Posts about the London Outer Orbital Path
Shiny golden circles adorned the forecast for today and it would have been criminal not to have taken advantage of the conditions to finish off the LOOP, especially as one opportunity had already been passed up last week. Continue reading “Endgame (London LOOP Part 12)”
Cooped up at home for the last couple of weeks supervising builders, I was desperate to get out. I’d been lucky that my two weeks of being out of circulation had coincided with some miserable weather, but I could actually feel the modicum of hill fitness gained in my legs in the Lakes seeping away. It was time for a walk. Continue reading “Slaves, Outlaws and the Beast of Farnborough (London LOOP Part 11)”
Back two days from the Lakes, and I felt I ought to capitalise on any fitness that had crept up on me while I was in hillier parts, so the next section of the LOOP beckoned.
An uneventful journey back out to Coulsdon then saw me cross the railway and then the busy road to the bus shelter where I stopped last time. On consulting the map in the guidebook, it soon became clear that the route required me to cross the railway at this point, meaning I’d unnecessarily diced with the traffic. It also meant that if I’d carried on last time, I’d probably have gone wrong at this point and carried on up the road.
I retraced my steps and then walked through a residential area that brought me to the foot of Farthing Downs. Continue reading “The Zombie Promenade (London LOOP Part 10)”
I had a bad feeling about today when my apparently on time train was cancelled in the time that it took me to go from the ticket hall to the platform. I nearly turned around and went home, but struggled on although this delay now put me firmly in rush hour. I was glad I did as it was a great day to be out for a walk.
I alighted at Ewell West and spent a few moments getting my bearings, before heading off into town to pick up the path proper. Today was one of those days where I saw several London LOOP information boards, none of which were much use as they all covered the bit I’d just done. Continue reading “A Tale of Lavender and Conkers (London LOOP Part 9)”
Fulwell to Ewell West (12.6 miles)
Just my luck that the track at Wimbledon broke during the morning rush hour this morning, causing cancellations and delays all over the place. Even when I did get my train back out to Fulwell, it missed out a load of stops and then when we got to Kingston they announced that the train would terminate early – luckily at Fulwell. I’m glad I wasn’t going further.
It wasn’t long though before I was approaching the entrance to Bushy Park, and as I drew up to the gate thought I may have to run for my life in order to negotiate it. Continue reading “The Militant Walker (London LOOP Part 8)”
 West Drayton to Fulwell (14 miles)
For once my pre-walk faff with various electronic walk tracking devices worked smoothly and all that delayed me getting straight onto the trail from the station was the cup of tea I bought in the station newsagent. Even that didn’t take me long to get on the outside of, and I was shortly back on the canal.
People were newly arrived at work and it was quite peaceful. Moorhens were swimming about on the canal, doing whatever moorhens actually do. A couple of bikes sped past me, and that’s all there was to disturb the tranquility. I could happily walk like this all day. Continue reading “Planes, Cranes and Oxbow Lakes (London LOOP Part 7)”
Moor Park to West Drayton (14.74 miles)
I stepped out of Moor Park station to a slightly less oppressively hot day. Back down the wooded path alongside the tube line, some clear damage sustained since I last passed this way. Continue reading “Blackberries, Reptiles and Pointless Detours (London LOOP Part 6)”
Although there’s some controversy over who actually uttered this well-known quote, with people usually ascribing it to Winston Churchill or Mark Twain, the fact remains that hitting a small ball with a stick over a long distance to a small … Continue reading Tree Love and a Good Walk Spoiled ? (London LOOP Part 5)
The first proper day of an extended work break, and what do I do ? I do the morning commute anyway, as if nothing has changed. 7am sees me on my usual work train into London, taking a sadistic pleasure … Continue reading London from the Sidelines with the Grand Old Duke of York (London LOOP Part 4)
I stepped off the train, made a more than usually efficient job of the pre-walk faff, and retraced my steps to the edge of the Forest to pick up the trail, after a mere six months absence. Gawd, is it … Continue reading Scouts, Cuckolds and an Inappropriate Wild Camp (London Loop Part 3)
I love beer. It’s so liberating. It makes ideas that you’d never otherwise voice come to the fore and be shared with the world. I hate beer. It gets one into scrapes that one didn’t intend. And makes one look … Continue reading Dithering (London LOOP Part 2)
I stepped out from the front door and headed for the river. With 15 miles to walk, I decided that starting by walking in the opposite direction to pick up the riverside path the easy way wasn’t really the best idea, opting instead for a nondescript footpath between houses and a fence that should lead straight to the riverside. Continue reading “Asterix and the Defence of the Thames (London LOOP Part 1)”
