Beckton's not the nicest bit of Newham. Originally it was marshland, then in the 1860s it gained a massive sewage works and Europe's largest gasworks. The sewage works is still there, and the rest is now mostly 1980s/90s housing and several large retail parks. But one thing Beckton does have a lot of is footpaths, some long and secluded, others short and snickety, making it an intriguing place to walk around. Let's follow a few.
The path that used to be a sewer
Yes it's the Greenway, the sewertop path that runs from Hackney Wick to Beckton. A broad tarmac track edged by grass (and only occasionally whiffy), it's proved to be an ideal cross-borough connection for walking and cycling. It's busiest around Stratford, then calms down a bit east of Plaistow, but the final stretch in Beckton is easily the quietest of all. A giant roundabout on the A13 interrupts the flow, and the subsequent half mile of Greenway then leads nowhere special with no intermediate points of access. I usually think twice before daring myself to walk right to the end. [map]
The raised path passes the foot of Beckton Alp, a contaminated dry ski slope, then looks down over the backs of warehouses, B&Q and a giant Sainsbury's. At this time of year it's enlivened slightly by buds, blossom and birdsong, but nobody comes here because it's attractive. The isolation helps explain how I disturbed a rabbit which promptly hopped off the track and hid in some brambles, Near the end of the path comes a Britvic factory and a locked Thames Water rising main compound, plus one of the green metal gateways plonked here in the 90s. And then the Greenway stops abruptly because the public aren't allowed to walk the last few hundred yards into Beckton Sewage Works because obviously they're not.
The path that shadows a dual carriageway
Beckton's very much a suburb for people with cars, but the planners who designed the area threaded numerous footpaths all over the place to aid getting around on foot. Their admirable intention was to segregate pedestrians and vehicles but all too often the end result was a long secluded path shielded by woodland, so not somewhere everyone would feel safe. The sheltered path alongside Royal Docks Road is a case in point, running almost uninterrupted from Beckton Triangle Retail Park to Woolwich Manor Way. The first stretch at least shadows a car park, but that just means it's littered with fried chicken packaging and drive-thru coffee cups. You might find yourself sharing the path with someone lugging their shopping home in a rucksack, but more likely you'll be here entirely alone. [map]
The first access point is the end of the Greenway, which is bugger all use as a potential escape route. The big Tesco at Gallions Reach is very close but what looks like an access point under the viaduct peters out amid grubby undergrowth. Beyond Britvic the dual carriageway finally re-emerges, then it's back into the trees at the end of Winsor Terrace and alongside the rear of a school playground. The DLR is down there somewhere but you can't see it, and they can't see you. And at the southern end is a swish spiral ramp laid with good intentions, but it lands on a slip road where pedestrians aren't officially allowed so you need to divert off early. Best not.
The path that follows a country lane
Once upon a time Gooseley Lane stretched out into the marshes from the southern tip of East Ham providing access to a few squidgy fields. And then the A13 got built across it, with the northern half embraced by a housing estate and the southern half by the Beckton Triangle Retail Park. The latter is a mass of big sheds and bigger car parks, a magnet for East London families in need of soft furnishings, bathroom fittings or electrical goods. And somehow the line of the old country lane has been preserved as a public footpath - as previously discussed one of only six public footpaths in the borough of Newham. [map]
It helps that the path follows a stream, although technically it's only a drain and a fairly runty one at that. It doesn't help that the water is littered with shopping trolleys - both Sainsbury's and Lidl - plus assorted paper and plastic gunk. Half the path skirts the rear of Dunelm and the other half squeezes between B&M and Harveys for the benefit of those attempting to reach the 173 bus stop or climb the A13 footbridge. It's not Beckton's most unpleasant footpath, there are numerous contenders for that crown, but it does feel like one of its most unnecessary.
The path that used to be a railway
Back when railways were built to places of work, not highrise apartment clusters, the industrial outpost of Beckton had its own branch line. It ran direct across the marshes from Custom House and dropped off passengers by the entrance to the gasworks. Occasional peak hour services ceased in 1940 and the last freight train ran in 1970 leaving a temptingly empty trackbed. It would have been an obvious route for the DLR's Beckton extension but that instead went the long way round via the Royal Docks before hooking back to serve the centre of the new estate. The very tip of the branch line was reused but the remaining mile got turned into a broad footpath called Beckton Corridor. [map]
The corridor begins between the Asda bus station and the undertakers, then ducks beneath the pylons to the southwest. The path is broad, attractively paved and well used, particularly by supermarket shoppers threading home. Partway along is a small nature reserve with over-decorated ponds which the local community has nicknamed Itchycoo Park. The former railway then breaks out across Beckton Park before diving back into woodland between cul-de-sacs and allotments. Here it changes its name to Jake Russell Walk, rounds a children's hospice with an enchanted forest in its back garden and follows one last mugger-friendly curve to Prince Regent DLR. If you're up for off-putting exploration on foot, Beckton has much to offer.
