Our Naked Heart Walk for British Heart Foundation in late July was a great success! The reserve is a former MOD firing range which has now been taken over by the RSPB. On the southern perimeter is the Thames and walkers viewed a huge cruise ship pass by, heading to the sea, as they walked round the flat marshland amongst the pools and viewing hides.
To the north we saw the High Speed trains whistle by on their way to St Pancras or to the Kent coast, so fast that if the passengers had looked out they would have had just a fleeting view of some naked walkers. Blink and look again to verify this unusual sight and they would be a mile down the track, out of sight. Behind that line are heavy industrial units and to the west we saw the sun setting over London. The two-storey building that houses the shop and café has magnificent viewing windows where we could see the Thames and the whole of the reserve.
39 walkers left from the café and descended via a metal walkway onto the almost circular route around the reserve. Because of dangerous footpaths under repair we had to retrace our steps from the fist viewing hide to complete the walk, initially parallel to the Thames walkway and then deeper into the reserve and then turn back and retrace steps to the cafe. The weather, contrary to predicted rain in the forecast was splendid and the sun shone throughout the walk. We were joined by three volunteers from the British Heart Foundation who acted as marshals for our group and delivered BHF pins and wristbands to all participants.
