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Tubewalker: The Tube, on Foot

Metropolitan Line: Finchley Road to Wembley Park

The stylish Waitrose block next to Finchley Road station
The stylish Waitrose block next to Finchley Road station

I've never been much of a morning person, to be honest. I'd much rather roll over and bury my head in the duvet than get up and see the sun rise, but if there's one thing I've learned about long-distance walking, it's that you have to get up early to get the miles in. Or, to be more accurate, you do if you're biting off as much as you can chew; when I walked across Britain I would get up as early as the breakfast part of bed and breakfast would allow, and when you're camping on the trail, getting up is often a blessed relief. But this walk is different, and it's a distinct pleasure; I've been getting up at 7am for the last couple of years (and I was getting up even earlier than that when I worked for a boss who once told me that Monday mornings were her favourite part of the week), but now I'm master of the clock, I get up when it suits me, and when you've only got seven miles to walk in a day, that's not very early at all.

Finchley Road to Wembley Park

A Finchley Road mansion block
A Finchley Road mansion block

But I digress, because today's real story is the weather. It's glorious: summer has finally arrived, though traces of yesterday's heavy rain are all around. The grass squelches a bit and you don't want to brush past any bushes, but compared to Monday's drizzle this is dream walking weather.

Hampstead Cemetery
Hampstead Cemetery
Image from Finchley Road to Wembley Park
A sign saying 'Shopping Centre' with lots of letters missing
This way to the S o Ce e...
Brent Cross Shopping Centre
Brent Cross Shopping Centre
Shopping trolleys
Shopping trolleys trying to hide
Welsh Harp Open Space
Welsh Harp Open Space
A block of flats in the Chalkhill Estate
Some of the more colourful modern additions to the Chalkhill Estate