alone, the clouds are reflected in
the wet surface like a mirror; it
feels like walking on water.
I’m intercepted by two burly security
guards as soon as I touch land on
Foulness Island. They seem happy
enough with my reasons for being
here, and leave me to circumnavigate
the militarised island. I pass pylons
with hanging steel cages, like giant
medieval torture devices, and buzzing
warehouses surrounded by earth
berms. I’m feeling very watched.
The pub and shop on the island are
boarded up. I make myself lunch on
the picnic bench outside. What the hell
goes on here? After scurrying around
the island, I wait on the slipway for
four hours to let the tide fall enough to
return via the Broomway, my first steps
sloshing through the water. I make it
back to the mainland as it’s getting
dark. I’m numb with adrenaline.
For three more days, I follow the
funnel of the Thames to the centre
of London. My last night in the tent
is by the London Gateway port,
where I drift off to the clanking of
containers being unloaded. Packing
away my home for the last time on
this journey, I feel content with the
knowledge that, unless I do something
spectacularly stupid, the obstacles
should now be behind me.
On the final evening, I reach the
Thames Flood Barrier after sunset
and find a hotel nearby. I’m so nervous
that I can only nibble dry bread. The
next morning, I don’t have time for
nerves: I’m continuously answering
my mobile for radio interviews and
talking to journalists until I get to Tower
Bridge. A film crew for the BBC’s One
Show meet me, along with a bunch of
friends wearing ‘Perimeter’ T-shirts,
who cheer me on for the final mile.
It’s a clear sunny day and, as the
clock strikes three, I walk up the steps
of St Paul’s into the arms of my wife
and children, to the sound of applause.
After five years and 11,000km (6,835
miles), the circle is now complete.ven a few days from the finish
in London, there is still one
more major obstacle: the
Broomway. This notorious
six-mile tidal route on the Essex
foreshore connects the mainland to
Foulness Island, and has been called
“the most perilous byway in England”.
The Broomway has probably claimed
more than 100 lives over the years, as
the tide comes in faster than a person
can run. The path (which is invisible
on the ground) must be followed
precisely, as there is sinking mud on
one side and unexploded ordnance
on the other. As I walk the pathQuintin Lake hangs up his walking boots
ƏɀژǝǣɀƺȵǣƬȵǝȒɎȒɯƏǼǸȸȒɖȇƳɎǝƺÈkƺȇƳɀ
Perimeter
E
Perimeter
Quintin Lake
Roving photographer
Quintin has finished a multi-year photo walk,
circumnavigating the whole of the UK coast.
http://www.theperimeter.ukOn the morning of the final day,
I’d stayed in a hotel near London
City Airport rather than the tent.
Almost as soon as I started, I was
greeted with this beautiful haze
of pastel light over Royal Victoria
Dock, with the towers of Canary
Wharf beyond. It felt like the
greatest gift I could have asked for
to conclude this five-year project.This month’s route
Rochford to St Paul’s, London
10 days, 146 miles. 6,835 miles total92 DIGITAL CAMERA^ MARCH 2021 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com