Length: 27.7 km (17.2 mi)
Ascent/Descent: 235/232m
Net Walking Time: 6 hours
Toughness: 5 out of 10
This route, from the Grand Union Canal at West Drayton to the Thames at Cookham explores rare lowland heaths and mature woodlands.
Take the 09.27 Didcot Parkway train from Paddington (Ealing
B’way 09.35, Hayes & Harlington 09.43), arrives West Drayton 09.47.
Return trains are on xx.14, change at Maidenhead (or
even at Maidenhead and Slough for the very fastest return journey).
Buy a Cookham return.
Shorter Walk:
Starting from Langley cuts 5 km from the walk. Take
the 10.13 TfL train to Reading, arrives Langley 10.40.
You can also use buses
along the route to cut short or start late. See the webpage and route map for
details. Lunch: The Black Horse in Fulmer (13.2 km/8.2
mi, food to 15.00) or the The Foresters Kitchen & Bar (17.9 km/11.1
mi, food all day, it seems) in Farnham Common.
Tea: several cafés and pubs in Cookham.
For summary, map, height profile, some photos
and gpx/kml files click here. t=swc.189
3 comments:
It's worth noting that both options pass cafés & toilets in Langley Park & Black Park
The 9.27 is currently showing as 'cancelled'. The 9.43 is the next one after
The calm after the storm...
GWR was still cancelling most trains all day, and as a result the stopping services were reduced to 2 an hour from 4, ie we had a later start than planned, by 15 minutes.
A walk of two halves developed, so to speak.
2 walkers got off the 9.43 and bumped into 1 other who had arrived by bus from Uxbridge. West Drayton wasn't as dreary as I remembered from 7 years ago: new housing has sprung up in anticipation of the wonderful shiny new Crossrail/Elizabeth Line that should be running by now. The canal towpath though is still too rubbish strewn and the road through the imminently forgettable village of Iver is still annoying. [One wonders why the Beeches Way doesn't just follow the Colne Valley Trail here, which looks a nicer route. Maybe just to be different?] The weather was dry with some bright skies initially, then some drizzle developed, followed by a period of rain as we approached Langley Park CP. There we found 'The Park is closed due to high winds' signs, but assumed they were for yesterday. Not so: a kissing gate on the far side of the wood was padlocked shut with the same notice. Good thing then that by then we were off route due to some slack map reading by the 'leader' (ed.: the SWC does not have leaders!) and were actually outside the locked gate already!! Plenty of freshly fallen trees in this park and all the following woods. Here in the CP they had already been either cut to pieces or roped off for safety. Astonishingly quick work by the rangers.
On into Black Park then. This was 'open', as evidenced by no locks or signs saying otherwise and by both the cafe and the Go Ape! site being busy. Not long then to Fulmer and a pre-booked table at The Black Horse. The rain had subsided and the houses were more imposing than around Iver. Birdsong had been few and far between all day (still shell-shocked from the storm, maybe?), but we had seen two herons, flying off on approach. Snowdrops had been aplenty, but daffs didn't seem to be any further advanced than on walks 3 weeks ago. Mud though was also very rare, almost non-existent. The pub appeared half-busy only, but upon leaving we saw why: they have put up a 'function room'-type shed at the back for groups (which was full), and also have built numerous Covid-proof pods in the garden AND a massive barn-size Farm Shop/Deli. Clearly going places... The food was very good as were the drinks, the staff quick and friendly, we had a fireplace next to the table and some good conversation going, so stayed for nearly two hours.
Uxbridge-man then turned right to walk on to Gerrards Cross for a train or bus home, as he only wanted "a 10 miler or so". The other two turned left up the road. Mud was a bit more of an issue in the pm: some fenced paths and some of the woody sections were naturally muddy, but two of the worst stretches were only muddy because of misuse of Public Footpaths by mountain bikers or horseriders. The cafe in Burnham Beeches was doing a roaring trade. We did not encounter any rain after lunch, and finally saw some proper birds as well in the shape of plentiful red kites. As we exited the last wood before Cookham, sunset was just starting, and the few fluffy clouds about got some very intense pink tinges. Crossing the Thames at 17.40, we knew we could afford to stroll on to the station, while still comfortably making the 18.14.
The journey to London then took longer than posted as train services from Maidenhead were still much reduced, and in fact there seemed to be no fast trains at all from Slough to change on to, so the stopping TfL service it was all the way.
A fine day out, all in.
Group Cohesion Factor: one could say 10/10, as the group stayed together for as long as it wanted to, but then again: one did peel off, so let's say 8/10.
Number of abandoned or left-behind walkers or walk posters: nil.
n=3 w=mostly-dry
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