Start: Car Park at Cranford Park, London, TW5 9RZ
Finish: Bushy Park car park, near Diana Fountain, Hampton Wick, Molesey, East Molesey, KT8 9BZ
Distance: 17.5k (10.9 miles)
Elevation change: +60m / -79m. Net -19m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Hillingdon Trail, River Crane Walk
Other routes touched (cycle): N/A
Pubs / Cafes on route: The Pheasantry, Bushy Park (TW11 0EW)
Map: OS Explorer Map (173) London North, The City, West End, Enfield, Ealing, Harrow & Watford
and OS Explorer Map (161) London South, Westminster, Greenwich, Croydon, Esher & Twickenham
Guidebook: The London Loop: Recreational Path Guide
Links: London Loop, River Crane, Cranford Park, Hounslow Heath, Bushy Park

For this walk we picked up the London Loop where we finished the Hillingdon Trail at Cranford Park. Up to this point we had covered the Loop all the way from South Oxhey on a combination of several other routes through the Colne Valley. This section is simple if you do a 2-car combo like we did, but a bit more difficult if relying on public transport. We were able to use the free car parks in both Cranford Park and Bushy Park. For a public transport variant you can start at the south end of Cranford Park where there’s a bus service to Bushy.

Once out of Cranford Park, the route gets busier, noisier and less pleasant for a while as you navigate around the east side of Heathrow Airport. When you reach the A30 at the south-east corner of the airport, the route takes you on a long diversion east up to The Parkway. This is the safer option than the much more direct crossing of the dual carriageway. We were there on a quiet Sunday morning and chose to cross the A30 instead. Be very careful if you do this too.

Once out of Heathrow the route meanders south east following the River Crane. Quiet, pleasant parkland of Hounslow Heath and Crane Park are interspersed with west-London residential streets. Eventually you’ll reach Bushy Park where it all gets very pleasant again. The route takes you along the Longford River and through the Woodland Gardens to our finishing spot at the car park next to the Diana Fountains.