Thursday 19th June 2014 Ramble 24: Bull’s Bridge to Brentford.

Thursday 19^th June 2014

Ramble 24:  Bull’s Bridge to Brentford.

As we were setting off from Bull’s Bridge for our 5½ mile walk, we spotted the Tranquil Rose barge owned by Thames and Chilterns Holiday Cruises.  Ann Rowett from KDRC was aboard, up on the ‘sun deck’. We had arranged to see her later.  They were heading northwards, so it was quite fortuitous to see her at Bull’s Bridge, as this was the only point where our paths could cross!

Once, Bull’s Bridge canal junction was a very busy place as the main docks for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company with a weighing station were here; a centre where boats would be maintained and repaired and boaters could meet up and exchange news.  Now there is little in the way of boating activity and a giant Tesco store occupies the old maintenance yard site.

So, on our way we first passed a few houses on boats –all higgledy-piggledy then Adelaide Dock with a dry dock area. Once, there was a hire company here (it was one of the last to close in London). Now, even on a sunny day in June, there seemed not to be many passing boats and the whole area needs a spruce up!

As it goes through ‘Little India’, as Southall is called, the canal sides are edged with housing. The golden domes of the largest Sikh temple domes in Europe were visible above the house roofs.  We saw many coconuts and flowers floating in the water; offerings to the gods are thrown into the canal which presumably is a stand-in for the Ganges.

 Two miles into the walk we passed Norwood Top Lock. Then we went through the Three Bridges intersection (a point where the railway line, a road bridge and canal intersect). The railway bridge was designed by Brunel and built in 1859.

Alongside the towpath here, for quite a distance, is the high brick wall of a 77 acre site upon which the Middlesex county lunatic Asylum was opened in the 1830s. It was once the largest in Europe (with more than 2000 patients) and the small dock from the canal enabled foodstuffs and coal to be delivered and rubbish taken away.  We also saw holes in the wall, low down covered with metal plates that were designed so that water hoses could be used to get water from the canal in the event of fire. Now Ealing Hospital, mental health units and houses occupy the site.  

Towards the end of the Hanwell flight of six locks, the River Brent enters the canal bringing with it seemingly dirtier water, certainly a deeper and bluer colour. We did see a few ducks, coots and terns, a heron, a young cormorant and heard some parakeets. Also, a few dragonflies and butterflies were around.
 

Osterley Lock is next, on the edge of Osterley Park (NT Georgian mansion) and then the canal passes under the M4 motorway and not long after, the Piccadilly tube line. A smaller and more attractive black and white bridge is just around a bend in the canal. It is thought to be the first cast iron bridge that Horseley Iron Works built.

More bridges carry the Great West Road A4(T) and further tube lines and roads over the canal before it reaches Brentford.

The UK pharmaceutical giant Glaxo Smith Kline’s headquarters dominates the landscape here with its smart office building that opened in 2001. Walking into Brentford, we were aware of planes descending down into Heathrow every few minutes – do residents ever get totally used to this? Plenty of blocks of new flats surround the marina.  We walked through the last remaining overhanging dock which seems to be in the process of demolition.  

At the far end of the marina next to the toll house built in 1911, are two gauging locks. Boats with cargoes were measured with a stick to assess the tolls to be levied. Nowadays boaters still have to be aware of the tide times as clearance under some bridges is limited when the tides are high. The pound between the gauging locks and Thames lock is tidal and when walking along we saw very little water there.

 The size of the boats moored on the sides increased dramatically though, and so did the complexity of our route. Paths and signs were there but the route was not obvious and people who had overtaken us ended up passing us again face to face! The large and deep Thames locks mark the end of the GUC walk and we were able to get a tantalising glimpse of the main River Thames, which in the future we hope to walk the length of.

We had a bite to eat, and then caught a 195 bus back to Bull’s Bridge. We then drove to the picturesque village of Denham to meet Ann and see Tranquil Rose and her skipper. The Country Park and golf course there were a tranquil contrast to the hustle and bustle of Brentford.