2019 walks

First Ladies WI have been walking, just not blogging about it until now! Thanks to Janet for her time in charge.

Since I took over this year, we’ve done the following:

May - Victoria Park to Stratford

Part of the Jubilee Greenway walk. It was a perfect day covering Victoria Park through to Olympic Park Stratford.

June - Old Dagenham and the Steam and Cider Fair.

The hottest day in June! We didn’t walk far on this one, covering the church and Old Dagenham Park for the Steam and Cider Fair.

July - the Ingrebourne valley from Upminster Bridge to Rainham.

Another lovely day and a beautiful walk following the Ingrebourne river - the name of our group of WIs.

WI Walk for December 2016 - The Christmas Tree Festival

Today we revisited the Christmas tree festival at Upminster Methodist Church. This is a wonderful event that involves the whole community.

A local group e.g. school, cubs, choir decorates a tree each and the festival is held in the Methodist Church. The visitors walk around the church and vote for the best tree. It is so hard to decide because every tree has had so much work put into it. They also have a wonderful Christmas hunt for the children.

We were lucky this year that the WI ladies brought their children and grandchildren to this lovely event. They met Tom, the Shetland Pony from T Cribbs and Sons and went to  visit Father Christmas in his grotto.

Have a wonderful Christmas and see you in 2017.

http://www.upminstermethodistchurch.org/

Walk for July 2016 - Raphael Park and the Romford Garden Suburb

The WI ladies enjoyed a walk a bit closer to home in the borough of Havering this month. We used the Borough's Heritage Walk to guide us around.

We met at the gates of Raphael Park and walked around the delightful gardens which were given to the borough by Sir Herbert Raphael in 1902.

He bought Gidea Hall and the estate in 1897 and donated 15 acres for a public park to be enjoyed next to busy Romford with its market. Next with inspiration from the Hampstead Garden Suburb, Sir Herbert Raphael, John Tudor Walters and Charles Albert McCurdy formed the Gidea Park Development Company to develop the Romford Garden Suburb. With a new train station in the area, they held a competition for architects and builders to design the '100 best homes'. People travelled on the train in the summer of 1911 to view the 4 bedroom houses costing £500 and 3 bedroom cottages costing £375. The houses were designed by famous architects such as Clough Williams-Ellis and Baillie Scott.

The Romford Garden Suburb has changed little in the 100 years and still retains the garden feel with the beautiful front gardens and the original features on the houses. Lovely features such as the lake at the bottom of the gardens on Heath Drive and the trees on Reed Pond Walk are a pleasure to stumble across as you gaze longingly at the homes. Even the traditional lamposts add to the charm of this delightful area. 

We walked back through the park and enjoyed an ice cream by the children's area before walking back under the trees and finding Percy the Park Keeper with his wheelbarrow. Nick Butterworth was born in Gidea Park and they have given Percy his very own little section of the park to look after because of his famous author and illustrator.

We met a very friendly squirrel before finishing back at the gates of the park. What a wonderful way to enjoy the hottest day of the year. 

Heritage Walk and Map

Walk for August 2015 - Liar, liar walk

The First Ladies of Barking and Dagenham Walking Club enjoyed a fun filled hour and half with our walking guide, Matt from Fun London Tours as he brought us on a Liar, Liar Walk in London.

Matt gave us a guided us around the City of London but with a twist. We had to decide which of the facts he was telling us were lies. The ladies had great fun in competing against each other in teams as they worked out the fact from the fiction at Tower Bridge, the Gherkin and Leadenhall market to name just a few of the thought provoking stops.

Well done to the Monument Ladies who won the Liar, Liar tour with 50 points. This walking tour was a resounding success and we are already hoping to book Matt for another of his tours in 2016.

http://www.funlondontours.com/

Walk for June 2015 - The history of Elm Park and RAF Hornchurch

This month, we travelled a few stops along the District line to Elm Park station. Local historian, Brian Evans, guided us through the history of Elm Park and RAF Hornchurch.

In 1935, new houses were built in Elm Park by Costain at a cost of £330 each with a £25 deposit. People in the East End of London were attracted to the open fields and the fresh air. They were told that the mortgages would cost the same as their rent in the End End. Even a new station, Elm Park, was opened especially for this new estate.

We walked along the High Street and looked at the range of local shops. the oldest shop being 'The Hobby shop' which dates back to 1959. We all commented on how they still have a butchers and bakers. Although we didn't see a candlestick makers.

We learnt about the relevance of the road names such as Coronation Drive due to King George VI's Coronation. Whereas on the old RAF airfield site, the roads are named after pilots e.g. Berry Close after Squadron Leader Ronald Berry, a pilot stationed at RAF Hornchurch.

We also heard about landmarks that have since gone such as Snow White's cottage on Coronation Drive and the original estate agents office for the sales of the new houses which was only knocked down recently.

We then walked along the old RAF airfield which has since been turned into houses but the traces of its history is still there. We walked past the officers' homes on Abbs Cross Road and saw the RAF Mess which is now a doctor's surgery. Previous serving officers were Max Bygraves, Ronnie Corbett and Iain Duncan-Smith's Dad.

We finished the walk at 'The Good Intent' pub and heard a few ghost stories from the airfield. We enjoyed a tasty lunch before heading back westbound on the train.

Date for the diary: Elm Park are celebrating their 80th anniversary on Saturday 18th July 2015.
Elm Park Local Information

Walk for May 2015 - A tour around Ilford Hospital Chapel

Have you driven past the Hospital Chapel in Ilford and wondered what it is like inside? The First Ladies of Barking and Dagenham were lucky enough to get a tour around.
  Martin, a friend of the Hospital Chapel, gave us a fantastic tour of the chapel. He told us the history of the oldest building in Redbridge (1145 AD). We learnt all about it's origins as a hospice for aged and infirm men. We were very interested to learn that it was set up by Barking Abbey and a lot of it's history was linked to Barking and Dagenham. The chapel is a survivor and managed to escape Henry VII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. It was also a leper hospice and then went on to enjoy expansion in the Victorian period.
 Martin pointed out features of interest in the church for example, the stained glass and the beautiful altar as well as the newly discovered Norman window.
 After the tour, we enjoyed tea, coffee and biscuits at the back of the Chapel and greatly admired the handmade cards that are for sale.
 Everyone agreed that it was a real treasure in Ilford and vowed to spread the word so that other people could enjoy it's charms.

Ilford Hospital Chapel Website

Walk for April 2015 - 'Women through time - Inspiring change'

The sun was shining when Tina Baxter from 'Footprints of London' took us for a walk around London with inspirational women as the theme.

We started at the Guildhall and walked around the City of London to hear the stories of the courageous and forward thinking women such as Elizabeth Fry, Emmeline Pankhurst, Boudicca and Mrs Beeton. Tina kept us captivated with her stories of the women by using plaques, buildings, statutes and parks as prompts. We finished our walk at St Paul's Cathedral where we stumbled across 'Shaun the sheep' as part of the Shaun in the City trail.

 Hearing about Elizabeth Fry and her links to Barking

 Tina talking about Pocahontas

 Postman's Park: The memorial to heroic self-sacrifice

 Shaun the sheep

Afterwards, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch at Pizza Express before heading back on the District line.

Footprints of London Walking Tours

Miss B takes a walk tours

Shaun in the city trail