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Metropolitan Line: Moor Park to Chorleywood

A pond on Chorleywood Common
A pond on Chorleywood Common

Today I didn't walk alone, sharing the short hop from Moor Park to Chorleywood with my mate Neal, who lives in Beaconsfield and therefore constitutes the closest thing to a local that I can muster. Sadly he wasn't able to enjoy the wall-to-wall blue skies I've been walking under for the last few days – the theme for today was only sunny intervals – but at least the rain that's approaching from the west held off, and when you're travelling light and don't have umpteen layers in your backpack, keeping dry is a pretty major objective.

Moor Park to Rickmansworth

The suburbs near Moor Park
The suburbs near Moor Park

I was thankful early on for Neal's company, as without him I'm not sure I'd have had the nerve to tackle the walk's first hurdle. Leaving Moor Park station, we wandered past the friendly estate agents, along the small road that doubles as Moor Park's shopping precinct, and past the large houses that line Main Avenue, and I told Neal about the last time I'd been walking in this area, on my tubewalk from Wembley Park to North Harrow. One of the things that stuck in my mind was the western end of Sandy Lodge Road, where there was a manned booth at the entrance to a private estate, and there was absolutely no question of non-residents being able to poke their noses in and have a good look around... and then, just as Neal was describing his own experience of driving through a private estate in the area, a sign appeared round the corner saying that the road I'd planned to walk down was private and closed to through traffic.

Moor Park Mansion
Moor Park Mansion
A path in Moor Park Golf Course
Approaching Rickmansworth on the right of way through Moor Park Golf Course
Image from Moor Park to Chorleywood

Rickmansworth to Chorleywood

Underneath the M25
Underneath the M25

The suburbs of Rickmansworth stretch a long way to the west, and after a short section of A-road, we dived right in. It's not an unpleasant place, is Rickmansworth, and there are some good-sized houses along Meadow Way and Highfield Way. The mix of architecture is intriguing, especially on the further reaches of Highfield Way, where the houses are a mishmash of sixties, seventies and more modern, as if the estate started out with larger gardens which have since been sold off for more development.

Christ Church from Chorleywood Common
Christ Church from Chorleywood Common