'It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.' Professor Dumbledore in J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'.
The London LOOP (London Outer Orbital Path) was created in 2001 to link up "green" routes (some more than others I must say) around Greater London. It's a 140 mile walker's M25, without the jams or noise. Some bits are considerably nicer than others - walking past a landfill site by the north Thames at Rainham comes to mind as an olfactory and visual low point! That part of the Thames has (quite literally) had the pooey end of the stick with the landfill site on one side and a state of the art (though no less smelly) sewage treatement centre on the other.
On the up side the parts around Farthing Downs and Kingston, particularly through Hampton Wick and Bushey Park, were delightful.
A big thank you to all my walking buddies who joined me during the winter of 2002-2003 on this trail: Iain, Mum, Dad, Una, Kirstin, Jan and especially Matt who was brave enough to join me for the smelly bits!
