From Greenford to
Hendon Park
Note: Clicking on any of the images will enlarge them
Another early start. The lovely Karen picks me up and drives us to Twyford train station. We catch the train just before 8. Take the Elizabeth line to Ealing Broadway. Arrive at the station and transfer to the underground.
Chris ask an interesting question, well interesting for Chris! – “Why do they call it the underground when much of the track and stations are above ground, often high up“. He makes a very good point.
We arrive at Greenford underground station just before 9 and start walking.
Capital Ring – Walk 9
We walk back to where we finished up last time. Cross the road and then enter Paradise Fields Wetlands. A family of 5 beavers were reintroduced into the wetlands back in 2023. Apparently they have started dam building. We took a quick look but could not see any signs.
We have to pass two secure gates to get into, and out of, the wildlife area. These are designed to keep the beavers in the enclosure.
After leaving the park we join the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal. Another nice walk by the canal. The path is level but you have to dodge the odd electric bike wizzing along the path. We pass the normal assortment of canal boats, with their collections of stuff stacked on deck. It always seems that people living on these boats keep loads of stuff “just in case it will come in handy“. They often look like floating skips.
We have to go under a bridge and then cross the canal.
A short walk. and then we leave the road behind to head up Horsenden Hill. This hill rises to 275 feet (or 84 metres). This is the first of a few hills that we have to tackle on these two walks.
Some of the walk follows nice wide paths. But some are very narrow tracks, which are overgrown with brambles. Chris takes the leads on one of these overgrown sections and comes out the other end covered in cuts from the brambles.
There is a great view half way up. Chris thinks it could be New York. It is the right direction but not the Big Apple. We watch planes coming into land at Heathrow in the distance.
There is meant to be great views from the top. There are multiple viewing areas indicated on the map and there is a sign that is meant to show what we can see. But there are too many trees blocking the view and the sign is old and has just about faded.
Apparently there is a disused reservoir underground on the top of the hill.
We follow the woods down the other side of the hill. We have some debate on which way we should go. Chris is reading the print out and I am following the digital version.
Reading the instructions I now realise that the digital (satnav) version is following the original route, but the instructions have been updated to follow a shorter route. We follow the original route.
We follow some roads and soon reach Sudbury Town Underground station. This is a break point for people that want to end the walk early.
The route follows some roads. then we enter Harrow on the Hill. This is a very picturesque village / town with lots of old buildings and, of course, Harrow School. There are plenty of very nice looking coffee shops. I ask Chris if he wants to stop. But he wants to continue. I quote “there is bound to be one at the end of this walk“. Spoiler Alert – there is not!!
Images of Harrow on the Hill
We walk past Harrow School, across the schools sports fields (tennis courts, rugby fields, etc) and then follow a narrow path. The path has a golf course on one side and a hospital on the other. We come out to Northwick Park, a local sports field.
This gives us our first real view (the first of many views) of the Wembley Arch.
It is now just a short walk to South Kenton station and the end of walk 9. Chris posses in front of the station.
Walking Stats
Time: 2 hours 5 Minutes
Distance: 5.72 Miles
Capital Ring – Walk 10
After we pass under the subway we start walk number 10. We look for a cafe, but there is not one around. So we continue to walk.
The route follows some roads for a while. Then come across Preston Road. This has a number of shops and cafes. So we stop for a much needed coffee at a Costa coffee.
After following some more roads, we head off and start walking on open countryside again. The walk heads up Barn Hill. As we get to the woods the instructions warn us that the path can be wet and slippery. Given that we are doing the walk during a period of drought in the UK there is no sign of water. But that does not stop us tripping over the odd tree root.
We get to the top. There is meant to be a pond at the top, but it is virtually dry. There are volunteers on the summit clearing the weeds and reducing the reeds in the almost dry pond. We chat to the volenteers for a while. Must be hard work in the heat.
There is another trig point on the summit. This provides us yet another view of the Wembley Arch.
We continue to walk through the Fryent Country Park. Cross a road and back into Fryent Country Park. We climb another hill, Gotfords Hil and pass another dried up pond.
We climb the hill. Seems to be a long loop. But we are rewarded with a great view from the top. We think we can see the spire of the church in Harrow on the Hill in the distance. Amazing how far we have walked.
We head back down the hill, through some fields. It feels like we are the only ones out here, so decide to have a quick “comfort break”. But just as we get started we are surprised by a woman that appears from nowhere and walks up behind us. Making us both jump.
The route now follows some roads and through a residential area. I spot the road “Holden Avenue” and take a photograph for one of our friends.
The route goes around the New Parish Church of St Andrew, a nice looking church with a large graveyard.
The route now leaves the roads behind and we enter Welsh Harp reservoir. We had expected to see the reservoir with low water levels, given the warm weather and hose pipe bans. But it seemed to be well filled.
We find a bench in the shade and decide to stop for lunch. Sit and eat our well deserved pasties. Chris has to brag that his pasty is bigger than mine.
Lunch done we continue to walk through the trees (nice bit or shade) along the side of the reservoir. It is nice to see some children having supervised canoe lessons on the water.
Some photographs of the reservoir
We exit the reservoir grounds and are back on the roads. After a short while we cross over the M1 and train tracks.
We plod on and end up in Hendon Park and the end of walk 10.
We walk through the park and head to the underground station (another one that is above ground… perhaps Chris has a point). We look for a place to get a drink. But can’t find one so head back into London to look for a pub near Tottenham Court Road.
Chris takes a not very flattering photograph of me on the tube. I think this represents how I feel at this point in time. A number of people have asked why I have a map of South America on my t-shirt.
We stop at a Wetherspoon pub, the Montagu Pyke. This used to be the home of the Marquee Club, the famous music club which finally closed its doors in 1996. The pub has lots of music memorabilia from the days when the Marquee club hosted cutting edge rock performers, from the Who, Jimmy Hendrix and Pink Floyd, to David Bowie and Punk Rock’s Sex Pistols and The Clash.
We have a couple of beers and some salted nuts (to replace lost salts). Chat about the route and start thinking about when we can get the last three legs done.
It is amazing how the odd beer or two can revive you. We start to make the journey home. Catch the Elizabeth line to Paddington and then change to catch the faster train to Twyford. Karen, reliable as always, is waiting at the station and takes two tired and weary walkers home.
Walking Stats
Time: 2 hours 15 Minutes
Distance: 5.99 Miles
Final Thoughts
I think this has been one of the hardest walks that we have done. The route included some hilly sections, and things were not helped by the very hot conditions. The two sections saw us cover 11.7 miles and walk for 4 hours 20 minutes.
As always. It is good to get out and good to be walking with a good friend, although I do have to put up with his awful jokes.
In total we have walked just over 51 miles in 17 hours and 45 minutes.
So that makes 12 legs down and only 3 left to do. The last bit will be three walks in one day covering 14 miles… oh boy.