Walking by Water – Using the Meet Up App

I knew coming to live in London for a middle-aged (not quite a) gap year, that I would have to actively build a friendship network, and that the Meet Up app would be an important tool for me to do this. I’m now about seven weeks in and am at the stage where I am really missing my New Zealand friends and family. I have managed to meet some new people, including Sophie, a fellow runner and blogger [you can read her blog here http://runningonfullblog.com/ ] who has given me lots of advice re running but also in terms of finding work, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know Janine, a friend of my sister-in-law’s, who like me is from New Zealand and is building a  life in London. Then of course there is the family I’m currently staying with, who have introduced me to people too.

Meeting new people at a Croydon party

I had some experience using the Meet Up [https://www.meetup.com/] as back in Wellington I belong to the Wellington Meet Up Running Group [https://www.meetup.com/WellingtonRunningMeetup/ ]and although I haven’t run with them very often, they proved to be a valuable support answering my many running questions. When I first arrived I joined a group called Coach Day Trips Out Of London and I did the Seven Sisters Walk [you can read about that here https://livinglifeonmyownterms.wordpress.com/2017/05/30/daytrippn-the-seven-sisters/%5D . So when I found a group called ‘Walks by Water’  [ https://www.meetup.com/Walks-by-Water/ ] I decided to give it a go.

Tring to Apsely 

London was in the midst of a heatwave and I thought it would be better to get out of the city, where there might be a breeze or shade to make things bearable. I didn’t really take much notice of the walk desciption, just noting that I had to be at Euston Station by 9:45, and that I was going to Hertfordshire.

I was blown away when we got off the train at Tring, and Stephen the trip leader, led us down a path and there was the Great Union Canal! I have a thing about canals and canal-boats and I couldn’t believe my luck – I could hardly contain myself. Most of that day I felt like leaping for joy and shouting out my good fortune to whoever would listen.

The walk begins through a wooded area where the only noise apart from the gentle flow of the water was the soft puttering of the canal boats as they motored by. There was lots of much needed shade, but also a slight breeze which took the edge off the extreme heat of the day.

After a while the path opened out and we came across moored boats where people were enjoying the canal life style. We came across what looked like what could be permanent moorings, where people had established gardens not only on their boats but on the canal side as well. We came across people doing life admin (washing), or walking their dogs, or plying their way through locks. I was mesmerised and as a consequence spent a lot of time taking photographs, but all that running stood me in great stead as I was able to run to catch up with the group quite easily (in fact this 9 mile walk would make a really good training run).

Stephen had planned things perfectly – he took us to a gorgeous pub on the river for lunch, and then planned for us to finish at a pub and have a cold beer before we caught the train back to London. At a cost of £16 for the train and £12 for lunch, including a beer this was a good value trip.

Our lunch break

Newhaven Town to Brighton

I told Janine about the walking group and so we decided that we would do the next walk together. The trouble was the weather forecast was not good, but while rain was forecasted for the afternoon, the temperature wasn’t really dropping – it was forecasted to be around eighteen degrees, so we decided to go regardless.

We met the group at Victoria Station, and purchased our train tickets as a group so we could take advantage of the group discount. I was glad that there was a Group Leader (Stephen again) to shepherd us on to the train, and then get us to change trains (I couldn’t even tell you where we did that!) and then got us off at Newhaven. It took me a little while to realise that I had actually been to Newhaven previously. Thirty years ago we caught a ferry (with our camper van) to Diepe in France from here.

The walk starts off at the Marina /port area and then heads up to a head land (while this is a decent hill it was neither steep nor long) where we were afforded magnificent views of the marina, and in the distance the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters. The first part of the walk is on grassy paths heading towards the townships/villages we could see in the distance.

Eventually the path gets to Peacehaven, and the environment is a lot more urban. We crossed the meridian line before lunch, and the King George Memorial helpfully told me we were 11735 miles (spherical distance in statute miles for the more technically minded among you!) form Wellington. From there we headed to the Smugglers Arms for lunch. At this stage the predicted rain hadn’t arrived, but it was due to hit at 4 pm and Stephen was pretty keen to get us to a point where we could shelter if we needed to (apparently 3 months worth of rain was due to fall in three hours) so we headed off.

The afternoon part of the walk saw us descend off the cliff tops and following the shore towards Brighton pier which we could see in the distance. The rain began, falling softly but steadily but and with my rain coat and my umbrella (to protect my backpack) I didn’t experience much discomfort. This part of the walk takes you under the cliffs through a marina development and then follows the stony shore. Ive only been to Brighton twice in my life, and both times it has been a great day, which has somewhat coloured my view of it. I’d love to experience it on the hot sunny days described by one of my fellow walkers who used to come here as a child. Once we reached Brighton, coffees rather than beers were the order of the day. The shops looked really interesting here, but as we were running late and needed to catch the train back to London, shopping was not on the menu!

I think, if you enjoy walking Walks by Water or its sister group Midweek Walks are a really good option for getting out and exploring areas outside of London. They are well planned, and really scenic, and as the name says they usually involve water! Stephen also runs walks in London, so I may give one of these a try too. The people onthe walks are really interesting and very friendly and welcoming too.