Thursday 14 December
I spent the wee hours of the day waiting to sight the Geminids Meteor Shower from the comfort of my sofa. The apartment has a roof window directly above the sofa which was an accidental bonus. The window was not huge but it was big enough for me to realize that the constellation looking at me was the Big Dipper. As a bonus, I spotted 3 streaks of the meteor across the sky. What more can I ask for?
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| Trail head at Moat Mount, 1km opposite The Fairway Bus stop |
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| Frozen mud path |
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| I decided to forgo the adventure campsite |
We set off for our trail head from Colindale Adsa bus terminal. Bus 292 took us through Burnt Oak and Edgeware area before alighting us at The Fairway Stop F, one stop after Apex Corner Stop E. From Fairway stop, we crossed the Barnet Way highway via the underpass and walked northwards to Moat mount Park.
It was already 9.45am, a late start where time is concerned but the low sun and crisp air, azure skies and frigid wind made the walk look promising.
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| Black and white ice? Tough going |
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| Oak leaves everywhere! |
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| Narrow and windy path |
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| Follow the signs! |
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| After the snow storm comes the sun |
The trail head started from the Moat Mount carpark. We stuck to the Dollis Valley London Loop as much as we could. It was a muddy, icy start but mud soon became a oak paved trail with bald knobbly oak trees standing like sentinels for the first 30 minutes or so. The dappled forest floor and the sun streaked trail; it was one of the most beautiful walks on this trip!
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| Choices |
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| Soggy walk |
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| London loop |
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| Endless path to 'nowhere' |
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| When path gets to nowhere, it is time to re-evaluate |
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| End of the walk at Barnet |
Out of Moat Mount, we went south to continue the London Loop at the Totteridge Field. Dollis Brook was constantly flanking us either left or right and the open greens was slushy with icy mud. Until Quinta Open space, we made very slow progress and never met a single soul. Fresh bike tracks left a continuous muddy trail and when the London Loop sign is not visible, we traipse along it hoping we were on the right track.
By the 2 hour mark when we were north of the Grange playing fields, we bade goodbye to our Loop walk. At Conaught Drive, we headed to High Barnet Station via Mays Lane. It was a tedious uphill walk but thankfully with my trusty pole, I tackled the walk with little complaint. This section of civilization was gentrified with ice posh houses and porches.
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| Pub grub |
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| Not as great as it sounds |
We rewarded ourselves with a sumptous meal at Stonehouse Pizza place. I had a roast and salad bar lunch, my favorite being the 3 helpings of mashed peas. I would have stuffed mself with more if my stomach was bottomless.
At Union Rd, we realized we had missed the bus to Burnt Oak and hopped up 107 heading to Edgeware. It was a very slow but scenic ride, with many opportunities to see the rolling vales from the upper deck. At edgeware, we transfered to 292 where put us back at Colindale Asda.
H was joining us for dinner for the first time so we put our creative juices to good use and shopped for lamb stew stuff. It was the gigantic store and had everything we loved. It would be lovely to live across the road and enjoy the marketing everyday.
H came after wrapping her lab experiments in UCL. It was lots of stew but we ate in silence, bushed by the exhausting walk in the day.
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