

Looking at the map on the train to Northfleet, I chose a different route to the one Jo and I followed years back. I decided to take a long detour away from the Thames, down Marsh Street and then back up Joyce Green Lane, purely because it looked vaguely interesting on the OS map. (No, I don’t know how a road can look interesting on the OS map, but maybe it’s some sort of weird sixth sense I’ve developed because it turned out I was right, it was fucking ace.)

But first, here’s my only interesting anecdote from the hike (spoiler alert, it’s really not that interesting).

As I set off down the flytipped and litter-strewn Joyce Green Lane, two young lads came walking towards me. One had a Rottweiler on a chain (or something like that; I know fuck all about dogs, but I know a scary-looking dog when I see one). The other was drinking from a big bottle of Budweiser. They saw me and stopped. I somewhat cautiously said hello. The lad with the killer dog asked me if I was taking pictures of birds (my camera was around my neck). I said no, industrial wastelands were more my thing. “A shame,” he said, “as there are Kestrels further down the road, but don’t worry, there’s a load of old, falling-down buildings down that way too.” They both smiled and carried on their way.

They weren’t wrong. There was an old quarry, a load of crap industrial buildings, and better still, a half-destroyed toilet block. They were brilliant to photograph. Here are my faves from the day.

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Heidelberg Materials Aggregates, as seen from the Thames Path.

An old wooden wharf, now left isolated and unloved in the Thames.

Looking back over the Thames mud from beneath Clipper Boulevard. Clipper Boulevard sounds like a beautiful road. It isn't.

Dull scenery and views can often make interesting photos. This is half way down the very long and very straight path through Dartford marshes.

A shot of the beautiful old quarry machinery, at the start of Joyce Green Lane.

The old falling down building further down Joyce Green Lane. I"m not sure what the buildings were originally, but they are beautifully decaying now. You can make out the toilets in the first two shots below.

There were more old buildings on the other side of the River Darent, scattered across the marshy land.

Date of walk: 9 February 2026 // Distance walked: 14.86km // Elevation gain: 18 meters