A Rubbish Video! Rainham Marshes. Partly a landfill site.

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]Hello. Welcome to another Tweedy Outdoors video. And after that recent trip to Dartmore, a bit sublime to the ridiculous. I'm back in London now. It's a Monday, Monday morning even, was in a bit of a loose end. And I thought I would come and explore a somewhat random corner of Greater London just I think I'm actually right now technically in Essex. I've taken the train down to Perfleet on the north bank of the tempame's estie and I'm going to do a walk along the north bank of the tempames to ream which is just into greater London today. I think historically it was also in Essex.

[00:00:39]There's some kind of peninsula I spotted on the map and it was surprisingly devoid of buildings. Not sure that necessarily means there's actually going to be some attractive countryside there.

[00:00:49]I think quite a lot of it is today used as a refu dump uh you know a tip place for storing rubbish in the ground landfill.

[00:01:03]Is that relevant? I don't know. There's some information board there.

[00:01:09]It's an area of marshland. I think it's variously called rain marshes or some bits might be called Wington marshes and some bits might be called a marshes but a peninsula on the north bank of the tempames right on the edge of greater London where it goes into Essex I don't know might be interesting might not we'll see I would suspect that lump over there across the water is the uh the refuge site it's been in use at least 50 years. It's been used as a tip going back to the 1960s or so. We go an information board about the RSPB center.

[00:01:48]The I think this is a nature reserve, isn't it?

[00:01:51]Rain and Marshes here. Think they might even have a building.

[00:01:57]Slightly space age looking bridge. At some point, this would have looked space age where a little stream. Oh, there swan down there. Can you see that stream? I think that's called the Mardike that flies into the tempames at that point.

[00:02:11]And I think once we get to the other side of this, we're into the rain marshes. Remains of an ancient forest going back 6,000 years stretching along the foreshore here. I should probably take a moment to uh apologize for the weather. Not that I caused it, but you know what I mean. It's probably not going to paint this area in its best light. These sort of urban margins look even grimmer when the weather is gray like this. It might also rain actually as well. That is the RSPB Royal Society for Protection of Birds Visitor Center over there. Presumably there are places where you can watch birds out in the marshes. But uh I think I'll skip that.

[00:02:50]I'm just going to walk along this the waterfront here. Don't think this is actually the main track here, but I'm intrigued as to where this funny little path goes.

[00:03:00]Don't actually know if this area is technically open access land, but there's no sign saying uh don't go down this path, so I'm sure it's fine.

[00:03:12]It gets me a bit closer to the waterfront. Or maybe it's also a dead end. Is it going to carry on around there or not? Uh maybe sort of reads and I suppose tall reads and other grasses which I'm not sure they are reads growing out of the the marsh land there.

[00:03:46]Huh? What uh what fruit is that? Can't immediately recognize it. Some curious looking industrial facility. Is that something to do with maintaining ships perhaps across the water there? Not quite sure. A lot of wood seems to have washed up. This bit of marsh land.

[00:04:10]It looks like someone has taken advantage of all that driftwood.

[00:04:14]Had a cheeky fire there at some point.

[00:04:22]What a curious landscape this is. I've only just spotted that looking back in that direction. Sorry for the jerky camera work. It's the Queen Elizabeth II bridge.

[00:04:32]Is anyone any good at bird recognition.

[00:04:35]What have we got there?

[00:04:40]The marshy grasses that we were seeing before have given way to something akin to a beach. I don't think it's exactly the sort of beach you're going to want to be lying down on and sunbathing, digging sand castles, etc. It's sort of estie mud, but uh it's nice in its own way. I have a feeling that's something in the nightshade family, maybe. Yeah, that does look a bit like deadly nightshade to me. Isn't that a relative of the tomato, weirdly enough? As the name suggests, pretty poisonous plant.

[00:05:18]Looking across the bay there to Erith on the I suppose that's the Kent side of the river there. It doesn't sound like the sort of place name you'd expect to encounter in the Tempame's eststerie in Kent or like a a village in Scotland or something. Is that structure over there possibly the Dartford Creek barrier?

[00:05:41]looking at it on the map and I think it might be where the river Darren is. It flows into the tempames. Not entirely sure what the purpose of this fence here is cuz it isn't exactly very complete.

[00:05:54]You can walk around it at either end. Of course, there's a big gateway opening in the middle. I've seen this graffiti around a lot in London. Is that 10 foot or low foot?

[00:06:06]It's presumably a tag of some individual graffitiist, whatever you call. I don't think artist is the correct term in that case. Wild rose or dog rose. I think you can still see some uh some hips.

[00:06:22]Believe I am now approaching the rubbish dump. I think it's still in active use cuz I can see lorries pling about backwards and forwards around it with the flashing lights on.

[00:06:35]Almost has the air of a giant burial mound or something, doesn't it? A barrerow. Another nice view of the QE2 bridge. Another sight of a cheeky fire there. Quite a big one by the looks of it as well. And uh I won't comment on the legality of that, but nice spot for it with that view of the Q2 bridge over there and the dump just behind you. That's a very forthright sign, isn't it? And it looks like our friend 10 foot has been at it again. Actually looks as though there are paths going over the the big mound of refues there. Somehow doesn't really appeal to me. I don't know. Those little black pipe like things sticking up. Are they vents for the methane or whatever it is? Whatever it is that you get from decomposing rubbish. Assuming that is a rubbish. It could be something completely different.

[00:07:27]But I think that this site has been used historically for dumping rubbish.

[00:07:34]landfill. All wild roses there. Slightly pink these ones. That's nice. I think I missed the exact point, but somewhere where I was just now is the boundary, the border between the county of Essex and Greater London. So now into Greater London. I think this is the London Burough of Havering, which uh I think some people who live here would rather still think of it as Essex potentially.

[00:08:01]East London now rather than Essex.

[00:08:05]Bit of Pthos for you there. I don't know if that's perhaps someone's idea of a joke. Yes, there is a river there. On the OS map, there is a lighthouse marked. I think it's the symbol for a lighthouse. I don't know if it's perhaps that pole sticking up over there. Did that at one time? It doesn't doesn't quite look man-made enough.

[00:08:27]Well, it's just it's obviously uh been very worn down by the sea. Did that at one time have a small lamp on it or something? Don't know. Almost a nice beach there.

[00:08:40]It's It's heading towards being a pleasantl looking beach. It's really uh grim looking vessel over there, isn't it?

[00:08:53]Starting to rain now. I don't know if you can hear the uh the pitter patter on my umbrella. I think this is a German translation of that old joke. My dog has no nose.

[00:09:05]How does it smell terrible? It's something like that, isn't it? Why there is a German joke here? I don't know. Is that a Montipython reference? Is that the uh the wartime world's funniest joke sketch? Did they make a reference to the my dog has no knows? I don't know.

[00:09:26]I think that's elder, isn't it? Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries. Is it the other way around? Your father was a hamster and your mother smelled of elderberries.

[00:09:37]Sudden ripple of waves. Don't know if that's the uh the weather or if there's some giant vessel causing that. Might find it a bit hard to believe, but I'm actually quite enjoying this walk. It's uh wonderfully quiet. I've passed a couple of people along the way, but hardly any really. There's one or two cars and lorries and things going along this road that I'm walking along the side of, but really nice and uh peaceful. I mean, it it obviously is not England's most beautiful landscape, is it? We're on the edge of all this industrial and urban sprawl, and the weather is gray and the river is brown.

[00:10:16]So, uh, hardly beguiling scenes of natural beauty here, are they? But I'm somehow still enjoying it regardless.

[00:10:25]It's nice. Just nice to be out, I suppose, rather than sat on my sofa.

[00:10:29]Some exotic perfume in the air now. I assume that's something coming from the tip. Or it could be the river. Definite sense of sort of rotting food with a slightly weird chemical sort of I don't know, burnt plastic kind of top note to it.

[00:10:52]It's the remains of some old jetty down there, I assume.

[00:10:58]There we have the giant industrial units of the Momentum Logistics Park, I think it's called, apparently.

[00:11:07]Doesn't actually look like it's currently in use. There's a possibly a toulet sign on the end of that. Is that to stop motorbikes? Not quite sure what the purpose of that is, but uh yeah, quite a sprawling thing.

[00:11:20]But right behind it is the dump. Still very much in active use. I can see the diggers churning over the rubbish up above. Just see if I can get a shot of that. Diggers on top of the rubbish dump doing whatever it is they do.

[00:11:34]Poppies are a nice touch though on this bank.

[00:11:38]Of course, they like turned up soil, don't they poppies? Glad I brought the umbrella along. It's uh definitely needed. It said light rain. Sometimes that's just pathetic drizzle. The tweed alone will be enough, but definitely uh could do with that. It's a huge site.

[00:11:51]This uh was it momentum momentum logistics. Don't know if this was intentional, the poppies on this bank, but it's a it's a nice effect.

[00:12:02]Some uh also poppies, the paler colored ones rather than the red ones. Some other assorted wild flowers dotted in amongst that. Nice to have a bit of color. I think we have reached Cold Harbor. That is, believe it or not, a lighthouse. That little pole there with a lamp on top. I suppose that's all it really needs, isn't it? And there has been a lighthouse there since 1885. And I think it's always been unmanned in this spot.

[00:12:30]That obviously isn't the original one of 1885, I'm fairly sure. Cold Harbor is an interesting name. It pops up in a lot of different places, doesn't it? There's a there's a few just in London, around London alone. And I think the ethmology is that it is well a harbor but somewhere without any hospitality or lodgings. I think that's the apparent meaning of the cold in cold harbor is that it's somewhere you can put your ship in but don't expect there to be a nice welcoming in or anything like I think I think that's the meaning. So this would have been a point historically where boats might have had to put in if the weather was rough or something. Not that sure it never gets that stormy on the temps does it?

[00:13:10]But they would uh moore there temporarily but not expect a pub. And over there we have a modern jetty. It's quite a large one, isn't it? A shipping terminal almost. And that is, I believe, used for the the rubbish barges coming from London. They dock there and then go up to the uh the tip and dump all their rubbish.

[00:13:33]Again, not exactly England's most beguiling landscape here, is it? But uh you know suppose this has to be dealt with somewhere, doesn't it? There is Mr. 10oot leaving his mark once again. You can practically trace his footsteps.

[00:13:48]It's really quite a grim industrial landscape here, isn't it? I assume over to the right is something like an incinerator. On the left, possibly a chemical plant of some description. Once again, very pleased I have brought this umbrella with me. It's quite a stiff breeze actually as well. And I would call this not just light rain, but sort of moderate rain. Well, moderate, medium rain, somewhere between light and medium.

[00:14:12]The uh benefit of that stiff breeze is that it's delivering more sort of seasidey smells, which is nice actually. It feels a bit like being by the coast. I suppose we're not far from the sea proper here, rather than the smells from the rubbish dump, which were less good. Another one of these local history boards here.

[00:14:31]These are nice. I think they've done a good job with that. And it says there that the site has been used for landfill for over a hundred years. I think I said 50 earlier, didn't I? It's a long history as a as a dump, a landfill. I think it also says there 2,000 tons a day come from London, so on to be processed here. Some of it does end up getting recycled, it says apparently.

[00:14:56]Very foroding sign. Don't know if you're interested in one of those contrived shots of me walking along. Never really do those in my videos, do I? Thought that might make a nice composition. I don't know in hindsight, does it? Maybe, maybe not. More slightly bizarre signs by the side of the path over there.

[00:15:16]I went to a underwater disco and pulled a muscle.

[00:15:22]Yep. Bit of a beach once again there.

[00:15:25]Not hugely inviting somehow.

[00:15:32]Interesting collection of old barges of some sort in front of another industrial unit. What is that? Chemical work something. What's that thing? It's like a lobster pot on stilts in front of those two windmills. These are obviously a running theme along this walk. What do we have? Here lies pirate Dan Druff. He stood head and shoulders above everyone else. Yep. Was that bleak enough for you? I don't know if I've commented before, but the uh the GoPro, the camera I use most of the time, well, this this video is a mixture of my phone and the GoPro, but a lot of it's on the GoPro.

[00:16:06]It's developed in California, isn't it?

[00:16:08]And I don't think they have any concept of this kind of weather. So, it really cannot cope with gray skies and drizzle in terms of getting the color balance right. It just looks so much grayer, I think. Well, I don't know. It is does look pretty gray in real life, but it's so much grayer on camera. Nice to have some representation of pirate culture on this section of the walk. That thing I was describing back there as a lobster pot on stilts. I think it is actually supposed to be a a human figure. Is it perhaps one of those oldfashioned diving suits with the big sort of goldfish bowl type thing on top?

[00:16:47]Those old barges again. It's a bit of a sad fate, isn't it? Just sort of dumped in the mud like this. A popular spot for graffitiists taggers. Is that the word? Perhaps for people who do graffiti that isn't trying to be anything particularly artistic.

[00:17:06]It's just writing their name. I mean there's a bit of effort has been made there. I suppose you got to give them credit for that.

[00:17:14]More there.

[00:17:17]Trying to work out what this industrial plant off to the right is. The uh the path's got very narrow here as well.

[00:17:25]It's hope this is I think it's still a public footpath.

[00:17:30]The uh the smell coming from that isn't actually terrible. And in fact, I think I've just seen a sign saying tilda rice.

[00:17:39]I wonder if I can get that on camera.

[00:17:40]Probably a bit hard to see through the fence there, isn't it? Maybe if I get a bit closer.

[00:17:45]Can you see that? Tilda rice. So I assume they're what? milling somehow processing packaging rice there.

[00:17:55]Wow, who knew?

[00:18:00]In all my days out walking, I don't think I've ever walked past a rice processing plant before. Probably not a very common occurrence. Appears this little area, is that the industrial estate or just this spot is called Rain Riverside. I wonder if there's anything to read on that information board over there. This is exciting, isn't it? Great content tweeting.

[00:18:22]Are they all filled with rice? Those uh Sorry, terrible camera work. Those giant drums there.

[00:18:35]Ah, there was at one time a pub here called the Three Crowns, and that still seemed to be referred to an old signpost back there. I assume that's now long gone.

[00:18:48]I think I've seen a similar 1897 or 1890s ordinance survey map to the one they've got on the sign there manure works. That wouldn't have been particularly fragrant, would it? Well, it would have been fragrant, but you know, not in a nice way. There's a little gap in the hedge there, so I could get to the uh the waterfront and admire it in all its gray brown glory.

[00:19:14]Wonderful. really intrigued that there was once a pub here. I again I don't think there's any trace of it left, but uh presumably one of these industrial units has been built on top of its former site. I wish I had uh researched that a bit before I came. It would be nice to try and find the exact spot where that once stood.

[00:19:35]Going into tweety pubs mode a bit.

[00:19:39]Some industry going on over there. Stuff being shoveled from one pile into a different pile. wrote about this before coming here. There used to be a ferry for 800 years or actually I don't think it ran quite that long but it ran into the 20th century I believe at least into the 19th. A ferry that went from Erith across the river to here somewhere near Cold Harbor Point. I thought it was last no longer. Did I miss it then?

[00:20:08]says, "The Museum of Garden Escapes is a community garden on the footprint of the historic Three Crowns Inn."

[00:20:17]I've already been past there then, maybe.

[00:20:20]Oh well, I think it may just be a case of following this road into Rainom now, which isn't a particularly exciting prospect cuz it's just the side of an industrial a very long dragged out, drawn out industrial estate. Oh well, perhaps there'll be some points of interest along the way. Yeah, this bit of the walk is certainly not hugely pleasant. I think I've got to cross under the A43, which is practically a motorway, big dual carriageway there. I think it is. There are at least good footpaths by the side of the road and a pedestrian crossing up there and stuff, but uh lots of big lries and don't know if you can even hear me very well. Not exactly particularly idilic. I don't know if I caught it on any earlier footage, but the the sign there points to the three crowns even though it no longer exists. So, here I am underneath the A43 concrete monstrosity. Did I say A4? I think it's A43. Something like that.

[00:21:18]Doesn't matter. And a road. Bit grim for the final little stretch into Rainom.

[00:21:24]There is mercifully a path just off the road here. Bit of greenery either side.

[00:21:29]So, that's nice. Not quite as uh grim as walking by all the lries and so on.

[00:21:34]There you go. That down there is Rainham station.

[00:21:38]Got a feeling there are some nice older bits to reom the village itself. You can possibly just about see the spire of the church over there and I think Rainom Hall which is not open today alas. I probably ought to have done a little tour of Rainom at the end. So I think there are some nicer old buildings. But uh there was a train in about 5 minutes.

[00:21:56]So I think I possibly will call it a day there. back to back to Rainom. I didn't start at Rainom. Arrived at Rainom.

[00:22:03]I can jump on that train back into London proper if I can find the actual entrance to the station. That's not as straightforward as I thought. I have to go down and around a bit more. Anyway, it's been a bit of an odd video, hasn't it? An obscure corner of Marshand and now a dump on the edge of Greater London going into Essex. Hope that's been of some vague interest andor entertainment value. Thanks very much for watching.

[00:22:28]See you on the next one.