“when I viewed my home here there was a pet parrot and my nan had recently passed away. I had always teased nan for having a big nose – endless presents with parrots. FATE? or was it a spiritual message?!”
Tyron Journal
Tyron, a deaf, gay man who is passionate about pandas, access, politics, and sexuality, moved to Woolwich from Blackheath in 2011, in search of somewhere with green space and near the river. He found an ex-military house with a garden, and has taken great care to give his green space a new lease of life. Tyron and I had our conversation in person and this meant I had a tour of his beautiful garden which features a repurposed toilet as a planter.
Tyron feels very at home in Woolwich. In his journal he says it makes him feel ‘hugge‘ which is a Scandinavian term of snug and content. He keeps up to date with the Murky Depths blog and uses Twitter to stay informed about local news. In our conversation, Tyron shared conflicted views about the regeneration, welcoming the changes in one breath, yet being concerned about who has been moved on to make way for new developments. He is sceptical about whether developers genuinely invest in the community, and feels that the new cafes and the Farmers Market are just not accessible for local people because they are too expensive.
Tyron loves seeing the Kings Troop in training locally, and expressed frustration around the secrecy of when they will be out in public, wishing they would do more for community engagement. He didn’t discover Woolwich Common until lockdown, and now has a favourite ‘thinking tree’ and bench where he can sit and reflect quietly on life. He loves taking his bike, ‘Bella’ for a ride into town to buy vegetables from the market…but as single man with a lodger he does not need to buy a whole bowl…so gets a bit worried about waste, and also the use of plastic bags on the stalls. Tyron’s impression is that many people don’t visit Woolwich because it is perceived as somewhere that is miles away, and has a bit of a bad reputation. He feels that it has a lot to offer visitors. In the future he hopes Woolwich could be more LGBTQ+ friendly, perhaps adding a gay bar in the town centre, and hopes that Woolwich Works will consider accessibility for deaf people in its programming.
Tyron’s three walk routes take in the town centre, Military land and architecture, and green spaces such as Woolwich Common and Oxleas Woods.
He contributed a hand written journal, walking routes and printed photos from his local walks, that are number referenced in the journal. The photos are included as a gallery below so readers can cross reference with the journal.
© Tyron / Lizzie Fort / part of Woolwich Wandering, 2022
Walking routes
- Circular walk route Barrack Field, Town Centre and River Thames: Barrack Field, Royal Artillery Barracks, St Georges Garrison Church, Woolwich New Road to General Gordon Square, Royal Arsenal Riverside entrance to No 1 Street, Peter Blake statues, River Thames View, Wellington Upper Park, Main Road to Beresford Square for Woolwich Market, Woolwich New Road to St Georges Garrison Church, Barrack Field.
- Circular walk route Woolwich Common: Green Hill, Kings Troop, Horse training ground, Woolwich Common, Armouries view, Barrack Field, Green Hill.
- Severndroog Castle and Oxleas Woods walk. Start at Barrack Field, Royal Artillery Barracks, Academy Road turn left onto Shooters Hill. Turn right to Severndroog Castle, into Oxleas Woods. Walk home or get the 486 bus.
Journal
woolwich wandering 