The London Loop
Denham Lock, Grand Union Canal
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Frays Valley Nature Reserve
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Uxbridge to Moor Park
Lake by the Grand Union Canal
Sunday 12 November 2017
Didn’t think I’d be back in Uxbridge this soon! Just a week after the last walk I returned to walk another section of the London Loop. A lovely, if rather chilly, Autumn Day was in store on this Remembrance Sunday. When planning the journey last night, I investigated all sorts of routes – buses, trains etc trying to avoid central London but in the end decided it would be easier to travel on a fast train to Paddington and then take the tube, as the walk started and ended at a Metropolitan line underground station.
Leaving Uxbridge station, I walked towards the canal, past the war memorial, where a remembrance service was taking place. This was not the route I took at the end of the last section and when I reached the Grand Union Canal it all looked a bit unfamiliar. Somehow the canal looked different today – I guess it was the difference between today’s bright morning sunshine and last week’s early evening gloom. After following the canal for a while I soon reached the bridge where my walk ended the previous Sunday and the new walk section could finally begin at Uxbridge Lock. It was not long before I left Uxbridge behind and just before I arrived at Denham Lock I decided to make the short detour to Denham Country Park to stop for a welcome coffee at the visitor centre and café. The brisk walking warmed me up enough to enjoy my coffee outside on the wooden veranda. After making use of the restroom facilities I was soon back walking. The path now followed the Grand Union Canal for a while before crossing over to the other side on bridge 182 and continued along a track beside the lakes of Frays Valley Nature Reserve. Gravel used to be extracted here but now it is a peaceful landscape with woodland and lakes enjoyed by birds and other wildlife. Soon a huge railway viaduct came into view and after passing underneath it the path was back canal side. Arriving at a marine with an enormous number of parked narrow boats, the route turned right between marina and lake and then left again to reach Moorhall Road. The road (and Loop) crosses to the other side of the Canal where steps lead down to the towpath at Widewater Lock. There now followed a glorious stretch of canal walking. The bright sunshine, autumn foliage, deep blue water and sky combined to create a feast of beautiful colours. Not surprisingly I saw more walkers here this afternoon than anywhere else on the Loop (so far). On the far side of the canal gentle hills gave an indication that the Chiltern Hills are not far away. Finally, on reaching the Coy Carp pub, the London Loop crosses the bridge and turns away from the Grand Union Canal.
Didn’t think I’d be back in Uxbridge this soon! Just a week after the last walk I returned to walk another section of the London Loop. A lovely, if rather chilly, Autumn Day was in store on this Remembrance Sunday. When planning the journey last night, I investigated all sorts of routes – buses, trains etc trying to avoid central London but in the end decided it would be easier to travel on a fast train to Paddington and then take the tube, as the walk started and ended at a Metropolitan line underground station.
Leaving Uxbridge station, I walked towards the canal, past the war memorial, where a remembrance service was taking place. This was not the route I took at the end of the last section and when I reached the Grand Union Canal it all looked a bit unfamiliar. Somehow the canal looked different today – I guess it was the difference between today’s bright morning sunshine and last week’s early evening gloom. After following the canal for a while I soon reached the bridge where my walk ended the previous Sunday and the new walk section could finally begin at Uxbridge Lock. It was not long before I left Uxbridge behind and just before I arrived at Denham Lock I decided to make the short detour to Denham Country Park to stop for a welcome coffee at the visitor centre and café. The brisk walking warmed me up enough to enjoy my coffee outside on the wooden veranda. After making use of the restroom facilities I was soon back walking. The path now followed the Grand Union Canal for a while before crossing over to the other side on bridge 182 and continued along a track beside the lakes of Frays Valley Nature Reserve. Gravel used to be extracted here but now it is a peaceful landscape with woodland and lakes enjoyed by birds and other wildlife. Soon a huge railway viaduct came into view and after passing underneath it the path was back canal side. Arriving at a marine with an enormous number of parked narrow boats, the route turned right between marina and lake and then left again to reach Moorhall Road. The road (and Loop) crosses to the other side of the Canal where steps lead down to the towpath at Widewater Lock. There now followed a glorious stretch of canal walking. The bright sunshine, autumn foliage, deep blue water and sky combined to create a feast of beautiful colours. Not surprisingly I saw more walkers here this afternoon than anywhere else on the Loop (so far). On the far side of the canal gentle hills gave an indication that the Chiltern Hills are not far away. Finally, on reaching the Coy Carp pub, the London Loop crosses the bridge and turns away from the Grand Union Canal.
Hertfordshire countryside
Now the scenery changed quite dramatically. Soon I found myself on an uphill hike through Park Wood. Good to get the lungs and heart working! Reaching the top and emerging from the trees there were good views over the Hertfordshire countryside. This is a very rural area and only cows and horses (and birds, of course), the odd farm and other buildings, added life to the the otherwise quite lonely walking. I made swift progress, aware that daylight would soon begin to fade. After passing the busy Rose and Crown Pub on Harefield Road, the path continued through some lovely hilly countryside before entering beautiful Bishop’s Wood. The slowly setting sun provided a glorious autumnal setting as the rays streamed through the coppiced woodland. The colours were magnificent, and I couldn’t stop smiling. So absorbed was I in this delightful scenery that I missed a left hand turn. I only realised when I approached a car park that was not on my route. I could have continued to the car park and then followed the road left to eventually re-join the proper path but decided to backtrack and follow the narrow and occasionally muddy trail through the woods to reach Batchworth Heath. There are a couple of pubs here and a busy road to cross before the path continues through a wooded valley following the old boundary between Hertfordshire and Middlesex. With daylight fading fast, I continued to Moor Park and, on arrival at Sandy Lodge Golf Course, left the London Loop to follow the path to Moor Park tube station and the journey home.
My highlights:
Transport:
- Denham Country Park
- Beautiful section of canal walking near Harefield
- Bishop’s Wood Country Park
- Birds, ducks and swans, coots and moorhens
- Heron
- Squirrels
- Horses and cows
Transport:
- Train Reading to Paddington; underground to Uxbridge
- Return: Underground Moor Park to Paddington; train to Reading
- Uxbridge
- Denham Country Park
- Several pubs en route
- Uxbridge
- Denham Country Park
Beautiful Canal Scene near Harefield
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Bishop's Wood
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