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Tubewalker: The Tube, on Foot

Metropolitan Line: Harrow-on-the-Hill to Uxbridge

Eastcote station
Eastcote station

I'm sorry to report that I've just finished my first uninteresting tubewalk, and I'm simply happy to be home. It wasn't a bad walk, by any means, but either I picked the dullest route possible from Harrow to Uxbridge, or this isn't a part of the capital that is particularly suited to long-distance walking. Yes, there were some pleasant spots, and I'm still glad I did it, but in the competition to answer the question 'What was your favourite part of the Tube?', I'm afraid the Uxbridge branch of the Metropolitan line won't be getting my vote.

Harrow-on-the-Hill to West Harrow

Bin day on Vaughan Road
Bin day on Vaughan Road

It's a short walk from Harrow-on-the-Hill to West Harrow, and a fairly urban one. Heading out of Harrow-on-the-Hill station, the A404 takes you to an underpass that goes under the A312, and which is best summed up by the fact that there are TV screens at all the entrances, showing what's going on at the exits. They weren't switched on when I walked through, as I assume they only put them on at night, but it's almost scarier walking into an underpass that has earned TV surveillance than walking into one in ignorance.

West Harrow to Rayners Lane

Fly tipping by the Piccadilly line
Fly tipping by the Piccadilly line

Not far from West Harrow station, along Wilson Gardens, is West Harrow Recreation Ground. It's a slightly functional park, with a lot of the open space given over to football, but parks are always welcome breathing spaces on a tubewalk, and this is no exception, particularly as it signals a noticeable drop in the standards of the suburbs: between here and Ruislip, things get slightly more faded and the paint peels a little more, though only in comparison to the delights of North Harrow and Pinner, which are just to the north. It's not nasty round here, just a little unloved.

Rayners Lane station
Rayners Lane station

Rayners Lane to Eastcote

Roxbourne Park
Roxbourne Park

As Rayners Lane is one of the more major stops on this tubewalk, I figured I'd try to buy a sandwich here, to eat in Roxbourne Park, just down the road. This was trickier than I thought it would be, as Rayners Lane boasts a KFC, a Subway, some corner shops that don't stoop to sandwiches, a pub, and nothing else obvious that's of use to the walker looking for lunch. I made the mistake of not bringing my own lunch a few days ago, and ended up wandering around North Harrow, looking for a sandwich, only to discover that the sole option was a range of 99p sandwiches in a local corner shop; they tasted absolutely repugnant, my ham and cheese salad sandwich being packed with something approaching space shuttle food. This time I braved the Subway, having never dared before, and compared to the 99p sandwich option, it wasn't at all bad; I'll remember that next time I'm caught out with no lunch in a sandwich desert.

Eastcote to Ruislip Manor

The impressive pavilion at the entrance to Cavendish Recreational Ground
The impressive pavilion at the entrance to Cavendish Recreational Ground

Heading south from the station along Field End Road, it's not long before you come across an impressive mock Tudor house on the right, with a drive that leads through to Cavendish Recreational Ground. The house, which I assume is a pavilion, overlooks another cricket pitch, and to the left of the boundary line the park opens up into Bessingby Park, with wide open playing fields and a path to the western entrance. Despite its size, the park feels a little hemmed in by the suburbs around, and feels more like two playing fields stuck together, than a manicured park (which is probably because that's exactly what it is).

Ruislip Manor to Ruislip

Ruislip station
Ruislip station

It's hardly any distance from Ruislip Manor to Ruislip, which makes you wonder why they bothered to build the former; Ruislip opened in 1904 and Ruislip Manor was added in 1912, an indication that Ruislip grew considerably in the meantime. When mapping out this walk, I tried to find a more interesting route between the two stations than simply following busy Pembroke Road from one to the other, but there's nothing particularly obvious in the area to break up this leg, and after walking it, I think I was probably right.

Ruislip to Ickenham

Ickenham
Ickenham is a charming place

Along Kingsend, the houses improve, switching from the faded suburbia of Eastcote to the detached and clearly expensive homes of the well-to-do. It doesn't last too long, though, as Ickenham Road provides another relatively uninteresting section along a busy B-road, past West Ruislip station (the western terminus of the Central line, which I will be visiting at a later date) and down into Ickenham itself.

Ickenham to Hillingdon

Yeading Brook
The Hillingdon Trail follows the Yeading Brook for a spell

From Ickenham, things improve, for a while at least, for this is where the Hillingdon Trail plies its trade. It starts in Cranford, to the south, and heads north to Springwell Lock, not far from Rickmansworth, and although I only joined it for a short section down to the manic A40, it was lovely. Sandwiched between green fields (which sport signs saying that this is private land, so no motorcycles please), the trail plods along a leafy country lane for a while, before reaching the Yeading Brook, which blocks your path. It looks as if there is a path straight ahead, over a bridge, but alas this is fenced at the end, so you have to make a choice: left or right.

The walkway to Hillingdon station
The walkway to Hillingdon station that takes you over the busy A40

Hillingdon to Uxbridge

Hillingdon Court Park
The wide open spaces and large trees of Hillingdon Court Park

I found the final stretch to Uxbridge deeply frustrating, perhaps because I spent ages trying to get round a large and stubbornly fenced-off RAF base, unable as I was to track down a right of way that was clearly marked on my Ordnance Survey map, but which seemed to be inaccessible from the road. Luckily, before that I enjoyed some quality time in Hillingdon Court Park, a large and luscious park with some massive trees and plenty of room to breathe, but perhaps it lulled me into a false sense of security, because it was just after leaving the park that things started to go wrong.

Uxbridge station
Uxbridge station