We got beautiful weather for our walk on Sunday 9th March. Starting at Uxbridge, the first part was mostly along the Grand Union canal, passing two lakes and two nature reserves.  We stopped briefly at a cafe, ‘The Hubb’, which had a large OPEN sign but was actually closed. Fortunately, we were able to use their loo behind the building, which was open, although there was a bit of resistance from the staff.  Promising to move on fairly sharpish was enough to persuade security to let the final three walkers needing the loo to do so!  

Back along the canal we arrived at the Coy Carp pub, ate our lunch on a green area nearby and then visited the pub to wash it down.  

The second part of the walk was very different.  A steep ascent took us up onto rolling Hertfordshire countryside, green paths with a lovely long stretch through Bishop’s Wood. We had a little bit of backtracking to do on this bit, missing a loop sign and then taking a path next to the correct one!  Reminder to myself not to chat when leading!  Fortunately, these diversions didn’t involve long distances so we did get back on track and completed in good time, our final stretch running parallel to the railway lines at Moor Park. 

It was such lovely weather that some of us sought a cafe or pub to extend our day out. However, Moor Park was very quiet, no cafe or pub in sight, and we settled for chocolate from a little grocery store and headed for the train home.

Jackie McC

Photos by Joyanna, Gillian, Chris and Jackie McC