London Loop Sections 12 and 13

 

Sometimes, walking the London Loop can be a very pleasant experience. At other times, you're wondering if you're going to make it to the end without sustaining injury.

Thus was the case for this walk. It was a dry Wednesday in April, sure, but for large parts of Section 13, it might as well have been a wet day in November.

Section 12 mostly operates alongside the Grand Union Canal, and I was able to walk it faster than the man driving the red canal boat could get along it, even before he had to stop at the various locks. It's no wonder that the railways very much did for the commercial canal business in this country. Indeed, you can see the under construction HS2 as you go along this route, along with the Chiltern line.

After lunch at the Coy Carp pub in West Harefield, the only eatery open on that route, I continued onto Section 13 and once I got around halfway, reaching Bishop's Wood Country Park. things got bad. Very bad.

At several points, I nearly fell over, and the mud would have been on more than my trousers. I have flagged this with the Inner London Ramblers, who "run" the Loop as the word "hazardous" is valid at several points.

Anyway, I plan to do Section 14 at least next month. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as parts of Section 13.