I woke up to a fight morning, but the weather people were promising sunny weather, so I would keep the momentum going, Hatton Cross to Uxbridge which is 11 miles. By the time I had parked up in Uxbridge the air was still chilly but blue sky was starting to be visible through the now low clouds.
I missed a 222 but they run every 7 minutes so it was not long before another one came along. I decided to shave 10 minutes off the loop by skipping half a mile of the loop to save having to change busses. When I got off the bus I must have got my map up the wrong way because I crossed the road and walked to where it crosses the LOOP. At the zebra crossing I noticed a lady and two boys, she was carrying the same print out I had in my back pocket for the sections I was doing that day, I wished them luck with it but i’m not sure they made the connection. They were however the first people I had seen who were without doubt doing the loop (or part of), other people I have seen may have been but without asking I will never know.
Once on the path I crossed a park then I had to cross a road at the end of a housing estate, the rubbish at the side on the bend in the road was awful the worst I had seen so far on the walk, it was on Cranford lane. I followed the river for a mile or two and came across a church which was almost smothered by the M40 which I passed under and about 500 metres further on the path turned left at 90 degrees and follows the Grand Union Canal for a couple of miles as it edges through the industrial area of Hayes.
I left the canal and the path took me through a business park then across the edge of Stockley Park golf club across a dual carriage way and across Stockley park itself. Eventually dropping me out on a business park on the edge of Yiewsley. I decided a coffee was in order so my eyes were on alert. I spotted a Tesla showroom and ditched the coffee idea for a look at the cars inside.
The sales man was a friendly chap even when I explained that I was far from being a customer. He answered all my questions and we chatted about how Elon Musk was really just a battery manufacturer. he invited me to have a sit in the cars and encouraged me to play with the massive touch screen that they have in the centre console. Finally he offered to get me a coffee from the fancy machine they had, thus saving me a couple of quid. I thanked him and set off again and was soon dumped back on the canal towpath, where I spotted my second lift boot converted to a canal boat with living accommodation, I had previously seen one on the Thames river bank.
I was feeling a bit peckish so when I passed a large Tesco on the side of the canal I popped in and got a sandwich and a bottle of water, then where the path takes a left at Packet Boat Marina near Little Britain I stopped at a handy bench and consumed them. Soon after the path leaves the canal and head north following the Colne river leaving the Slough arm of the Grand Union to go West. I carried on the Grand Union for a while before realising I had missed the turn, however I was able to se two instances where the canal was bridged over a couple of rivers.
The Colne river passes through an area with lakes and I saw plenty of wild life and not many people. I saw both a Heron and Little Egret both in a tree which is not usual to see before roosting time in the evening. The path follows the river round the industrial estate on the west side of Uxbridge and ten joins the Grand Union again for the last couple of miles. I did not take the first opportunity to get back to the car but took the next left so that I reduced the length of the next section to Moor Park. It looks like it will be mainly on the Grand Union.