Well it’s been a while, well actually it’s been about 2 weeks since you last read about our exploits of making a new walking route around London, but for us it was nearly 3 months since we got to Ickenham Station on a cold, dark, wet November night and decided it wasn’t worth walking in the cold every week and so we curtailed the walk until March this year (2023) and in that time shit happened, a lot of shit!
Any regular reader of this blog will know that 2023 has not been a good year for us, most noticeably for Solo our dog and fellow, often chaotic walking companion. In January she lost the ability to walk and it was touch-and-go for a while as to whether she would live, let alone walk again. But by the start of March she was still alive and starting to be able to walk, a bit – 10minute bursts and then an hour of rest – but we wanted to restart the walk and we vowed to finish the route with her as we had started it. So with the first of the many rucksacks and bags we went through (see recently post) and on a damp and still pretty cold March morning we set off for Ruislip at the end of the Metropolitan Line.
Now those who have been paying attention will have spotted, we ended Section 15 at Ickenham Station but started 16 at Ruislip Station, simply because the 1mile walk from Ickenham to Ruislip High St is simply a long, loud, busy and dull road and technically just a single stop difference on the tube line. So with that sorted let’s begin.
Ruislip Station is one of those old, throwback stations, where they still have hanging baskets and no staff, outside is a bus terminal and a road up to the main road and a bit of confusion, at the top of Station Approach turn left and at the lights turn right onto the High St. Up on the right, (opposite Tesco) is Red Onion Café and the Google Reviews are not wrong, a great place to stop off for a coffee or (if you can get a seat) a spot of lunch, a chat with the staff and free dog treats if you have a pooch with you (or if you really like them yourself!).
So, with a really nice coffee in hand we headed north up to Dead Centre of Ruislip (aka the cemetery of St. Martin’s, around the bend and along the aptly named St. Martin’s Approach, towards the River Penn and a curious sign announcing it is the birth place of Winston Churchill – who knew the former Prime Minister was born in a field next to a river! At the top of the road a little left and right and you find a lovely bog – a former footpath but now muddy ravine of squelch and unappeasable mire! During this time we had Solo in her rucksack, swinging side to side and trying to throw Bob of kilter. Having delicately navigated the edges of the footpath we headed along into the massive Park Woods and followed a somewhat drier path down to the beach.
Yes, beach! The only real beach inside London (not including the gravel, pebble or muddy excuses along the Thames) Ruislip Lido is a large lake and a long strip of golden (well dirty yellow) sand, with a pirate ship and a pavilion. As well as beach front Cafe and thankfully toilets too! It was a nasty day when we went, but on a nice day when the sun is out and a bit of sunbathing is what you want… you can’t!
This is because sunbathing and swimming at the Lido is banned! Due to contaminants and diseases in the water. So instead we let Solo run around in the sand as we walked around the water towards the Water’s Edge Restaurant – one of those family eateries, the sort of place that sells chips with everything and is full of screaming patrons and their kids.
We braved the elements, bundled up as best as we could, wrapped the dog (In her rucksack) with a warm blanket and had a sandwich and coffee on the Willow Lawn before heading on. There is a railway that runs around the Lido, but it is only open on certain days off peak and the day we went it wasn’t running. Instead we continued on into the woods, an eerie place, that reminded us of the woods in Red Riding Hood or Snow White, all spindly trees and leaf covered paths, easy to get lost in and with Buzzards, Kites or even possibly Eagles taking off and flying low across your path in creepy silence (we never got a good look at the flyers to identify what they were), but we did get lost! well it is us! Now all the paths are numbered throughout supposedly and we needed number 72 and 38. We lost 72 and eventually found 38 crossing another patch of bog and then alongside hole 14 of Haste Hill Golf Course (or Pitch as Bob calls them).
We watched a number of truly awful shots being played and then followed route 38 to the top and around to exit via The Northwood Club and out onto a residential road and up to Pinner Road to the roundabout and then Northwood Hills and then home. Muddy, Wet and freezing.
Well there we go another section and a new place for us, is this somewhere you know? Leave comments and tell us your experiences of Ruislip and the area and come back next time for the next section of the CMHoL and remember to tag #cmhol in your photos
Climbing Moss 