We were very lucky with the weather on our walk, with a lovely blue sky and no rain.  We started with 14 walkers at Uxbridge station.  Heading down the High street and having crossed a few roads, we were able to drop down though the car park of The Swan and Bottle pub, onto the canal towpath.  Soon we reached Fran’s Tea Garden (closed but a bit early for a stop anyhow!). 

When passing Denham Lock some of our group listed off notable residents of the village; Cilla Black, Paul Daniels, Brian Conolly (The band Sweet), Mike Oldfield,  Harry Saltzman (James Bond producer in the 1960s) and the founder of the British Union of Fascists, Oswald Mosley and his wife Diana. As we continued along the canal, to our right lay Uxbridge Alderglade Nature Reserve and later Fray Valley Nature Reserve. We were accompanied on our left by the River Colne and Broadwater lake, often used for sailing. 

About 6 miles in, we stopped for lunch at the lovely Coy Carp pub which was quite busy.  Three of our group decided that this was a good point for them to divert off and catch a bus for home.  

After walking a few miles more, the remaining 11 walkers made time for a cuppa at Cafe@lock81, Batchworth. 

Our final leg took us off the canal in a left turn uphill to Croxley where we found the station and a few metres further on, a very nice pub ‘The Red House’.  It still being bright, and dry, four of us enjoyed a drink before catching a tube back into London

Jackie McC

Photos by Joyanna, Nita and Gillian

Despite the weather forecast of no sunshine and intermittent rain, an impressive turnout of twenty-four members and three guests assembled at Wimbledon Park station for a 4.5 mile walk across Putney Heath and Wimbledon Common.

A stroll along a suburban street took us to the gates of the nearby park. It is a recreational green space that sprawls across sixty-seven acres. Passing a children’s playground and numerous tennis courts, we reached a large lake with much wildlife. Zig-zagging past an athletics track took us out of the park and onto a road with a distant view of the home of lawn tennis. Turning off beforehand, we climbed up a side road until we found ourselves at an entrance to Putney Heath. Highwaymen once prowled here and duels were fought but we only saw locals enjoying the attractive woodlands.

Soon we spotted the windmill dating from 1817 on the adjacent Wimbledon Common. We stopped for refreshment at the tearoom below its four sails whilst fortunately avoiding a sudden rain shower. We then set off down a straight path with little mud to the south-east corner of the Common and the start of Wimbledon Village. Here we passed through a small bustling market and past many expensive looking shops before heading down the hill to finish the walk in the vicinity of Wimbledon station.

The adjacent Alexandra pub provided ten of our number with a pleasant hour or so of excellent refreshment and good conversation before heading home.      

Danny
Photos courtesy of Chris

Our train to Oxford was pretty much full as we left behind us an exceptionally busy Marylebone Station.    Arriving at Beaconsfield we were joined by others who had come by car.   We were 15 strong now and were packing out the small station building so we went outside for the briefing (in the rain unfortunately).

Happily the rain stopped quite soon after we began this 9 mile ramble although the sky remained in threatening mood all day. After passing a sign to the model village and walking along some residential streets we reached open fields and headed northeast towards Seer Green.   A couple of fields later we passed through an attractive avenue of trees and then we had to cross the very busy Amersham road.   We had to wait quite a long time before we could all cross safely.   Then we were walking through a wood and then across wet fields to Seer Green for an early lunch.  

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