Lesnes Abbey Archives

A church visit becomes the Great Belvedere Renewable-Power Circular Hike

This is the story of my Great Belvedere Renewable-Power Circular Hike. The hike emerged spontaneously on a brilliant, gusty day in September 2020. It started out as a quest to chase up reports of a few surviving fragments of Lesnes Abbey. As I set out, a storm was brewing on the horizon. And so, with a bit of trepidation, I exited from Belvedere National Rail station in search of the church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist in Erith, England.

The trail took me through Frank’s Park, which is a 17 hectare oasis of old woodland and a grass field (1 hectare = 2.47 acres). The local government acquired these lands through the generosity of an industrialist (Frank Beadle) in 1920. The church is just a few blocks further, across a highway pedestrian overpass. From St John’s, my hike morphed into a wonderful unplanned wander along the River Thames. I ventured past renewable power plants and through patches set aside for nature to have its way.

Connecting with St John the Baptist

I arrived at St John’s just prior to a mid-week service. The church warden nonetheless kindly took the time to show me the highlights. I had read that the church incorporated some materials from the destroyed Lesnes Abbey. Perhaps the locals brought some items in by cart back in the day (ca 1526AD), adding other bits after more recent excavations at the Abbey. In the bell tower at St John’s, the church warden pointed out several stone covers from Lesnes Abbey sarcophagi. In the vestry, there are two sections of tiles from the abbey floors.

The Normans initiated construction of the St John the Baptist church in the 1100s. And, some old French inscriptions are still visible. They built on the site of an older Saxon church. The new structure was expanded later in the middle ages and again in the 1800s. It incorporates some older materials including Roman tiles. Some observers hypothesise there may be additional materials from the abbey may be incorporated, as well. Sadly, most of the medieval stained glass windows at St John’s were blown out during WWII bombings. The churchyard is a jumble of destroyed and maintained graves in an ancient setting.

Having been spiritually renewed by my stop at the church, I headed out to the River Thames. Stepping up onto the river wall, one emerges onto a great open space of river and marshlands. It is wonderful to experience. So, I decided to carry on, making a dash on the path upstream. I aimed to beat the approaching storm. What I found was amazing. A cluster of renewable-energy installations and a nature reserve that attest to a great act on the part of policy makers.

A place to recharge my batteries

Like many folks trapped at home during the pandemic, I craved this exposure to open spaces and nature. It provided inspiration for an extended walk. As a threaded my way on an elevated path through disused docks, grain elevators and mudflats, a seal bobbed in the river along the riverbank. A shag flew past. The Rainham Marsh preserve of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) provided a big swath of green on the other side of the Thames, as did the London landfill.

But an impressive feat of engineering awaited me at Crossness. The first bit sighted is a huge dock where barges of shipping containers arrive with London’s trash. A crane winches them up and trucks carry them over to a generating plant that burns the contents cleanly (as far as I could tell) in order to provide electrical power. A bit further down is a massive waste water treatment facility that processes sewage equivalent in volume to 20 Olympic pools every hour. The composted sludge fuels a separate power plant. From what I could see, it also burned cleanly. Meanwhile, four massive wind turbines churn to produce further renewable power. Some of this wind energy serves to power the Ford diesel engine factory across the River Thames.

Crossness Nature Reserve

On the south side of the river, nestled between the power plants, is the Crossness nature reserve. The nature reserve includes an old pumping station from 1865. In the Victorian era struggle to eradicate cholera, this served to manage sewage and excess water in the marshes. Part of the reserve is highly protected, but other parts are open to hikers. Along the Thames just outside of the reserve, I think I saw a hen harrier (female) and shelducks. Inside, I saw moorhens, herons, little egrets, and others darting among the reeds along the margins of the ponds. There were some wonderful cob horses in the paddocks that the path crosses.

It must be a challenge to maintain the reserve in the face of pressures from the surrounding industry and suburbia. Reports indicate that they have struggled a bit with stolen materials, vandalism, and litter. My hat is off to Thames Water, the owner and manager of the reserve. A team of local volunteers supports their good work: The Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve provide extra TLC in maintaining, monitoring and protecting the wildlife habitat.

From Crossness Nature Reserve, it was just a short hop back to Belvedere National Rail Station. And, thus ended my Great Belvedere Renewable-Power Circular Hike.