 |
| The Capital Ring |
I've started each of the last four years with the intention of walking/completing the Capital Ring, a 78 mile walk around London and each year I've done a section or two before letting it fall away for the rest of the year.
This year, I really do want to get it done (and I have the next long-distance path planned out too), so after a busy January at work I headed out to Hanwell on my first free day in February to pick up the trail where I left it last March.
That was by the Wharncliffe Viaduct in Brent River Park, below the Great Western Main Line.
My route started out on a path through Churchfields Recreation Ground following the river on my left, with St Mary's Church over to my right, its spire showing up well among the leafless trees.
Moving on into Brent Lodge Park, I now had Hanwell Zoo and the Millennium Maze somewhere on my right though looking deserted today.
My route followed the river, but over grass rather than a path; luckily it was only stickily soft ground rather than the quagmire it might have been at this time of year.
The river was mostly invisible behind the shrubs on the left, until it was time to cross over it via a small footbridge.
This took me past Hanwell Cricket Ground and then onto Brent Valley Golf Course, with the path alternating between running across open land and through short stretches of shrubby tunnel.
Returning to the river, I crossed over it again
and followed the opposite bank along a narrow muddy path which passed under the arch of a fallen tree.
there was a fence across the path (which clearly used to continue next to the river)
so I had to divert up the bank and along Bitterns Field, a reclaimed landfill site,
before descending again to follow the river to Greenford Bridge where I crossed over again. No danger of flooding that day, but I wonder how high the water rose after Storms Ciara and Dennis hit.
Another waymarker now, as I pushed on towards Greenford and Harrow-on-the-Hill,
entering Perivale Park, which appeared to be little more than scrubland between the backs of the houses and the River Brent (over to the right now).
I crossed over Costons Brook (a tributary of the River Brent),
and the park opened out to be more pleasant with a golf course in the distance. Following the path in the opposite direction I could hear lots of bird calls and realised that there were quite a few ring-necked parakeets in the trees, including this one that might have been nesting here.
My instructions tell me to go past a bowling green, but the land appears to have been repurposed since they were written.
Then I passed something not mentioned in my directions, a bench dedicated to session musician Nicky Hopkins, who played with The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Who among others.
Leaving Perivale Park, I crossed the A40 (London to Oxford) via a footbridge
and entered Cayton Green Park, in reality a path between two fences
running round some football and rugby pitches.
The next 'highlight' was Westway Cross Shopping Park
where Section 8 of the Ring ends and Section 9 begins. I ducked into the tunnel under the access road to the Shopping Park, and passed through Paradise Fields Wetlands en route to the Grand Union Canal.
I followed the very good towpath down to Ballot Box Bridge
where I crossed the canal
to the opposite bank. I had a choice of routes now, the main route through the woods to Horsenden Hill, or an alternative route via the Visitor Centre and a trail of wooden sculptures that double as seats. I chose the alternative route, attracted by those seats, and plonked myself down on a narrowboat for lunch.
Once past the Visitor Centre and in the woods, I came across a Gruffalo trail.
I was slightly tempted to explore further but decided not to, and then discovered that my path took me past Mouse and Snake anyway
before starting the climb up Horsenden Hill.
I could almost believe that this wasn't London, but then the trees opened up to reveal this view, and destroy the illusion.
A final flight of steps
brought me out on to the summit of Horsenden Hill,
a very wide, flat summit which conceals a disused reservoir. I detoured over to the trig point,
checked out the signpost,
and headed off down the other side on a pleasant path through the oaks trees of Horsendon Wood
with more parakeets overhead and squirrels scampering from tree to tree.
I hit suburbia again at the bottom of the hill, then turned away briefly to follow the path beside a stream (or drainage channel) which took me onto main roads and to Sudbury Hill tube station.
 |
| Today's Route |
