Having taken a short walk from Northwood Hills to Carpender’s Park the week before we returned to add a few miles to the Climbing Moss Heart of London Walk on Section 18 to take us to Stanmore Station and here’s what we discovered along the way…
Carpender’s Park was another of those random places we’d never been to in all our lives, but after a train ride we started off with the route at the station and headed out towards the only coffee shop in the area, one that had good reviews, but you can read all about that here.
So with the untouched coffees in hand we followed the road around to an alleyway between houses heading for Carpender’s Park Lawn Cemetery. This public footpath is quite pretty – huge trees and a stream winding around the backs of houses, opening up to a pretty pond and waterfalls. We stopped for a moment to let the invalid dog have a run around and for us to drink the coffees, thus proving you should never believe what you read in those Google Reviews. Truly one of the worst coffees we have ever been unfortunate enough to suffer and we couldn’t find a bin quick enough!
We followed the path around the north edge (as dogs are not allowed in the cemetery) and took to the road out. Crossing the busy A Road and heading up a steep hill to get to another public footpath, filled with a fine assortment of rubbish and dumped junk, then another steep hill, this is not a section the faint hearted.
The path crossing a large open field then enters Grim’s Dyke Golf Course and follows the edge of the northeast most hole until you reach the most random named road ‘Ass House Road’ (we kid you not!)
Follow the Ass House and take another footpath up and into the woods, to find Gilbert’s Lake, a large electrical pylon and a thick woods. The forest is again quite pretty and easy to manoeuvre through, by following the tracks.
There should be another lake here but it had been drained due to an ‘Invasive Plant’ so instead you can head down to the Old Redding Road and the ‘Good View’ of London, or just continue on around and under the Grim’s Dyke Hotel’s grounds and head east. Up and down some more steep hills, passing around the garden centre and on towards Harrow Wield Common, this is in fact just more of the same woods, but after a while your route runs alongside a busy A-road before climbing a set of steps lead up to and over the Common Road.
Cross this road (quickly in-between the traffic) and through a gate onto another footpath alongside a retirement home. The track opens onto the former Bentley Priory grounds.
We stopped for a coffee break at the benches at the top of the hill and admired the view from here, before traipsing down the path, descending into the bogs, it was a little wet down in the valley, crossing streams and through thick mud, extremely narrow gates that are there to stop cattle from escaping, but are so skinny BlackPink’s Rosé would have to breath in! Summerhouse Lake is large and full of wildfowl and worth another pause to take a photograph for ten.
The ground was a mess and we took to walking along a random 1 metre high wall that zigzags along the track, rather than fight through the mire, stopping to view The Master, not an adversary of the Doctor but, the oldest tree in Middlesex Apparently and to rescue a lost teddy bear!
Then on down the hills and back into the Priory woods once more. Here we had to take a detour due to fenced off areas and more boggy ground, but eventually we weaved through turnstiles and crossed the bottom of Stanmore Park, to get to a residential road, lined with late blooming Cherry Trees and then turned onto the Uxbridge Road.
Here is another of those points where having walked the route we recommend you don’t – at least not this bit! Instead the PDF indicates your should get on the 340 bus, it’s only a couple of stops but is nicer and easier than walking for a mile to the station along a busy main road until you get to Stanmore Station.
Well there you go another section a slightly longer one this time and we will return in a few weeks with Section 19 of the #CMHoL & remember to tag us in your Social Media posts.
Climbing Moss 