Section 11 Hayes and Harlington to Uxbridge.

 Section 11 is about 8 miles long and I knew I had time to complete it. My feet felt fine. I was feeling fit and fantastic,  so I just carried on along the Grand Union Canal.

Map of section 11

Most of my afternoon was spent on the canal and along the river Colne.  To be honest it would have been quicker to do the whole walk just on the canal. But this is the London Loop and I got sent off to do the boundaries of Buckinghamshire and the furthest west point of the walk.

It wouldn't be the loop if I didn't have to go to places that are  barely ever walked! During the furthest West part of the walk I was squashed between the iron wall of an industrial park and the river. It wasn't my idea of bliss.  To add to the joy a guy with two out of control Alsatians, luckily on leads, were coming towards me. Passing them was hell  as they snarled and growled at me. They almost dragged the guy over. He probably had no choice but to walk his dogs in the middle of nowhere as the chances of meeting anyone out in this literal  backwater was almost zilch! 

 Anyway, back to the beginning .  The canal has a marker every mile for the boats to see the distance to the start in Braunston, Northamptonshire. Before 1910 the canal was GJC. The Great Junction Canal. 

distance markers

I continued along the Grand Union and then veered off into Stockley Park.

Stockley Park was a golf course with an incorporated tech business park. I saw a few tech geeks wandering around and a gaggle of privileged golfers but my main aim was to enjoy walking through the avenues of beautiful lime trees.

Lime Tree Avenue

Suddenly I came across the golf club house and the restaurant. Never have I seen such lovely wisteria on such a modern building! It was an insane amount , shame I didn't get a closer photo really. 

I then ended up eating my sandwich on a kind of hill or 'viewpoint' as the walking guide said. To be honest there was no view due to trees but there were two guys up there with their dogs and I had a good chat with them.  It was here that I found out that Stockley Park was pig farms and brick works until the 80s. In 1985 Stockley was the first Business Park ever built in the UK,   and the  pigs and discarded bricks were gone for ever. 
I then walked back down the hill and back onto the  Grand Union Canal. At bridge number 190 I did a left turn to join the Slough Arm of the canal. The last canal ever built (Apart from the Manchester Ship Canal) .  All of London was built using bricks from out this way. This canal must have been so busy in the past. It was the  motorway, bringing in all the bricks needed to build London.

Saying goodbye to the Grand Union at this iron bridge

The Slough Arm. This was my favourite part. So beautiful and peaceful.

I walked for a mile or so up here and then had to divert off to the Western most section and into Buckinghamshire next to the Colne River. I passed Little Britain Lake (So called as it looks like a map of the UK)  Here it began to rain and I felt like I was in some marshy bog land. (I was) It all felt a bit weird out here and I had to keep my wits about me as it would have been easy to get lost around the rivers, lakes and marshland. Luckily I didn't but I ended up trapped on a path between the river Colne and an industrial park. I really felt like I was walking in the arse end of nowhere. (I was) Here was where I was nearly attacked by evil Alsatians, but luckily I got past without any injuries.

Suddenly, just like that, I turned  into a  posh street  and I was back on the canal.  The way this walk changes is quite amazing!

It started to really rain once I was back on the canal. I knew I only had a mile or so to do so I ignored the first pub on the left  and carried on in the downpour. I passed the canal boat called Bicester. I have found out this boat is owned by the Waterways.

Little Britain Lake kind of looks like the UK...but without Wales

Marsh and swamp in the arse end of nowhere on the Buckinghamshire border

The Bicester boat. Not a great photo as I was soaked and needed to keep walking.

I then got to bridge number 185 and the walk finished. I went to the Swan and Bottle pub for a drink and dried out and then walked into Uxbridge to get the Tube back to central London. I was only miles away from the M40 back to Oxford. (My closest ever point to home.) But my only way home was back into Marylebone station as my train does not stop in this part of London. 

I was knackered. I had done two sections. It was getting on for 6.30pm and I was really pleased that I had managed it without any hassle.(Apart from the bastard dogs!)

 To be honest I had been a bit worried about this walk as I was out of practice and  I was alone but hey, it had been a great day!

Section 10 Hatton Cross to Hayes & Harlington

 Well it's been almost a year  since I last did the London Loop. Yesterday I decided to do two sections in one go as the first bit was so short and it's a bit of a nightmare to get out to Hatton Cross and Hayes from central London. All in all it was about 14.5 miles (With my Bicester walks to the train stations included.) and apart from a 20 minute soaking it was perfect. I barely saw a soul apart from a few shady types lurking around, (I take deep breaths when I pass them and know that statistically it's very unlikely they are going to rob me and throw me in the river/canal/bush.) a few tech nerds on a lunch break, a guy with two massive Alsatians who  I thought were going to attack me, luckily he was strong enough to hold them back on their leads and two friendly guys I met on a quick lunch stop at a view point over the Colne Valley.  One of the guys had worked in Heathrow terminal 4 most of his life and was now retired. He was 70 and could remember how the area I was walking through (The Colne Valley) used to be just pig farms and brick works.  All of the land I was walking over had been landscaped from the ruins and the high tech Stockley Park with it's golf course and posh restaurant was the home of the stinkiest, foul pig farm ever to grace the planet.  All very informative. 

the yellow blob is my approximate walk.

So I started my day quite late as it's a weekday and the one day travel card doesn't kick in until 0920. The train from Oxford was packed. Every time I go to London now the chances of having to stand all the way are just getting greater and greater.

I decided to walk to Edgware Road station, a completely different direction to which I usually go when I'm leaving Marylebone Station. I rushed onto the first circle line and it was on the wrong loop. So I wasted half an hour going the wrong way around.  Finally I got to Hammersmith and then onto the next train to Hatton Cross, near to Heathrow.  Leaving Hatton Cross is not a joy...you walk out onto a concourse that smells of wee and weed and straight out onto the side of  a duel carriage way with planes literally above you. But after about 10 minutes, once you have left the Eastern perimeter service road of Heathrow terminal. you cross the river crane and walk down to the start of section 10, at River Crane Park and my god it was instantly beautiful. So lush and a board walk to stop you getting your boots muddy!

Map of the section. It's very short and took just over 2 hours.

The planes were not too loud or visible as I walked this section (Not like last year when I was walking towards Heathrow) I think the cloudy weather didn't help. The noise was in such contrast to the peaceful River Crane and the meadows. Didn't see a soul.

The initial board walk just off the perimeter fence around Heathrow.

River Crane

Off I go

Cranford Park

I walked around the remains of Cranford House and found out that it is the longest ha-ha in London. As I have been to Stowe Gardens a few times I know what a ha-ha is. They are definitely prettier than an ugly fence to keep trespassers and sheep off your land!

Behind this haha was the ancient church of St Dunstan's. It was  known as the most isolated church in Middlesex.  In the 13th century it had belonged to the Knight's Templar. Now it was in a sorry state right under the built up verge of the M4, but it's still open. I even found out that the Romans sacrificed their animals on this site to their gods. (Probably pigs.) I didn't go in as I felt it was a bit sombre and sad and I had a lot of walking ahead. 

There is a half finished park and information centre here too but I think the money has run out as it was meant to be completed in 2022.

I then went through an underpass under the M4. I love crossing major road systems unseen and this one was very subterranean.. I was so low down ,no car would have a clue there was life below. The M4 was built on a bank well above us and really well hidden by bushes and trees. You could barely see the cars but you could bloody well hear them!

Right next to the M4

This woody section was really pretty and known as Dog Kennel Covert. Round a few corners, a dodgy part of Hayes and up to the top of a dual carriage way and suddenly I was down a long ramp to join the Grand Union Canal.

I was finally back on a canal! I haven't walked any Grand Union apart from a tiny section in Braunston, Northamptonshire and parts around Tring. It's great! It's bigger than the Oxford and the pathway is wider (I never felt like I was going to fall in) All I had to do was walk up the canal for about 15 minutes and section 10 finished at bridge number 200 but I had already decided to just carry on and do the longer section 11 as well. To be continued...