Helen, David, Linda, Hilary, and Errol met at East Croydon Station on Saturday, April 27th, at 9:30 a.m. From there, we travelled to Victoria and took the tube via Oxford Circus to White City.
Linda, one of UNLOCK’s more regular walkers, wondered if she would feel like walking after a visit to CUH. However, she did it!
We joined the walk route here, and our first stop for a welcome coffee and delicious cake was at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church. This was designated Church B in a circular walk visiting churches A-G. We were walking clockwise along the route. We could sit in a lovely garden while readying ourselves for the onward journey.
The next stage took us around Wormwood Scrubs, which we learned was a large nature reserve and the name of that well-known but grim-looking prison. Having passed Church A, we stopped at Church C, St Helen’s North Kensington, for our picnic lunch and cuppa.
At each church, there is an opportunity to donate either to the individual church, the UNLOCK organisation, or both. We ensured that we obtained the stamp on our map at each church on the route – proof that we had done the whole thing – even if we did not stop there for refreshment. The walk was estimated at 7.5 miles, but it felt longer! It has to be said that our rest at churches got longer as the walk progressed😊
After fortifying ourselves, we walked through Portobello Market and Emslie Horniman Pleasance Gardens, the starting point of the Notting Hill Carnival. Continuing along the Grand Union Canal, we passed studios resembling those featured in Spider-Man. At the far end of Portobello Road, we stopped at the Salvation Army for tea and biscuits.
As we finished our walk, we passed Grenfell Tower and viewed the memorial wall, pondering its future. Nearby, at St Clements Church, we found a poignant memorial with large butterflies representing adults and small ones representing children who had lost their lives.
These walks take you through different areas of London, offering insights into various churches and their communities and diverse architectural styles and approaches to worship.
John also completed the walk, squeezing it into the afternoon due to morning commitments. We missed him as we had hoped to meet. We thank East Croydon for their £80 sponsorship, forwarded to the UNLOCK organisation.
By
Hillary and Linda
