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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Thursday, 5 January 2023

Evening Walk - The Grand Union Canal and an Iron Age hillfort site in the Borough of Ealing: Perivale Circular via Horsenden Hill

Length: 5.3 km (3.3 mi)
Ascent/Descent: 95m
Net Walking Time: 1 ½ hrs 
 
Meet: Perivale Station at 18.30 hours. Perivale station is on the West Ruislip branch of the Central Line, and in Zone 4. Travel time from Bond Street is 24 minutes. 
 
I have not walked this before and the webpage says ‘to be written’ for the Walk Notes, but from the map I deduct that we hit the Grand Union Canal and walk along its towpath, then cross a couple of meadows to climb the mostly wooded Horsenden Hill (an Iron Age hillfort site) and descend to a pub. Retreat to the tube along a tarmac path then a road pavement. Sounds like a plan to me… 
 
Eat/Drink: The Ballot Box at Horsenden Hill (a Hungry Horse pub, i.e.: Greene King). 
 
For walk directions, map, and gpx/kml files click here. T=short.4

2 comments:

Thomas G said...

I haven't walked this but would suspect that some stretches may be muddy and/or pathless and/or unlit. Come prepared.

Thomas G said...

I was greeted by a local SWCer who started conversation by saying it was a mad idea to post this walk in winter and darkness, what with mud and not being able to see paths and roaming wolves and bears (not quite). I though had my friend, the moon, on my side, who despite the cloud cover provided enough refracted light - together with the urban glow - so that we only ever deployed our headtorches for occasionally reading the directions or looking at the plenty info panels and maps en route.
The towing path along the canal was still relatively busy with cyclists and occasional walkers, the meadows then were indeed a bit sodden but the muddy paths could be avoided by walking on the grass to their side.
The paths up onto the hill were mostly hardcore or low-mud gravel/earth. Fine views were had from the top plateau, of Heathrow and out to Harrow-on-the-Hill, before we descended to the pub. The last bit before the road by the pub then was the only proper mini-mudfest. After a drink or two, we followed the tarmac path and pavement back to the tube. Local man had to admit that it wasn't that bad at all as a winter walk. And there seemed to be enough other interesting paths to make it a slightly longer route for spring/summer perhaps.
n=2 in w=mild weather.