The mysteries of Crouch End

A walk round one of my favourite locations in London – Crouch End. A place with uncanny links to tales of the undead and general weird stuff from the middle ages to Shaun of the Dead.

We start with the Parkland Walk, a former railway line where the King of Horror himself, Stephen King, had a mystical experience that inspired him to write a short story. Next, we explore the fascinating story of Bob Dylan’s infamous visit to Crouch End that has become a vital piece of London folklore.

But the mysteries of the Northern Heights don’t stop there. The area is said to be the site of two powerful ley lines that cross beneath the Victorian clocktower. This tower was originally the site of a wooden cross that gave the area its name.

Crouch End - view of Alexandra Palace
Tottenham Lane Crouch End in North London from a video by John Rogers
Tottenham Lane

Some of the key scenes of Shaun of the Dead were filmed in Crouch End, but that features in a previous video and only gets a passing mention here as I list the references to the undead in this eldritch zone from Sir Roger Bolingbroke through the Highgate Vampire to that brilliant Zom Com. We also visit the legendary Kings Head pub, the Harringay Arms, the Queens, Tottenham Lane, Hornsey Town Hall, Hornsey Library, Church Studios, Crouch End Hippodrome, and much more.

More Questions about London walking

Some of the Questions answered in Part 2 of my massive Q&A on a walk through Leyton

Obviously, they’re fictional places, but what are your thoughts on doing a ‘Rivers of London’ walk, that includes some of the more noteworthy locations in London, based on the novels by Ben Aaronovitch? This could be great for tourists and locals alike.

Tell us all your thoughts on Camberwell please.

What is the most stunning place you have visited?

When’s ur next book coming out?

Are there any parts of London that you used to not like but now like and vice versa?

What are your top 3 favourite London pubs?

Are you going to return to Carshalton?

Have you heard of the ‘Cuckoo’ estate in west London?

Could you pick your favourite street in central London ?

What is your favourite walk in Buckinghamshire?

What’s your most memorable encounter / meet with a celebrity?

Whats your opinion of your mate Russel Brand?

Hedgerley Bucks
Buckinghamshire walk
Red Lion pub Leytonstone
Red Lion Leytonstone
Pint of ale at the Red Lion Leytonstone
Red Lion Leytonstone

Related videos

Lost Rivers of London

Wapping Walk

Limehouse Walk (Black Ditch with Tom Bolton)

Greenwich to Rotherhithe

Woolwich walk

Favourite Chilterns Walks

Wycombe to Wooburn

Pyramids of Essex

Crystal Palace to Streatham Common on the Capital Ring

I often overlook the Capital Ring. Partly because I’m always encountering those little waymarkers on my walks. I collected a full set of free fold-out maps from Thornhill Square Library about 20 years ago, detailing the 72-mile route broken down into 15 sections. However, I’ve only intentionally set out to walk the Capital Ring on one occasion, in March 2020 when I walked from Richmond to Horsenden Hill.

Capital Ring Walk 4
Capital Ring Walk 4
Capital Ring Walk 4 - Upper Norwood Recreation Ground
Upper Norwood Recreation Ground

So last week, with a false Spring breaking over London, I set off from Crystal Palace Station to walk Section 4 to Streatham Common, and wow what a glorious walk it was. There were spectacular views throughout – looking south towards to the North Downs, and across the Thames Basin to the north with the shimmering towers of the City below. From Biggin Wood we looked across the high-rises of Croydon to distant hills. And at the end of the walk we gazed west over the Wandle Valley. Between we strolled across beautiful open spaces at Westow Park, Upper Norwood Recreation Ground, Norwood Grove and finally Streatham Common. We passed beneath the boughs of one of the remnants of the Great North Wood in Biggin Wood and explored the secret garden at The Rookery on the site of Streatham Wells.

Capital Ring Walk 4
view from Biggin Hill
The Rookery - Streatham
The Rookery

I now can’t wait to get back and continue the Capital Ring to Wimbledon and Richmond.

A meander along the River Shuttle in South London

I’d never heard of the River Shuttle until it was mentioned in the YouTube comments under my video of a walk along the River Quaggy. A crisp, bright, sunny Sunday felt like the perfect time to seek out this suburban watercourse. The River Shuttle rises on Avery Hill and flows through a sequence of parks and patches of woodland before making its confluence with the River Cray beside the A2 Rochester Way. The Shuttle Riverway is a 5.5-mile walking trail that follows the river.

I found the Shuttle running along a narrow concrete culvert just inside the gates of the University of Greenwich Avery Hill campus and next to the Charlton Athletic Training Ground. I remembered that my Uncle Stan had turned down a professional contract to play in goal for Charlton in the 1950s leading me to declare that the deity of the River Shuttle was a former Charlton Athletic goalkeeper. [*note: in Ben Aaronovitch’s brilliant Rivers of London books all of London’s rivers have a living, breathing deity who moves among us]. I followed the river through the campus and across the road, through Parish Wood and connected with the Shuttle Riverway as ran alongside Berwick Crescent, Sidcup. It was here I encountered my first Shuttle Riverway signage – always a great moment to add a new walking trail sign to the memory bank.

Shuttle Riverway sign for the River Shuttle walk
Shuttle Riverway

In Hollyoak Wood Park the Shuttle meets its tributary, the Wyncham Stream which rises in Chislehurst. Just past the confluence of these two rivers an egret elegantly strode along the edge of the water.
The river led me on through Willersley Park and Marlborough Park in magnolious late winter sun.

River Shuttle in Parish Wood
River Shuttle in Parish Wood
confluence of the Wyncham Stream and the River Shuttle in Hollyoak Wood Park
confluence of the Wyncham Stream and the River Shuttle

As the Shuttle crossed Burnt Oak Lane into Sidcup Golf Club I followed the Shuttle Riverway round the streets when later I learnt that a footpath runs around the edge of the golf course emerging near Viewfield Road. However, I’m grateful that my detour took me past the great pylons that straddled the houses and the stink pipe in Albany Road.

pylons in the street in Sidcup / Bexley
pylons in the street in Sidcup / Bexley

The daylight faded as I traced the river across the edge of Bexley Woods and a luminous full moon broke through the clouds. It made me think of Steve Moore’s Somnium, a brilliant weaving of the mythology of the moon goddess Selene into the landscape of Shooters Hill, not far from the source of the River Shuttle. The moon and the river seemed intricately linked. How I connect this to the goalkeeping deity of the Shuttle I haven’t worked out yet.

confluence of the River Shuttle and River Cray
confluence of the River Shuttle and River Cray

Selene guided me down Love Lane in the moonlit night to the Holiday Inn laden with ennui beside the A2 East Rochester Way. The Shuttle shimmered in the headlights of passing cars. The confluence with the River Cray was not far away. A fox slid through the undergrowth along the riverbank. Somebody had left a can of energy drink on the railing as a votive offering. It was a perfect ending. I paid my respects and then headed off into the moonbeams to Bexley Station.

A visit to Orford Ness – the ‘isle of secrets’

Orford Ness in Suffolk was once a top-secret military research site and today operated by the National Trust. This 10-mile-long shingle spit on the Suffolk Coast is home to a range of habitats, including salt marshes, reed beds and lowland heath, and only accessible by ferry. The secretive research military research centre came into operation in 1912 and was closed in 1985 when it was taken over by the Nation Trust. For many years it was forbidden to approach the island.

I visited on the last weekend of Afterness in October 2021 – a series of installations commissioned by Artangel that included works by Ilya Kaminsky, Emma McNally, Chris Watson, Alice Channer and others. Orford Ness is an extraordinary location. Some of the military buildings have been retained and allowed to naturally decay. The site includes the Cobra Mist radar masts built in early 40’s, a former lighthouse, blast bunkers, and the remains of an experimental rocket testing site. W G Sebald wrote about a journey to Orford Ness in his book The Rings of Saturn. Sebald found it a desolate lonely place. For me it is one of the most extraordinary places in the whole of Britain. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the uncanny atmosphere of strolling along the paths that snake across the shingle, navigating my way from one defunct military installation to the next conjuring up the peculiar wartime experiments that were conducted here. It must have been an intense and paranoid place.

Orford Ness bunker
Orford Ness
Orford Ness Suffolk
Orford Ness bunker
Orford Ness bunker

Back in the village of Orford having a pint in the Jolly Sailor, the mysteriousness of the landscape sunk in. The temple-like nature of the decayed military buildings, the proximity to the famous Rendlesham Forest UFO incident (the Orford lighthouse was unconvincingly proffered as an explanation), and the great Anglo Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo. The lost city of Dunwich lies beneath the waves just a few miles north. This is a seriously surreal stretch of the English coastline – a place of deep mystery.

Map showing the alignment of Orford Ness, Sutton Hoo and Rendlesham Forest
alignment of Orford Ness, Sutton Hoo and Rendlesham Forest

Related videos:

Rendlesham Forest UFO Trail – Britain’s Roswell / Bentwaters Incident

Along the River Deben to Sutton Hoo

Sebald’s Rings of Saturn Walk Southwold to Dunwich

London questions answered

Everything you wanted to know about London, walking, history, pubs and more. Thank you for submitting more than 200 questions for this massive Q&A. There was a huge range of topics from London history, gentrification, favourite walks, historic pubs, lost rivers, London books and so much more including walks outside London and why I make YouTube videos. Part 2 of this video will be uploaded soon.
Some Questions answered in this video:

have you considered going on a walk spanning
more than one day?

I also love reading fiction books that have London as their main setting,
I’d like to know which ones are your favourites and why.
I’m currently reading The Rivers of London Saga and I’m loving it.
Thanks for your wonderful videos.

Would love to hear your thoughts on Wood Green
and Green Lanes managing to avoid some of the gentrification
that neighbouring areas have faced in the last few years

If you had to make a life or death decision on which type
of last walk to take, would it be in the city or the country?

Have you ever had any ghostly experiences on your treks
as you visit many ancient places?

Any plans to complete The London Loop in 2023?
Favourite section of the loop and why?

Hi John. I’m a London cabbie and love your videos.
Have you a favourite place in London to walk?

Have you considered doing a lost river walk WITH Ben Aaronovitch
if he is interested.

Ben Aaronovitch and John Rogers, Wanstead Tap, Sept 2021
Ben Aaronovitch

Have you ever done a walk, got home and thought
well I wouldn’t do that again !.

You’ve explored some of the major “place making” new developments
in some of your videos – North Greenwich, Olympic Village,
Barking Riverside being some. Can you think of any that have come
before them that you would mark down as a success?

East Village Stratford
East Village Stratford

I am really curious to learn from whom you inherited
your clearly infinite curiosity and passion for history from?

What part of London has surprised you most,
or specifically where were you when you turned a corner
and were just awestruck.

Hi John love your videos. As you’ve done an Oxford video
would you consider doing a Cambridge one?

You once told me you’re considering walking the length of the New River.
It’s a huge task. Do you think you’ll ever do it?

What’s the lifespan of your walking boots

Which river would you be the deity of?

Do you enjoy every bit of the walk or are there parts you want to
hurry through? Or is it possible to find something to like anywhere?

I’m just enquiring if you were aware of the Friends of West Ham Park’s
campaign to stop the City of London Corporation developing the old
plant nursery site, next to the park, with a block of flats?

while making your videos over the last several years,
what ways do you feel this process has enriched your life?

John, what motivates you to keep making the videos you do
and how much planning/time does it take to make your videos?

Hello John What is your inspiration for the path you have followed ?

What are some of your favourite/most memorable pubs
that you have visited on your walks around the Herts, Essex
and North London area?

Ware
Waterside Inn Ware

Do you think Psychogeography could have a part to play in Archaeology?
Maybe a different way of looking at past environments.

would love to see you
walk the river darent from maybe Dartford to Sevenoaks one day.

Hayes and Harlington has changed a lot since your last visit.
New Crossrail. So many new developments.

Thanks for your great videos. I love them and London.
I’m going to the Natural History Museum soon with a mate
and wanted to know if you could recommend a good pub as
I don’t know this area too well. Thanks for any advice

Is there such a thing as PUB ETIQUETTE?

Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism and Barking Riverside

Barking Riverside – a place like no other
I finally returned to document the development at Barking Riverside a couple of Sundays ago, late in the afternoon. I’d wrongly assumed that the project was largely complete and had only previously skirted around the fringes, firstly in 2017 and then last October at the end of my walk along the Gores Brook. I’ll confess I’d only done a cursory browse of the developer’s website and saw my visit as merely to observe and document, not to critique or unpick the underlying economics and what this might say about the ongoing reshaping of London. However, one comment on YouTube caught my attention this morning:
“love you John and have for years, but I would have liked you to do more of a critique of the politics of this kind of development; I know you get this stuff – not sure why you avoided it”
This is a fair point and particularly as I approach the self-publication of my book ‘Welcome to New London’ that does indeed take in the political dimensions of some new developments in London. But I hadn’t done an adequate amount of research on this complex development to be able to inform any kind of critique.

Barking Riverside, January 2023

Capitalist Realism and Urban development via ChatGPT

I found myself this afternoon thinking about Mark Fisher’s highly influential book, Capitalist Realism, which I confess I haven’t read but my son has, and talked about it a lot. So I turned to ChatGPT to provide a summary and then relate Fisher’s ideas to the subject of urban development and by extension, I suppose we can see how this relates (or not) to Barking Riverside. Below is my exchange with ChatGPT:

hi – can you give me a summary of Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism please?

“Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism is a book that argues that the dominant ideology in Western societies is a belief that capitalism is the only viable economic system and that it is natural and inevitable. Fisher contends that this belief, which he refers to as “capitalist realism,” has led to a sense of resignation and hopelessness among many people, making it difficult to imagine alternatives to capitalism and to fight for change. He also argues that this ideology has had a profound impact on culture and art, leading to a focus on surface-level spectacle and a lack of critical engagement with the underlying realities of society. The book explores the ways in which capitalist realism has been reinforced by political and economic changes, and the ways in which it can be challenged.”

Barking Riverside pylons

Is there any way that Fisher’s ideas relate to the development of cities and the built environment?

“Mark Fisher’s ideas about “capitalist realism” can certainly be related to the development of cities and the built environment. In his book, Fisher argues that capitalist realism has led to a sense of resignation and hopelessness among many people, making it difficult to imagine alternatives to capitalism and to fight for change.
In the context of urban development, capitalist realism can be seen as promoting the idea that the current form of urban development is natural and inevitable, and that there are no alternatives to the current patterns of urban growth and development. This can lead to a lack of critical engagement with the underlying realities of urban development, such as the ways in which capitalist urban development can reinforce inequality, lead to displacement of marginalised communities, and contribute to environmental degradation.
Fisher’s ideas can also be related to the ways in which urban development and the built environment are shaped by the demands of capital, or the means of producing and exchanging wealth. The drive for profit can lead to the development of cities that prioritise the needs of business and the wealthy over the needs of the majority of residents. This can manifest in the form of gentrification, where low-income communities are pushed out of neighbourhoods in order to make way for more profitable development.
In summary, Fisher’s ideas about capitalist realism can be applied to the development of cities and the built environment in the sense that they highlight the ways in which capitalist ideology can limit our ability to imagine alternative forms of urban development and obscure the negative impacts of urban development on marginalised communities and the environment.”

ChatGPT’s response here certainly rings true when questioning urban development in London:
– that the current form of urban development is natural and inevitable
– capitalist ideology can limit our ability to imagine alternative forms of urban development

The idea that new homes could be built in collaboration with the local community to meet their housing needs in line with average incomes is seen as being wildly unrealistic. The ratio of social housing to so-called ‘affordable homes’ and private ownership properties is ultimately set by the profit-motive of the developers, despite the low targets set by the GLA. And the cost of ‘affordable homes’ is not based on average incomes, or the incomes in the areas where the homes are being built, but on the balance sheet of the developers.