Nordag two

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This is a difficult area to take a peaceful walk through, but this route does a fair job. About half the distance is genuinely off-road, beside the Thames and through a mix of suburban parks and green-ribbon walking routes.

Starting from North Woolwich it sticks to the Thames Path for as long as possible. There's a bit with a closed gate but there's an agreement so if it's shut in the evening a button should open it.

The final bit of the Thames Path is ahead but is closed for building. When it reopens you could follow the Capital Ring signs to get back on this route at Gallions Roundabout

For now you leave the Thames earlier and join the A117 to head north. Cross over the road as from the bridges there are good views westwards over the docks and City Airport runway. When a plane lands, right over your head, it's quite a spectacle.

Cross the middle of Gallions Roundabout, don't try going around it. After a while on another fairly big road you take a foot/bike path through a ribbon of woodland which follows the A1020 all the way up to Beckton Roundabout and the A13. It's set back from the road and rather nice, but you don't truly escape the traffic rumble and sometimes tangible air pollution. This stretch passes a Costa in a big box retail park (where the flytipping was a bit smelly) and a drive-thru MacD.

Next section is walking right beside the huge and busy A13 for over a mile. It's grim. There's a short view down Barking Creek that might cheer you a little.

Off the A13, down progressively quieter streets then onto the Ripple Greenway, a ribbon park including a lot of reeds which presumably hide a small river. Quite charming and very peaceful. In the middle is a bigger grassy park, and immediately north of that is the small Thames View shopping precinct including a bakery and a Coop. There's a pedestrian way through to it from either end of the park, but the closest, western one isn't as easy to spot from the Ripple Greenway.

Back up to the A13, a slightly smelly underpass and onto Castle Green. A huge rectangle of grass, but a few trees, meadows of grass left long and being any distance at all from the A13 all make up for that.

Get even further away onto quieter streets in the huge 1920s Becontree Estate then into the west end of Goresbrook Park, with another small river winding through it. When you leave it Dagenham Heathway station is just up the road.

I think the route could be viable for wheelchair use because of the overlap with bike routes and a wheelchair accessible route called the Jubilee Greenway. However there are anti motorbike type width restrictors at the north exit of Castle Green and into Goresbrook Park. It's not as pleasant but not a very large or hugely noisy detour to go around either along the pavements.

From Nor to Dag, bus routes 473, 262, 474, 673, 325, 366, EL1 to 3, 173, 287, 687, 145, 174, 175 all go somewhere near the route. No trains or tube except Dagenham Heathway

This is a difficult area to take a peaceful walk through, but this route does a fair job. About half the distance is genuinely off-road, beside the Thames and through a mix of suburban parks and green-ribbon walking routes.

Starting from North Woolwich it sticks to the Thames Path for as long as possible. There's a bit with a closed gate but there's an agreement so if it's shut in the evening a button should open it.

The final bit of the Thames Path is ahead but is closed for building. When it reopens you could follow the Capital Ring signs to get back on this route at Gallions Roundabout

For now you leave the Thames earlier and join the A117 to head north. Cross over the road as from the bridges there are good views westwards over the docks and City Airport runway. When a plane lands, right over your head, it's quite a spectacle.

Cross the middle of Gallions Roundabout, don't try going around it. After a while on another fairly big road you take a foot/bike path through a ribbon of woodland which follows the A1020 all the way up to Beckton Roundabout and the A13. It's set back from the road and rather nice, but you don't truly escape the traffic rumble and sometimes tangible air pollution. This stretch passes a Costa in a big box retail park (where the flytipping was a bit smelly) and a drive-thru MacD.

Next section is walking right beside the huge and busy A13 for over a mile. It's grim. There's a short view down Barking Creek that might cheer you a little.

Off the A13, down progressively quieter streets then onto the Ripple Greenway, a ribbon park including a lot of reeds which presumably hide a small river. Quite charming and very peaceful. In the middle is a bigger grassy park, and immediately north of that is the small Thames View shopping precinct including a bakery and a Coop. There's a pedestrian way through to it from either end of the park, but the closest, western one isn't as easy to spot from the Ripple Greenway.

Back up to the A13, a slightly smelly underpass and onto Castle Green. A huge rectangle of grass, but a few trees, meadows of grass left long and being any distance at all from the A13 all make up for that.

Get even further away onto quieter streets in the huge 1920s Becontree Estate then into the west end of Goresbrook Park, with another small river winding through it. When you leave it Dagenham Heathway station is just up the road.

I think the route could be viable for wheelchair use because of the overlap with bike routes and a wheelchair accessible route called the Jubilee Greenway. However there are anti motorbike type width restrictors at the north exit of Castle Green and into Goresbrook Park. It's not as pleasant but not a very large or hugely noisy detour to go around either along the pavements.

From Nor to Dag, bus routes 473, 262, 474, 673, 325, 366, EL1 to 3, 173, 287, 687, 145, 174, 175 all go somewhere near the route. No trains or tube except Dagenham Heathway