Wednesday 13 December
I had a persistant bout of jetlag and woke up numerous times in the night. To resolve this issue, I ordered Pat to start the walk earlier by an hour. Rain was predicted by noon and we should make hay while the sun shines.
I shaved off 2 km of the walk by taking a train from Colindale to Hendon Central. This was our second time at Hendon and it was an easy walk downhill along Bell Ln until we reached the Dollis Valley trail head just near the highway.
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| Trail head to Ally Paddy, as the locals call the Palace |
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| Reluctant hiker on the Dollis Valley Greenwalk |
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| Then onward to part of the London Ring |
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| Park where the Mutton Brook flows |
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| Choices, choices |
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| A saner walk with no ice or snow on Northway Gardens |
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| Out to the A1 |
Dollis isn't a famous walk but one that locals know as a connection to Finchley east. The road was partly muddy, made worse by the intermittent drizzle. Anything was better than frozen mud and black ice.
Even so, my pace was slow probably due to fatique from walking for 4 days straight. Dollis Valley walk beside Mutton Brook became Capital Ring walk after Addison Way. At Keren's nursery, we joined A1 highway and then Archway Rd until we enter Highgate Woods and rejoined Capital Ring Walk in the woods. We concluded the Capital ring walk when we emerged near the Cherry Preschool.
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| At long last, we made the detour to the Woods |
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| Well visited. We saw so many families with kids and even more with dogs |
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| Trail head to Parkland Walk North, an unscheduled bypass |
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| Add caption |
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| Easy section of the Parkland |
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| Before it gave way to ice |
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| The local ramblers made light job walking on the ice |
The inital plans to walk on the boring section of Cranley Gardens was ditched when we noticed an unnamed walk from an old disused train railway track like our Green Coridoor in SG.
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| London below the Parkland Walk |
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| Our favourite vantage point. Mr G has eyes only on the plains that he wasn't looking at us |
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| Unexpected reward looking out from Parkland Walk North |
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| End of Parkland Walk |
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| The last bit towards Ally Pally |
By now, it was icy and muddy but dogs on their walks had a field day. Towards the end of this railway trail before A504 we came upon one of the most stunning vantage points in London. The flat plains of London laid before us below our feet and for once in the 3 hours, I thought our effort was all worth it. I later found out that this old disused railway trail is Parkland Walk North. This was my favourite section of the walk.
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| Ally Pally park |
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| Ally Pally, a quite unhappening place in winter |
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| Views seen from BBC at Ally Pally. This scene was used in the BBC drama |
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| Ally Pally |
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| Picnic grounds in front of Ally Pally |
Enter us then into Alexandra Palace after crossing Muswell Hill, which is an entertainment center on one of the highest point overlooking London. The views were also superb and I could imagine picnicing on the greens on a nice summer day and then going for a concert at the Palace in the evening. As a reward, we sat there in the terrible cold, taking in the scenery.
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| Alexandra Palace Station |
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| UK Nandos food is better than I thought |
Drizzle resumed and we continued on our walk. Now in the 4th hour, I could only think of rest for my weary feet and a place for warm food. We walked down east of the Palace on South Terrace, crossing over the railway statio and then heading to Wood Green station. We had a lovely lunch at Nandos, opposite the underground station. It was the earliest lunch for a long time, at 12.30pm.
Our walk has officially ended for the day and then it was time to take a rest back in our apartment.
We had a date with kiddo at Flat Iron at Denmark Street in the evening. It would be our second time seeing her and playing catchup.
We meet at Flat Iron Denmark St. We did not have to wait for long before we got a seat. The steak was 'tiny' but succulent and tender with right amount of smoky flavor. H's burger was also impressive, big on flavor and size.
H walked us to Warren St where we parted with her. She headed back to her lab and us back to Colindale. It was a lot of walking but the good food and chirpiness of kiddo sort of superceded everything. The night though chilly didn't feel terribly cold after that.
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