Saturday 7th April 2012 Ramble 3: Hayes to Uxbridge

Ramble 3: Hayes and Harlington Station to Uxbridge, approximately 5½ miles on a cold and cloudy day.

We parked the car at Hayes and Harlington railway station, the start of our walk.

This morning we started along the towpath from bridge No 200, near a milestone telling us that we were 87 miles from Braunston (note Grand Junction Canal Company initials at the top). We made good progress, having started a little earlier than normal. We were rewarded with sights of a jay, goldfinches and ring-necked parakeets. Later on we saw a pied wagtail.

This time there were more plants flowering too and for the first half mile or so we saw many bluebells and ‘whitebells’ alongside the towpath.

Soon after we started, a group of cyclists with matching-shirts passed us. This happened several times during the walk and we worked out they were on a sponsored cycle ride. Other than that, there seemed to be fewer cyclists, walkers and joggers, compared to our previous walks. 

Again, behind high fencing, we passed many light industrial estates and on the West Drayton side of the canal saw a large bus depot and an aggregates works site (Hanson’s, with a small wharf on the canal). We heard many trains but rarely spotted one until we were nearer West Drayton railway station which is alongside the canal. 

  

Just a little further on, after more housing estates, more boats and houseboats were moored along the canal. We were approaching Cowley Peachey Junction. Here the Slough arm of the Grand Union canal branches off. It is about 5 miles to Slough and this arm was one of the last canals to be built (1882). Initially, the main traffic along the waterway was bricks made from clay from the local pits through to Slough. These were used to help London’s expansion and development. Later on, when the clay pits were exhausted, refuse was taken out from London to backfill them.

Cowley Peachy is a busy place as there is a large area for moored boats named Packet Boat Marina and associated businesses.  Just ahead is the first lock we have encountered since leaving Paddington basin. For many years the Paddington Packet Boat, pulled by four horses, travelled once a day along this route. This passenger carrying boat had precedence over other boats, had a smart uniformed crew and was known to be very fast. It was here that we saw a duck house (that didn't cost £16,000 I hope) and the flower pot men.

We stopped briefly at Cowley Lock for a cup of tea at the newly opened Toll House Bistro. A book registering the tolls taken was on display in a glass case. The lock was being used and some of the associated houses were up for sale.

 The last stretch of canal that we walked along today was increasingly built up. One interesting area was a boat yard where I guess many a boat has been built and fitted out.

We finished at the Swan and Bottle PH, a smart looking pub near to Uxbridge shopping centre. 

We returned from here to our car on the U4 bus from the centre of Uxbridge. The route took us past the site of RAF Uxbridge where Lord Dowding was based during the Battle of Britain. Although the base is now closed and being redeveloped the underground bunker is preserved and open to the public (long waiting list apparently).