08 - Hatton Cross to Uxbridge - 12th May 2025 (18.7 km)

Another lovely day weatherwise. I took the train from Sydenham to Whitechapel then the Elizabeth line Heathrow terminal two and three and then the Piccadilly line down to Hatton Cross. The signage in Heathrow to get you from the Elizabeth line to the Piccadilly line is beyond hopeless!

Worth noting that there is a small newsagents and food store actually in the Hatton Cross tube station. So that’s a great place to pick up a sandwich if you need one either at the end or the beginning of the trip.

There’s a lot of noise on this route. Initially coming from the aeroplanes and then as you walk along the main road that leads away from Hatton Cross tube. But then when you turn left into the woods, you gradually leave all the chaos behind and slowly but surely the world quietens down. Sure it kicks off again when you get to some roads a bit later, but walking along the side of the river Crane has its lovely peaceful moments with just trees and weeds and bushes and bird song. The river Crane really is a little lifeline in this part of London.

Walking through the woods just north of the motorway there’s really no sign of all the chaos and broken trees that were strewn around when I walk through here last time after that big storm. Sure there’s a few fallen trees and branches and things blended in amongst the trees, but that’s the case for every woodland. I suppose when you think about it, every woodland having existed for centuries must have witnessed endless storms and the fallen trees that you normally see are just testament to the passage of time and changing weather. But here, I saw the most recent storm and its immediate effect; though already accommodated into the natural state of the wood.

It might be worth noting that two days ago and I was walking. I was shattered after 10 K but I was trying hard to make the walk on reduced calories as part of my diet. Today when I got to Hatton Cross I had tuna-mayo and sweetcorn sub with a Samosa. And so far today at 5K I’ve been striding along with force. So maybe it’s false economy to reduce the calories on a hiking day.

The footpath signs on that roundabout on the A road just north of Junction three of the motorway are a bit rubbish. They need rethinking.

The section of the canal north of West Drayton has a lot more boats on it than the section before there. The earlier section was somewhat deserted but after West Drayton, its chock-a-block.