The brilliant morning sunshine was calling me out to the London fringe. This urge is best answered with a return to the London Loop. I started my circuit of London’s 150-mile orbital walking trail in January 2018 when feeling just such a push, with no intention of walking the whole thing. Hence I started with Section 17 from Enfield to Cockfosters, walking in the opposite direction to the TFL maps. And I’ve been chipping away at it ever since. My last foray onto the London Loop had been a year ago more or less, I obviously didn’t want my quest to end, but 2025 seemed like the right year to finally close the Loop.

Section 1 must be the most dramatic section of the London Loop. From the roadside of the A2, to the River Cray, the Crayford Creek Road industrial zone. The Dartford Creek in the sunset was stunning, QEII bridge arching away into the distance. The wind turbines, the reflective water, the flood barrier, then the path beside Erith marshes in the dusk. A large boat chugged along the Thames. As I entered Erith town centre in the dark I was starting to feel like a new person even though nothing had actually changed. That is the power of the London Loop.