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Walking the London Loop (part 1)
Section 9 Hatton Cross to Kingston Bridge via Hounslow and Bushy Park, west London
(Photos/words © urban75, 3rd October, 2010)
It may have been thundering it down when we arrived, but we were determined to do this walk and ploughed on over flooded footpaths and blocked paths.
Happily, our determination was rewarded with the skies clearing later on, and a delightful 12 mile walk had our soggy shoe'd crew.
Note: the actual walk should have been 8.5 miles (13.6 km), but because we had to walk around the flooded footpaths and come back on ourselves when our route was under water, we ended up putting in a few extra miles.
Behold. The glory of Hatton Cross tube station, the start of our walk.
Hatton Cross lies at the end of one of Heathrow's runways, and some planes pass so low the whole area vibrates with the thunderous roar of the engines.
It may have been pissing down with rain, but we were determined to enjoy a walk, damnit!
The first part wasn't too exciting though, as the walk flanked a busy main road.
Into River Crane park.
The path was flooded for most of the route.
And the water was getting deeper...
The flooded river. The submerged footpath is on the right.
Getting on to the footpath through ankle deep waters.
The water got deeper and deeper along the path - it was knee deep at one point - so a tactical withdrawal was called.
We decided to divert on to dry land and walk through a particularly bleak industrial estate to catch up with the route further on.
I have to admit that I've seen prettier places than Green Lane, Hounslow.
We picked up the river again off Staines Road and it was in full flow after the recent heavy rainfall.
Old sluice gates.
Flooded path by Hounslow golf course.
We got stuck around here for ages as we tried several alternative routes to catch up with the river path,.
As you can see on the route map, we ended up taking several false tunrs leading into heavily waterlogged quagmires before decided to walk back on to the road.
You can see how high the river is here.
Site of washed away bridge.
Crane Park.
Hounslow Cemetary.
« Walks home To Bushy Park (part two) »
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Hatton X - Hounslow
Camera: Lumix LX5
