Skip to navigation

Tubewalker: The Tube, on Foot

Central Line: Perivale and Ealing Broadway to Shepherd's Bush

Hangar Lane station
Hangar Lane station

Apart from one thankless section through an industrial park from hell, this is a pleasant walk through west London, and I'd do it again. Sure, the busy A40 is a recurring and not terribly welcome companion, and it's always irritating for walkers to have to shuffle through golf courses that would make for wonderful urban parks, but I particularly enjoyed discovering parts of Ealing and Acton that I had no idea existed, and as I currently live in the former, I'm happy to say that it's opened up my horizons.

Perivale to Hanger Lane

St Mary's Perivale Church
St Mary's Perivale Church

Heading south from Perivale station, it's a short walk to a pedestrian bridge over the throbbing A40, but fear not, for just off Perivale Lane is an entrance into a long, thin path that takes you through Ealing Golf Course and into Perivale Park. It's a shame that you don't get anything other than snatched glimpses of the golf course, but there's still enough to entertain, including the lovely St Mary's Perivale Church just off the path, complete with graveyard. This small 70-person church dates back to about 1135, and the current 12th-century building is a Grade I-listed structure that's been transformed by the Friends of St Mary's Perivale into a lively music and arts centre.

Brentham Garden Suburb
Brentham Garden Suburb

Hanger Lane to North Acton

Diageo Headquarters
Diageo Headquarters

It's a relief to get away from the insane traffic of the gyratory and into the housing along Twyford Abbey Road, but don't be fooled by the pleasant-sounding road name, for this leg is pretty drab. The first section along Coronation Road and past the imposing Diageo Headquarters is OK, with a combined cycle track and walkway taking you through corporate gardens to the foot of the brewer's glass and stone offices, but it's downhill from here, especially as the old Guinness Brewery that used to sit next door has been razed to the ground.

Ealing Broadway to West Acton

Hanger Hill Garden Estate
Hanger Hill Garden Estate

I took the Tube from North Acton back to Ealing Broadway so I could head east without further backtracking, and stepping out of the station into the sunlight, I had to stop myself from turning left and walking home, following the commute I've been doing for months. Instead I turned right and brushed past Haven Green, a pleasant bit of green in the chaos of central Ealing that kindly provides a home to the local drunks.

West Acton station
West Acton station

West Acton to North Acton

North Acton station
North Acton station

This is a popular area with the Japanese, as there's a Japanese school nearby, and the evidence can be seen around the station, where you can find two Japan-friendly estate agents and at least one Japanese restaurant and a nearby Japanese school. They've picked well, because this is a very pleasant area, and although it's not quite as perfect as the Hanger Hill Garden Estate, the locals clearly take pride in the houses along Noel Road.

North Acton to East Acton

The suburbs of east Acton
The suburbs of east Acton

It isn't far from North Acton to the A40 – nothing is very far from the A40 on this leg, it seems – and again the theme is one of large industrial units. The Carphone Warehouse Headquarters continues through to Wales Farm Road, where there's a great-looking pub, The Castle, and a row of houses with well-tended gardens, perhaps designed as an antidote to the rush of oncoming traffic. Over the road is where the BBC used to store its costume and wig collection, though the costumes were sold to Angels and Bermans in March of this year, and the hairpiece collection went off to the Wig Store; given that the Corporation spent 50 years building up about one million outfits and 10,000 hairpieces, it must have been some collection.

East Acton station
East Acton station

East Acton to White City

Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs

OK, here's a quick test. Think, if you will, of 'Acton'. And now, think of 'Wormwood Scrubs'. Are you full of happy, positive thoughts, or are you thinking of the darker side of urban living? I was pretty down on both places before I tackled this section, but now I'm proud to say that Acton and Wormwood Scrubs are both great places (though when I say 'Acton', I mean northern Acton, rather than the much grimmer South Acton Estate... and when I say 'Wormwood Scrubs', I mean the large green area, rather than the prison; but you catch my drift).

BBC White City
BBC White City

White City to Shepherd's Bush

Westfield London
Westfield London

Just opposite White City station is the iconic BBC Television Centre, home to most of the BBC's television output. The building was officially opened in 1960, but the glass entrance is much more modern, as the original was destroyed by a car bomb on (a bomb that I heard go off in the early hours of Sunday morning while lying in my bed in Chiswick). It's a great building, though the BBC is planning to move out of the building in 2012, so it will be interesting to see what happens to it then.