London Loop Leg 15b: Rainham to Purfleet

Weather: Overcast and Cool

Just realised that I haven't written about the final four miles of the LOOP. As is now traditional, I was joined by my if and two walking buddies for the completion of the The weather was grey and overcast, not auspicious for a section that I was not expecting to be very inspiring.
The walk starts with a nice stroll through the Rainham marshes (if you ignore the section that passes under the busy A13). The grasses and reeds were tall and swayed in the breeze which made for an attractive vista. The path is marked here with attractive iron signposts that should last a long tie (as long as nobody takes them for scrap!)  Eventually the trail reaches the riverside with, on the day we walked, a great view across the mudflats to the far shore where eighteen months before I started the walk in Erith. The mudflats shone like beaten silver in the muted sunlight and were alive with sea birds including some oyster catchers.

The jetties that stick out into the Thames are ideal roosting spots for birds and hundreds of starlings, gulls and pigeons can be seen on them, each seems to have their own roost.

A little further on the remains of the concrete barges that once made up the mulberry harbour lie at strange angles in the mud. Some have started to break up and again birds have started to roost inside. Just a few yards further on a strange sculpture of a diver rises up from the mud, I wonder what it looks like at high tide?

The huge waste tip that occupies the interior of Coldharbour point is alive with birds and the ground between the tip and the shore path was littered with a wide variety of mushrooms and toadstools. Being sensible sorts we didn't eat any of them! There is an interesting dynamo powered information point at this location which tells you snippets of information about the site and recycling in Greater London. Our favourite snippet was the tale of a WW2 factory on the site that was making high explosives. However it seems they were a bit lax and had a very major explosion so they stopped making high explosives and instead switched to something far safer. Poison gas...

The path now runs towards the RSPB Rainham Marshes Bird Reserve. There are several parallel paths here and we took the higher one that gave us great views over the Thames as well as the marshes. In the distance we could see Eurostar trains running towards the continent, closer at hand we saw two kestrels perched on fence posts and trees beside the path. The reserve headquarters is a dramatic and attractive building but it was closed due to a power cut when we walked (shame as we really fancied a coffee and a slice of cake in the cafe). Civilisation comes up rather quickly and soon we were back on the main road and the station at Purfleet. No matter how hard I looked I couldn't find anything that indicated that this was the end (or start) of the LOOP which was a bit of a disappointment.

Really enjoyed the walk, out of the 140 miles there was probably only 10-20 miles of dullness and a lot more of exhilaration. Now I need a new challenge for the new year.

London Loop Leg 15: Harold Wood to Rainham

Weather: Overcast and Cool to start and finish, warm and sunny in the middle

Almost at the end of the LOOP now, in fact although I could have completed the walk today I am planning to do the final four miles in the company of my wife and friends (and hopefully celebrating with a good meal).
After the rather drab final kilometres of the previous leg the start of this part of the loop was pleasantly surprising.  After a short road section you follow the course of a stream through park and open space. Jays and woodpeckers fly about and even though it is obviously Autumn the oaks and sweet chestnut are still in leaf and looking splendid. Harold Wood Park has some interesting oral history boards, didn't have time to search them all out but they offered an interesting insight into the local area.
One interesting feature of the houses on this walk is the presence of pargeting. Some features are very large, almost life sized oak trees on the side of one house, while others are smaller and more tasteful - swags of flowers etc.
After a dull bit of road walking round the edge of a major road junction, a muddy and slippery section follows, not surprising given the amount of rain we've had recently, but still attractive.
After another urban section you return to the stream which has become wilder and more attractive. Lots of dog walkers and fishermen seem to agree if the number of them I met on this leg of the journey.
Just after entering the Hornchurch Country Park the Ingrebourne obviously got board with staying within its banks and decided to go cross country resulting in a short stretch of the path being ankle deep in icy-cold water leaving me with squelchy feet for much of the rest of the walk. Still the walk became still more peaceful and attractive as it wound past the Ingrebourne Marshes. Here cows grazed, swallows (or swifts or martins) flew around, dragonflies danced above the water and a falcon was chased away by a dozen angry crows. A few well placed benches (with touching memorials) offered a good spot to have a quick lunch before continuing beside the stream and flooded gravel pits until the urban sprawl of Rainham came into vie.

Rainham village itself is quite attractive with a fin church with a number of Norman features, including an doorway with a gog-tooth carved archway and narrow windows in the squat tower.

Now looking forward to the last section and the planning of my next adventure.

London Loop Leg 14: Chigwell to Harold Wood

Weather: Sunny and Very Hot
Three consecutive Fridays and three legs of the LOOP, really starting to feel the end approaching now. Only one full leg to go but I intend to split it in two so that I can do the last section with Liz and some o my walking friends (and finish with a slap up meal!).

Old Chigwell (sounds like a Wodehouse character) is very attractive but soon you leave civilisation and head into the countryside and you really do feel like you are miles from anywhere with wheat, oats and barley in a golden carpet stretching to green hedgerows and field oaks in the distance.

A narrow path through the wheat allowed me to have a 'Gladiator' moment (no I didn't strip down to a leather thong and cover myself with oil) running my hands through the wheat as I walked watching skylarks sing and dance in the clear blue sky.

The busy Romford Road crossing leads to a badly signed and overgrown section with no obvious signage. Take the squeeze rather than the kissing gate and you will find a loop marker post just beyond the woodland edge.

If you go down to Hainault Woods today you are in for a big surprise. No kidding! In a clearing amongst the trees is a collection of wooden sculptures. All were carved with a variety of creatures - my favourite was the one with crinoids and ammonites.

A great stretch then follows as you trace the edge of the woodland with open space below (including one of the camps for the Olympic helpers). The grass here was tall and silver-gold moving in a blur thanks to a welcome gentle breeze. More confusing navigation follows. After the beacon follow the woodland round for about 100m until you see a marker post ignoring an opening in the tree line not far past the beacon.

Back amongst the fields of gold I came upon a cloud of at least a hundred sparrows feeding on the wheat rising as one as I approached to roost in the hawthorn hedges beside the path. As you climb up to the country park there are some more spectacular views followed by a long avenue of giant sequoia. I remember seeing the slice of sequoia in the Natural History museum when I was a kid. 1300 years old when it was cut down in the 19th Century with various dates written on it. These trees are much younger but very spectacular and worth a visit even if you don't do the rest of the walk.

The narrow path beside the garage in Havering-atte-Bower is muddy and crowded with tall stinging nettles reminding me again how glad I am that I didn't wear shorts! Emerging from the path into more open space I disturbed some rabbits that shot off in every direction for cover as I approached. Over to the right is a very ornate water tower looking like part of a French château. Some of the paths through the sweetcorn and sunflowers are a bit unclear but look for a fingerpost at the corner of the wood and head for that. Amongst the grass near the wood I saw my first wild snake - a grass snake I think - slithering away into the grass as I got close.

The final section following the trickle of water in its concrete channel is a bit dull and in places a bit smelly. and if you don't feel the need to be a completest hop on a bus to Harold Wood station and avoid this bit!
Apart from that this is a splendid walk and possibly one of the best sections of the LOOP.

London Loop Leg 13: Enfield Lock to Chigwell

Weather: Overcast becoming sunny and very warm.

Was worried about doing a walk during the Olympics as dire forecasts of travel congestion and crowds of people out in the east of London had been made. However it was just a traditional signal failure that delayed me at White City! After standing all the way from there to Liverpool Street I was more than warmed up ready for the walk.
From the start it really felt like summer for the first time this year with lots of flowers in the hedgerows and even in the concrete channel of the Turkey Brook. However the blackberries in the hedgerow spoke of the autumn to come so with the days getting shorter I kept up a rapid pace.
The short stretch of riverside walking made me think I should walk more of the Lea Valley as it was very pretty with lots of irises and numerous dragon and damselflies including a gorgeous indigo one that was so dark as to be almost black. Lots of fish in the water as well. Then across an open space filled with skylarks seemingly attached to the dome of the sky by lengths of elastic as they bounced up and down singing their tiny lungs out.

Some fantastic views over the huge reservoirs that provide London with much of its drinking water. Despite living in London for 25 years I still prefer the water from home out of the chalk downs, so hard that almost used to have a chalky head on it!

After passing a pretty cottage and pond (covered in a carpet of green algae) you come to a short stretch of busy B road with little or no pavement until you turn up into the drive  to the Scout headquarters. The track gets very muddy in places particularly around the vehicle barriers and other places where bikes and horses have been through churning things up into a thick brown stew.

More nice views hove into view on the stretch up to and beyond Queen Elizabeth's hunting lodge but so did a particularly heavy shower! Buckhurst Hill is a very pretty little village within London's sprawl and I had a pleasant chat with the owner of a neatly tended garden that looked more Sussex countryside than a London suburb.

Had to laugh as I approached the lake as not only was there a couple of toddlers chasing some bemused Brent geese but a dog chasing a large motorised lawn mower.

A dull and hot stretch of road walking follows, enlivened only by the size of some of some of the houses as you wind your way down into Chigwell ends with the the very pretty Chigwell station. Again this feels like a country station rather than part of the London Underground. The Village Deli, in the parade of shops nearby, is worth a visit if you are peckish and thirsty after the walk - very good salt-beef bagels!

London Loop Section 12: Cockfosters to Enfield Lock

Weather: Warm and overcast to start, becoming very warm towards the end.
After the mud and rain of the previous leg I was hoping to start a week's holiday with a warmer and dryer walk. I was in luck. The sun was trying to poke through the clouds and a week of hot sunny weather had dried up most of the mud. Finding the start was a bit awkward but eventually spotted the gate on the far side of the car par and I was off. After the rash of golf courses in previous legs this one specialised in cemeteries, one at the start and another at the end.
After a short stroll you arrive at Trent Country park which has a very nice cafe where I stopped for a late brunch / early lunch of baked beans on toast. Avoided the rather tasty looking tray bakes and cakes and started back on the walk before the numerous walking groups that were hanging around the cafe got underway.

The week of sun has brought the crops on well. Fields of golden wheat and trees heavy with crab apples line the path as you climb into Enfield Chase. However I was jolted out of my reverie by a rather scary looking tree and a HUMAN SKULL on the ground. Thought I was seeing things until another group stopped and pointed to it. Decided to move on before it claimed another victim. Lots of more pleasant trees in the chase itself, in particular sweet chestnuts with flowers like golden fireworks covering their branches.

Once you drop down from Hadley Road you really do feel as if you are in the countryside, not within a few miles of London. Broad beans  (or poo beans as my uncultured wife calls them) in one field more wheat in the next.

Enfield Chase

Kestrels hovered over the wheat looking for small mammals before perching on the branches of dead trees catching their breath before flying off again. Signage in the next section became a bit sporadic and I could have done with changing into a kestrel to avoid a fallen willow that almost completely blocked the path. The trunk had folded over like melted toffee but the tree was still growing - tough things willows. Had to crawl under the branches on all fours as there was no way round the back.
The next field was covered with crows, at least a hundred and the next had lots of cylindrical straw bales wrapped in black plastic. I prefer them to be left unwrapped so they look like rolls of butter but I can understand why the farmers bag them up. However they do look like giant rabbit droppings!

The next section past Clay Hill and onto the New River and Turkey Brook was nice but nothing spectacular though there are a number of very attractive trees and it is always good to walk beside water. The Rose and Crown pub has the air of a good county inn  though as I was still full of beans I didn't pop in to check it out.

The route passes the old fish ponds of Elsynge Hall and there were a number of very large fish moving sedately through the murky water. Keeping a wary eye on them was a heron that was almost as surprised as me when I got within about two metres of it before it flew off in that strange way they have, dangling its spindly legs just above the surface of the water with a few languid flaps of its wings.
Two climbs over steep railway bridges are not what tired legs need but that's what you get at the end of this shortish but rather enjoyable leg of the LOOP.

London Loop: Section 11: Elstree to Cockfosters

Weather: Damp and cool with showers
After the 'wettest June on record' and a wet start to July I was despairing of ever getting to go walking again. So with the forecast being for dry but overcast I set out on the long journey to Elstree. Things did not get off to a good start as I got lost in the sprawling Kings Cross / St Pancras complex. Hope those travelling in for the Olympics do better than I did in finding the correct station let alone the correct platform and train.
Arriving at Elstree you start off with a stretch of road walking past some fabulous mansions that are set back behind high fences, thick hedges and mature trees. What you can glimpse through the gates are huge houses some with thatched roofs topped with ornate decorations of pheasants and foxes. All of this is a welcome distraction from the rather dull section of road walking - at least the ground was dry underfoot, the last time my feet would be dry for some time.

Turning down a narrow muddy track it was difficult to keep upright as the path entered a very nice area of mixed woodland which leads up to possibly the most soul destroying part of any of the LOOP sections I have walked. The path emerges onto the side of the A1 and you trudge down one side for about half a mile then cross through an underpass and back up the other side for another half a mile. This combined with the dull grey skies threatening dismal drizzle and the constant noise of trucks blasting along the road was very trying.

Once through this section the path crosses some very attractive open farmland before there is another short section of road walking before I reached the muddiest section of the route. The path passes through meadow beside a brook and in places I would have been dryer to walk through the brook rather than stay on the path. The ground was saturated and in places where the path passes between fence and hedge the mud was six or eight inches deep and very sticky. However there were a lot of small brown butterflies flitting about to distract me. In places to try to avoid the risk of trench foot I walked with a foot on the relatively dry land on wither side of the muddy section. However the mud got wider and wider and eventually I had to bite the bullet and walk through the mud rather than fall into it!

A section of tarmac path as I approached Barnet was very welcome as it gave my feet a chance to dry out a bit. Passing through the outskirts of Barnet the unforcasted rain started to fall. Not hard enough to warrant putting a coat on but damp enough to start seeping through everything. Met a dog walker about here and we chatted for a while about the weather and the lack of a crossing point on the A1. Soon you enter what is probably the best section of this part of the LOOP the hamlet of Hadley Green. Nice houses and pretty countryside - definitely does not feel like London. Here there is a row of 1th Century Almshouses, a house where David Livingstone lived briefly, the house of Fanny Trollope (Anthony's mum) and nearby is the site of the Battle of Barnet which took place in 1471.

A sheltered walk through woodland leads on for the rest of the leg till you arrive at the rather disappointing Cockfosters station. I was expecting more for a station at the end of the Piccadilly line but the station is hidden below road level and all you have is the 1930's signage.

Hopefully we will have some drier weather in July and the next leg will be a bit more comfortable than this one!

London Loop: Section 10: Moor Park to Elstree

Weather: Hot (25C) and sunny
The journey to Moor Park took me through Harrow on the Hill station on the Metropolitan line. This is a very evocative station with all is 1930's buildings and multiple long platforms. It reminded me of my old train set that I sold in my teens and replaced with Scalextric with which I wasted most of my youth until computers came along. Had a fabulous four lane track in a large garden shed (thanks Dad for letting me use most of the space relegating you to a little shed on the side!). Pinner station which I passed through later in the journey had very nice flower beds - nice to see the station staff making an effort in this area.
Anyway back to the walk - only 64km to go according to the guide - which starts at Moor Park where you have to go through the station and then back again - very odd - before joining the walk. Instead of going back down hill through the wood and then over a golf course I took a short cut along the residential road heading east. Some very nice houses along here and soon open fields with masses of cow parsley in the hedgerows and cows with calves in the fields themselves. The reason for this, as you are probably aware, I have had some run-ins with golfers in previous walks and with the prospect of more courses ahead on this walk I decided to give that stretch a miss.

Finding the gap in the houses after you have walked through a fine open space is a bit troublesome but once found and you've meandered through the small urban pocket you start to climb through Oxhey Woods. This is a lovely place - and provides welcome shade. There are plenty of old trees and the last of the wild garlic going over but still scenting the air.

Tree in Oxhey Woods

When you reach the end of the woods take care. The footpath sign (at point G on the guidebook's map) has been twisted round and seems to be pointing the wrong way. The map and the description suggest you should drop down following the hedge/fence line but the sign points east. Following the fence leads you down hill to a farm where you find that the guideposts are hidden and gates tied up - something tells me the farmer doesn't welcome walkers! The narrow path out of the farm is also well hidden but once found you emerge onto a drive and track. More confusion reigns where you find at a junction a sign with three directions all indicated as London Loop. Follow the main track and you will come to the path leading off to the left as described.

After the open section with houses to your left you come to a narrow path with open fields on one side and houses on the other. This path is extremely overgrown with brambles and stinging nettles - it was at this point that I was glad I hadn't worn shorts and had put on a long sleeved shirt. It can be quite disconcerting as it is not clear that this is actually a path for some sections but eventually you come to a sign and all is well again.

The next section after a short road walk (and a busy road junction) is another golf course - this one is quite clearly marked and then you return to more woodland and another slightly hard to find junction as the Grim's Dyke stone is easily missed. Lots more yellow and lilac rhododendrons here as you go through the wild gardens of W. S. Gilbert's old house. Lots f fine specimen trees as well including a fine sequoia.

The section that follows that loops around Bentley Priory is very nice with splendid views towards the city with masses of hawthorn blossom and gorse flower.

The navigation around Stanmore Ponds is very confusing as it appears that the signs are missing. I entertained a group of Polish fishermen who were camping there as I wondered backwards and forwards around the ponds until I found the way. You then have to force your way along a very narrow and overgrown path beside the hospital - again lots of nettles and brambles out to catch the unwary.

Then the path emerges onto a open meadow and vanishes. Completely vanishes.

There's a path there somewhere!

There is a sign pointing out over a sea of waist high grass that vaguely indicates the direction. Peering into the bright sunshine I could just make out the glint of a CCTV camera that might indicate that this is where the promised underpass under the M1. Girding my loins I set off across the meadow which rises gently as the grass got longer. It was like walking through deep water and very tiring in the hot sunshine. However having such a wild place with the M1 barely a few hundred metres away was very special.

Eventually a sign and the underpass comes into view and you step out of the wilds into a rather drab and depressing section of road walking that starts under the M1 then follows a busy road. You pass a couple of pubs and later on I would be wishing I had paused at one of them as the heat did not abate and I got quite thirsty!

Footpath near Elstree

After walking beside a fine reservoir you walk across a field of grain with cleared paths and views up Elstree church before crossing another golf course - this one with rather jollier female golfers who apologised for nearly hitting me with a ball (and I was in hedge at the time so I couldn't be blamed!). The route then wends its way to the station and the journey home.

All in all a good walk with some excellent sections but also some less pleasant parts.

London Loop: Section 9: Uxbridge Lock to Moor Park

After the snow of the previous walk this leg (which I walked back in March) was warm and sunny (with the odd brief shower) and the signs of spring were everywhere.
The walk started beside the Grand Union canal and boat owners were out fettling their boats ready for the season. This stretch of the canal has nice houses running down to the water, must be very pleasant to be able to step out the back gate of your garden and to have the canal to sit by or walk along. Lots of waterfowl out as well, ducks, moorhens and swans making their serene way along the water and bulbs flowering in the hedgerows and willows starting to bud and give that lovely lime green colour to the woods.

The walk goes past several large man made lakes with several pairs of crested grebes on the water and goldfinches and chaffinches in the trees all making a lot of noise. The noises are likely to change in the future if the planned HS2 train route goes through this region as planned, and not for the better.

The route moves away from the canal briefly and passes a rotted barge amongst the wood, it reminded me a bit of the dragon cocoons in the Robin Hobb books as it sat amongst the moss covered trees.

As the canal goes through South Harefield a new development of canal side houses have been built with their own narrow boat docks which must make parking easier!

Soon after the path leaves the canal for the last time and enters a completely different landscape. A steep and pretty climb leads you through woodlands which when spring arrives will be carpeted with bluebells, only the green leaves showing at the time of the walk but will probably look spectacular later in the year.

The way gets excessively muddy as you go through the wood and the path is a little unclear in places before you leave the Loop and climb towards alongside the tracks towards the tube station at Moor Park.

One of the better legs of the walk with a nice variety of landscapes and plenty to occupy the eye as you go along.

London Loop: Section 8: Donkey Wood to Uxbridge Lock

Kingfisher on the River Colne

I wonder if my rope's still hanging from the tree
By the standing pool where you drank me
And filled me full of thirsty love
And the memory of water?

I wonder if a king still fishes there
His back towards the burned-out air
His laughing catches singing loud
The memory of water
- Marillion, Memory of Water

I don't think I have every been so cold as this, even being snowed in on a concert tour of North Germany where the River Wesser froze over and we had snow drifts a dozen feet thick piled up against the youth hostel walls can compare. I must be getting soft in my old age. This walk starts, like the last one finished, with a dreary walk alongside the A30 with jumbo jets and huge A380's blasting off from Heathrow over my head but soon you turn off and join the river Crane again. Just before that however, parked next to one of the giant British Airways' hangers was a Concord. Still as brilliantly different as ever but looking rather sad and lonely. I remember having to pause my lessons at about 11am each day as Concorde took off from Heathrow not far from the school I taught at.

The snow that fell earlier in the week was still lying on the ground and any muddy patches were frozen into rock hard ridges and my mood was lifted by spotting a fox that paused to study me ahead on the path and a falcon perched on a broken branch above my head. I wonder if they were both hunting the rabbits I saw a few moments later bounding across the path to find cover in the brambles? I love the wildlife I see on the walk and this gave me hope that this was going to be a good leg, despite the cold!

Despite the early part of the walk following the A30, crossing the A4 and diving under the M4 the walk felt very rural as it tracked the meandering River Crane with its frozen oxbow lakes and snow covered banks. In places the snow was 5-8cm deep and made walking difficult as you crunched through the icy crust into the powder below. Leaves were covered in a rind of frost and Crane Meadows between the A4 and M4 were particularly pretty with their coating of snow.

After the M4 the walk joins the Grand Union Canal as it winds its way from London to Birmingham. In parts the water had frozen over with only the odd gap under bridges and where rivers and surface water drains pour warmer water into it. It was quite amusing to watch coots come flying in, land on the ice and skid, sometimes backwards, for some distance before colliding with the bank or one of their fellow canal dwellers. Most boats were moored up for the winter, their owners working on maintaining the boats for the summer season. One or two were working their way through the ice though, dramatic cracking sounds as the metal hulls forced their way through the ice.

The path swings away from the canal for a time through Stockley Park, a modern science park. Very icy paths through here were snow has melted and refrozen on the tarmac paths. Back to the canal the path goes close to West Drayton, where I taught for five years, before leaving the main Grand Union for a short stretch along the Slough branch of the same canal. At the junction is a huge marine crammed with canal boats of all colours and sizes and a haze hung over it from the stoves that were running on some of the boats.

The path then joins the River Colne as it runs through an area of former brickworks which have been flooded. The area was famous for its bricks and the canal was used to ship them into London in their millions. Passing through a wooded area I caught a glimpse of copper and turquoise as a kingfisher exploded from the river and landed on a branch with a small silver fish in its beak. I started to creep closer but before I could get very far a car door slammed and it was off. I saw it again a couple of hundred of yards later but again too far away to get a decent photo. This probably was the best moment of any of the walks I've been on, you don't get to see a kingfisher everyday in London!

This sight kept me going through a slightly grotty leg where the path runs between tangled branches and a high metal fence before a short road stretch leads you back to the canal and the final walk towards Uxbridge. By now I was feeling very cold where the bustling high street and tube station were very very welcome!

London Loop: Section 7: Kingston Bridge to Donkey Wood

Early December and still the weather does not feel like winter. Clear blue skies to start with but there had been some rain over the past few days but compared to 2010 when the walk would have been several inches deep in snow things were a lot better!

The walk started off well with a stroll through Kingston and I managed to avoid stumbling into the large John Lewis store instead crossing the Thames by the old bridge and then by an easily missed sign into Bushy Park. This part of the walk was probably one of the most interesting and attractive of the LOOP so far. Attractive parkland, nice trees which had lost their leaves but kept their striking skeletal forms and some lakes with rafts of birds.

Swans in Bushy Park

Of course while doing this I failed to 'live in the now' and tripped over a hummock and did a rather impressive forward roll/somersault which if it had been caught on camera would have earned me a place as a stuntman!

Spent a bit of time in the parkland watching some Long Tailed tits in the trees around the small stream and artificial lakes and chatted with a photographer who was taking photos of the birds. The usual comments of birdwatchers; the decline of greenfinches the rise of the Ring Necked Parakeets and the best food to put in the garden to attract birds to the table.

The next section of the walk was the best and most exciting. Having read in the guide that deer can be seen in the open parkland I was expecting to see a few in the distance like I saw in Richmond but I was wrong. Instead there was a group of at least a dozen straddling the path, some with full on antlers grazing and in some cases butting antlers with each other. I was able to spend some time watching and photographing them without them taking any notice of me, a real joy.

Deer in Bushy Park

After a section of road walking the path joins the River Crane. Here you pass some interesting industrial archaeology - the remains of gunpowder mills. I hadn't realised that this part of greater London had been famous for the production of gunpowder. The remains of several mills can be seen on this leg and the previous one surrounded by high earth banks to protect the surrounding mills and buildings from the force of any explosions. One of the mills now houses a interpretive centre for a bird reserve that occupies an island in the middle of the river, it was closed at the time of my visit but might be worth a return visit later. The path here was muddy, very muddy, with thick black mud rich with rotting leaves. A great smell but quite awkward to walk through and this got worse as you progress along the rest of this section.

With clouds building and time pressing, I should have spent so long with the birds and the beasts earlier in the walk, there follows a drab road section and then a wild, blowy walk across Hounslow Heath, a surprisingly wild place in the heart of this part of London. The next section returns to the Crane and includes several difficult sections. Difficult navigation and difficult walking along narrow paths, some no more than a foot or three wide between a chain link fence and the steep side of the fast running river. With the sloppy black mud of the path added to these this section was quite awkward and not particularly interesting. A section of slimy a and springy boardwalk was a slight improvement before possibly the worst section of the LOOP so far. A half hour slog beside the very bust A30 all the way to Hatton Cross tube station. This was made worse by the long waits at the numerous crossings you have to use to get across the road to the station itself.

A shame that he walk has to end on this grimy, grim, rubbishy, noisy, smelly, boring note after it had started on such a high. Add to this that the next leg will start with another joyless yomp beside the A30 to get back to the LOOP doesn't make me look forward to January's walk with any great joy.

London Loop: Section 6: Banstead Downs to Kingston Bridge

Getting to and from Banstead Downs is a bit of a pain as trains only go to this remote stop once every hour so I had a 45 minute wait on a cold Clapham Junction platform in November waiting for the train. The weather was grey and overcast with a hint of rain in the air. This didn't put me in the best frame of mind for the walk and this mood wasn't improved by the attitude of the golfers on the golf course just after the start. Their arrogance and rudeness to me and to a pair of other walkers was not a good advertisement for their pastime. It was nice however to meet and chat with a pair of fellow walkers who were also doing the Loop. It was helpful as well as navigating across the golf course was difficult and six pairs of eyes were better than two!

After the golf course the route goes through a long urban section with little to recommend it before going under a railway bridge onto open scrub-land. An interesting section this as it was going to be built upon and the concrete bases of access roads were built but the housing estate never was. These run through a stand of trees giving an eerie impression of a ghost town. Looking west along the tracks the sun came out for a moment and standing in the dappled shade looking back at me was a fox and its cubs. It stared at me for a few moments before walking across the concrete tracks and into the woods.

The path then runs along side the parkland of Nonsuch Park and the ruins of the Tudor Nonsuch Palace. Time for another moan here - sorry if I'm coming across as a grumpy old man. Dog owners, thank you for bagging up your dog poo but nobody thinks that they make attractive tree decorations. Take it home or bin it, don't hang it from the bushes of chuck it up into the branches of the trees. Thank you.

After the minimal ruins of the palace you pass through Ewell which looked very attractive but with the shorter hours of daylight I was in a hurry to get on. This meant that I didn't stop to explore the museum in Bourne Hall Park. The path then goes under a very low railway bridge on a platform on top of the river. This pushes a lot of irrational fear buttons for me - dark water, constricted spaces and heights. Needless to say I got through as fast as possible!

Most of the rest of the walk is alongside the River Hogsmill which meanders its way through scrubby woodland and open (and muddy) grass for several miles. This is a peaceful section but with the grey overcast skies it was a little sameish with no bit views to excite or enliven the walk. Things didn't get any better later on as the next section runs past light industrial units and a sewage works before emerging at last on the Thames at Kingston. This last five minutes was possibly the best bit of the walk with the views along the Thames including Kingston Bridge being very attractive. Then up through the shops to a proper station with trains running every few minutes into central London and somewhere to buy a snack before heading home!

All in all probably the least inspiring leg of the walk so far to be honest.