WALKING & HIKING

This London walk route has six sections between Waltham Cross and East India Dock following the Lee Navigation towpath. I started the first section in April 2023 and completed the last in February 2024.

It was my first time visiting Northern Ireland (NI) and Belfast, and I uncovered a walk associated with Belfast's Humanist heritage. The Humanists represented Free Thinkers, Humanists, United Irishmen, and Social Reformers who challenged the restrictions imposed by society. While many practised a form of religion, they felt religion, sex, class, ethnicity, wealth, and more should not set divisions between people in society. Instead, freedom of belief, human welfare, values, and dignity were critical aspects of their philosophy. Many did not follow a religion and said so.

The walk started from Belfast City Hall, the original site of Linen Hall, which was initially associated with the Humanist. Then past The Linen Hall Library, up Foundation Street, then Ann Street to Joy's Entry. Joy's Entry was a hotbed of radical thinking in the 1790's. In 1791, the group invited Olaudah Equiano, the famous Black Writer and Abolitionist, to Belfast, and a picture commemorates this. 

The walk took in the site of Thomas McCabe's shop. He was a watchmaker who helped prevent the founding of the Belfast slave-ship company. Pass the Assembly Rooms, the oldest building in Belfast still standing, and on to Writers' Square, the centre of alternative culture in the city.

The walk passes the Central Library, the first free library opened in Belfast. The walk finished at City Hall.

If you are in Belfast, like walking, and are interested in History, consider completing this walk. Here is the GoJaunty link: https://walks.gojauntly.com/walks/the-humanist-belfast-tour-2486836879281033708.

The London Outer Orbital Path, or LOOP, almost completely encircles Greater London. Over 150 miles the route is split into 24 sections between Erith (Kent) and Purfleet (Essex).

On 2nd December 2022, I completed all twenty-four sections of the London Outer Orbital Path (LOOP). 

The pathway took in much of the green open spaces encircling greater London and involved 199 miles of walking in total (153 miles of the LOOP sections and the remaining miles included diversions, getting to start points, from end points, and at times getting lost). 

A plus was the many points of interest I encountered, both historical and otherwise. An opportunity not only to improve my health through an active pursuit but also to learn more about the city I grew up in.

Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Britain’s slave traders transported millions of people. Many enslaved Africans were carried on Bristol ships.

This walk takes in a few of the city’s links to slavery and takes in the following places of interest:

Guinea Street - The name of this street is entwined with a region, a country, and coins that were all linked to the slave trade.

The Hole In The Wall pub - Its position on the dockside probably made it a place where sailors congregated, making it ideal for the underhand recruiting of crews for slave ships. 

Queen Square - This is where many of Bristol’s eighteenth-century merchants lived.  Completed in 1727, this grand square was built at the height of the slave trade. It is a testament to the great wealth of those who profited from it. 

Pero’s Bridge - This modern bridge is a monument that allows us to step towards the often forgotten past of the enslaved people themselves. In 1783 Pero Jones was brought by his owner from the Americas to live with him in Bristol.

NatWest bank, Corn Street - Slave voyages were pricey and a major port like Bristol had all the support in place – insurance, money lending, and banks. Wealthy tradesmen founded The Old Bank In 1750. 

Colston Hall - Edward Colston was born in Bristol in 1636. A London-based merchant, he made part of his fortune from slavery by investing in Africa and the Caribbean.

The Georgian Museum, 7 Great George Street - "The pleasure, glory and grandeur of England has been advanced more by sugar than any other commodity…" - Sir Dalby Thomas (1745) , author of an historical account of West Indies trade. They are demonstrated in the buildings here on Great George Street. Number 7 is now a museum of Georgian life.

For more information about this walk follow this link: https://www.discoveringbritain.org/activities/south-west-england/trails/bristol-slavery-trail.html

A pleasant day in Vienna to complete a short city walk - starting from Karlsplatz and taking in the Opera house, Burggarten, Hofburg, Heldenpatz, Volksgarten, Parlament, Rathaus, Burgtheater, The Graben, Peterskirche, Stephansdom (Stephanpatz) then returning to Karlsplatz.