Colne Valley walk

Thur 21 December

H woke up with a cough and fever so we left her in the hotel for the day so that she could rest and stay away from the cold.

We took U4 to Uxbridge station and took off to the Colne Valley London loop walk from Oxford Street onto the trail head.The trail was fairly straight forward with a couple of crossing so that we could stick to the Grand Union Canal. Our aim was to reach the end of the trail some 8km north at Copper Mill Lane and bus back to Uxbridge Station from Shelley Lane.

The walk was flat and consistantly flanked the canal. We passed by the Denham Lock and a couple of locks where it was actively being used for the barges moving up and down canal.

Between pockets of mooring areas, the section in between were desolate, mucky and at a couple of times overgrown with hanging bushes that was freshly hacked down to provide a clear path for bikes. Afterall, it was the london loop, Hillingdon trail and Cycle path 61, an insection for many different trails.

It was a grey day and some scenes were right out of a horror movie, with mist hanging just over the water. There was two of us so it was not as ghostly as it would be.

There were many selfie moments, a point we did at every bridge, eerie or not.  Some sections were , like the English say it, charming. Water fowls, ducks, mandarins and wild life were abundant along the canal walk; there was never a dull moment regardless of the grey weather.

We stumbled upon a couple of bed and breakfasts, a bear cafe and even leftover banners that protested on environmental damage, a total oxymoron.

Some 2 odd hours, we emerged from Copper Mill Lane after oogling at the massive, elegant backyards of houses. A steep assent to Shelley Lane, we boarded U9 upon the advice of a helpful man  to Uxbridge station.

We spent as much time at Uxbridge town center as we did for the walk. From an unremarkable lunch at Five Guys to a nice tea break at Costa, we shopped at 3 sports shop in between stocking up on running gears and accessories.

We caught U4 back to Hayes and Harlington Statio again, and was back in 30 minutes.  Thankfully, H seemed to have got better. We sent the laundry to the laundry room and had dinner at the 2 months old cafe while we waited. Dinner wasn't cheap but it provided some sort of 'outing' for H who hasbeen 'home bound' for the day. I liked my chilli pulled pork and H enjoyed her lamb mousakka. But it was Pat's chicken escalope that got him nodding in approval.

Tummies fed, laundry done and we were back to the hotel room for our favorite documentary shows. What a great way to end the day!