It’s the 27th December 2025 and I’m up at the crack of dawn, stuffing a mince pie down my gob atop the 36 over to Vauxhall where I’ll ride the Victoria line to its terminus. Why? I ask myself. To trace the Black Path from Walthamstow to The City.
I’d heard about this excursion organised by the adventurers at RARA, the ‘Redundant Architects Recreation Association’. While no longer a shared space only for architects, it’s a gathering space for makers and artists with interests in the layers of the city. As an architectural-adjacent oddball myself, I felt like I might fit in. Thank you to Tom (the venerable builder of this website) for introducing me to this community.
After navigating the awakening market of Walthamstow (the longest in Europe, someone claimed?!) we soon found ourselves amongst the hinterlands of the marshes. What was once a droving route for sheep is now filled with cycle network, many sections of which I recall vividly from my days as a cargo bike courier. Geographies previously pedalled and not yet walked.
It felt like the sleepy terraces of Walthamstow soon gave way to the coffee shops and artisanal markets of east London. My memories here revolve mostly around conversations, from book binding to map making. Golden sun obscuring my view and setting the mood for the day.
Onwards into The City of London, poetry readings at Bunhill Fields reminding me of Jon Day’s account in Cyclogeography of beginning his shifts as a cycle courier in the very same spot, poetically informed.
Heading to the Barbican’s predecessor, The Golden Lane Estate, towards the only street level entrance to the Barbican. Losing ourselves up in the highwalk with the aid of a Tudor map. Débouchement over the water.
As we approached St. Pauls I fell into conversation with author Caoilinn Hughes whose novel The Alternatives I purchased on the way home.
All in all, a grand day out!
