Puerto Rico is an unlikely place to go to if you live in the UK. There’s no direct flights and the connections via the US are a pain in the arse. If you want to go to the Caribbean there’s many other places to go to first. I was fortunate enough to have a work trip there. It may have taken more time travelling than I spent there but the work was good and it gave me a very small glimpse of the Capital.

I arrived a day before the meeting with a spinning head full of jet lag and work thoughts. I needed a break and headed out to see the Old Town. I was staying at La Concha, a hotel on Condado over the bridge from Isleta de San Juan. Checking out the route on Google Maps I assumed it would be a pleasant walk from the hotel to the Old Town. I’m not sure about pleasant but it was certainly interesting.

The first stop over the bridge was San Geronimo Fort. It appeared abandoned but the gates were open so I wandered in. A couple of minutes later a man came out of a hut and spoke to me in Spanish. I assumed he was a security guard shooing me away but he turned out to be quite welcoming. He just wanted me to be careful as it was raining and slippery. In many other islands this would have been a well kept tourist attraction. This was my first experience of a city very much feeling the impact of economic decline and the devastating effects of the 2017 hurricane.

Moving on towards the Old Town, the hurricane’s effects became even clearer as I reached Parque del Tercer Milenio. In what should have been a busy recreational spot, there was literally no one around for a full 10 minutes. It had a real 28 Days Later feel about it. Loads of cars were parked up but no people. Buildings that should have been busy were abandoned and decaying.

The first person I saw was a homeless guy coming out of a beach changing hut. He started staggering in my general direction. This didn’t help with the zombie movie feel and I had a minor internal freak out so started walking more quickly. After a couple more similar encounters I moved off the beach path and onto the sidewalk next to the main road. Here there was another homeless guy walking towards me down the middle of the busy road.

Despite the ever-increasing feeling that I should have taken a taxi to the Old Town, I was glad I walked there. It gave me a very real view of a city struggling to get back on its feet. The homeless guys weren’t dangerous, just out of options.

By the time I reached Castillo de San Cristóbal I’d crossed a line into the Old Town and into a very different feeling. This was the boundary of the Spanish-era city walls and the furthest point that most cruise tourists visit. This was UNESCO-town with all the investment in repairs to keep the tourists coming back.

After waiting 10 mins for a dithering group of tourists to work out how to count themselves I decided to leave the Castillo and come back later. Instead I continued West along to the top of the fortifications. I passed La Perla community, some great street art and Santa María Magdalena de Pazzi cemetery along the way. Having a tour guide or at least a book would have been great. This was a whistle-stop lone walkabout so I had to make do with great views but no historical context.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro San Juan is at the end of the island. With no dithering cruise groups to block my entrance, I had a look around. By now time was ticking on and I needed to start heading back. My final hour was a meander through the beautiful streets of the Old Town with a couple of diversions to Puerta De San Juan and Iglesia San José, finally returning to Castillo de San Cristóbal. By now the cruisers had sorted themselves out and I had a clear run at getting in.

Both Castillos are managed by the US National Park Service and are well maintained with interesting information panels. They also both have great views of the city from the tops of the fortifications. By the time I got to the top of San Cristobal my jet-lag kicked in and all I could think about was getting a taxi back to the hotel.

I would have loved more time in the city and even more to explore the island. I'd checked out Cerro de Punta, the Island High Point, but that would have been a whole day trip. Its tough to be disappointed though as a unexpected trip to San Juan was still a great experience. My main memory is having talked to some of the locals about their experience of living through the after effects of the storm. They're a hardy and friendly bunch and I'm glad to have met a few of them.

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Richard gower16 November 2018Trek, Coast, Puerto Rico, USAComment

Cycling The Maidenhead Boundary

Start/Finish: Ockwells Park, Maidenhead SL6 3YX
Distance: 23.3 km (14.5 miles)
Elevation Change: +/- 209m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (Cycle): NCN 4, 50
Other Routes Touched (Walk): Thames Path, Chiltern Way Berkshire Loop, Green Way West,
Map: OS Explorer Map (172) Chiltern Hills East and OS Explorer Map (160) Windsor, Weybridge & Bracknell
Links: http://boundarywalk.org.uk/, Boundary Walk Route PDF with detailed instructions
- National Trust Maidenhead & Cookham Commons, National Trust Brick and Tile Works

The Maidenhead Boundary Walk is a well signposted route around my hometown. In my not-so-adventurous days growing up there I remember the annual charity walk passing near my home and thinking “why would anyone want to walk all that way?”. Nowadays 15 miles is well within “Short micro-adventure” territory and I was keen to cycle it as soon as I saw the route mapped on RideWithGPS.

Although its obviously designed as a walk, its very cycle-friendly with only 1 section on the Thames Path that’s not for cycling (see below). The rest is mostly quiet roads and bridleways with a few kissing gates thrown in, but large enough to get your bike through. The off-road parts can get muddy so take a Mountain Bike.

The charity walk starts at Boulters Lock, however I chose Ockwells Park as a better start and end point. This has easy access from the M4, free parking and a cafe with toilets. Its also the mid-point of the Southern section of the route. From here head West following small roads and a path to the Shire Horse pub at the A4.

The western section heads North through National Trust land, passing through Maidenhead Thicket, Pinkneys Green and the old Brick and Tile Works. This is the highest point on the route at 85m. From here the route descends toward the Thames with views of Cliveden to the East and Windsor Castle to the South-East. The whole of the Eastern section follows the Thames Path, crossing over from the West Bank to the East Bank at the A4 Maidenhead Road Crossing. You’ll cross back over the Thames on the noisy M4 crossing at Dorney Reach.

Back on the Southern section, the route passes through Bray, Braywick and Maidenhead Golf Course before crossing over the A404M footbridge and returning to Ockwells Park.

This was a really pleasant couple of hours cycling for an Autumn Sunday afternoon

Below: location of the recommended start point at Ockwells Park

elevation_profile - Maidenhead Boundary Walk.jpg

Cycle Diversion

The only section that doesn’t allow cycling was at KM 14 where Islet Road becomes a footpath to the Thames. I got off and pushed, however if you want to stay on your bike, just keep on the A4094 Lower Cookham Road and don’t take the left turn onto Islet Road. I recommend sticking to the route and taking the short walk along the Thames for some nice views.

Take lower Cookham Road to avoid cycle ban on Thames Path

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Richard gower11 November 2018Cycle, NCN, Thames, National Trust, Berkshire, EnglandComment

Completing all Surrey parkruns

There are currently 12 parkrun events in present-day Surrey. The first was Banstead Woods which started on June 16th 2007 and the newest is Broadwater which started on September 18th 2021.

The Historic County of Surrey has a further 17 events, totaling 30. These 17 are now part of Greater London. Hazelwood is the interesting one having been in both Historic Surrey and Middlesex and is within the M25 but outside Greater London. Part of the Riddlesdown course, including the finish is in Surrey, although the start is in Greater London, so it’s classified as a LonDone event. Both Bethlem Royal Hospital and Crystal Palace cross the Surrey/Kent border but are mostly in Historic Kent.

I first completed the county on November 10th 2018 at Cranleigh.

The interactive maps below take you to the approximate location for the course, typically the centre of the park. See the course instructions in the parkrun page for each event for specific directions to the start. Course maps show the route at the time that I ran it and may have changed since then.

parkruns in present-day County of Surrey

Banstead Woods

I completed this event on: January 9th 2016 with a finish time of: 25:56
Other routes touched (walk): N/A, but the Eastern edge runs close to a parallel to the Banstead Countryside Walk
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/banstead
This event is also part of LonDone +
Inaugural: June 16th 2007

route-28890236-map-full - Banstead Woods.png

Broadwater

I completed this event on: February 5th 2022 with a finish time of: 25:50
Other routes touched: None
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/broadwater
Inaugural: September 18th 2021

Brooklands

I completed this event on: December 29th 2018 with a finish time of: 27:01
Other routes touched: N/A
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/brooklands
This event is also part of LonDone +
Inaugural: November 17th 2018

Cranleigh

I completed this event on: November 10th 2018 with a finish time of: 26:45
Other routes touched (cycle): N/A, although NCN 223 passes by the car-park
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/cranleigh
Inaugural: October 4th 2014

Frimley Lodge

I completed this event on: March 5th 2016 with a finish time of: 25:33
Other routes touched (walk): Basingstoke Canal Towpath
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/frimleylodge
Inaugural: February 13th 2010

route-28890262-map-full - Frimley Lodge.png — Note that the course has changed since I completed it.

Guildford

I completed this event on: February 13th 2016 with a finish time of: 25:43
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 223
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/guildford
Inaugural: March 10th 2012

Hazelwood

I completed this event on: April 7th 2018 with a finish time of: 25:40
Other routes touched: N/A
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/hazelwood
This event is also part of LonDone + and Middlesex parkrun
Inaugural: March 17th 2018

Homewood

I completed this event on: May 20th 2017 with a finish time of: 27:25
Other routes touched: N/A
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/homewood
This event is also part of LonDone ++
Inaugural: October 15th 2016

Mole Valley

I completed this event on: October 27th 2018 with a finish time of: 28:38
Other routes touched (walk): Mole Gap Trail, Ranmore Circular
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/molevalley
This event is also part of LonDone ++
Inaugural: March 17th 2018

Nonsuch

I completed this event on: December 19th 2015 with a finish time of: 25:52
Other routes touched (walk): London Loop
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/nonsuch
This event is also part of LonDone +
Inaugural: September 17th 2011

Reigate Priory

I completed this event on: January 16th 2016 with a finish time of: 26:49
Other routes touched (walk): Greensand Way, Reigate and Banstead Millennium Trail
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/reigatepriory
This event is also part of LonDone +
Inaugural: March 2nd 2014

BONUS: Riddlesdown

See the LonDone post for location map, elevation, finish time and link

This one’s in the Greater London parkrun region and the Historic county of Surrey but also touches on the present-day county of Surrey. The start is just on the London side of the border with the finish in Surrey

Woking

I completed this event on: December 12th 2015 with a finish time of: 24:57
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 223
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/woking
Inaugural: August 16th 2014

Actual course outlines for the parkrun events in present-day Surrey.

parkruns in Historic County of Surrey but now IN Greater London

See the LonDone blog post for maps and stats for these:

* The Bethlem Royal Hospital Crystal Palace courses are partly in Historic Surrey and mostly in Historic Kent

Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire

Significance: Highest peak in Mauritius
Elevation: 828m
Date climbed: 11th October 2018
Coordinates: 20° 24' 32'' S, 57° 24' 29'' E
Route Start / End: out and back from lay-by on Plaine Champagne Road, just west of Gorges Viewpoint Parking
Route Distance: 6.7 km (4.3 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 241m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee

Piton de la Riveire Petite Noire is the highest mountain in the country. There was an option of walking there from our hotel, approaching from the South-West. Instead, taking advantage of our rental car, we drove to the more popular start near the Black River Gorges Car Park. The best option is to park in the lay-by West of the Car Park, starting you much closer to the trail.

The trail is very easy to follow and very little chance of going wrong. Much of it cuts through dense trees with a few gaps to see the view. For most of the route its not particularly steep either. The main hazard is the combination of mud and tree roots. We went on a dry day following a few days of rain and it was fine. It would be a lot trickier under much wetter conditions.

The final 10 minutes is much steeper although there are ropes in places to help you up. One rope was tied to a tree that had fallen over and I wasn't completely confident that it was anchored properly. It held fine and we were up to the top in no time. This would only part where you would need a guide for safety reasons. Even so, compared with the trickier parts of many UK mountains, it's pretty straight-forward.

The summit rewards you with amazing 360° views over the South of the island. Le Morne Mountain to the South-East is particularly enticing from the angle. It was here that we decided to climb that one too a few days later.

On the descent, following the same route, we counted up how many people we had passed on the trail. For the full walk there were 25 people in 10 groups of which only 3 groups had a guide. Having tested the route for myself I can't see any reason to use a guide unless you're really inexperienced or the guide has amazing stories to tell along the way.

map below: Trailhead at Gorges Viewpoint Parking

Le Morne Mountain

Elevation: 556m
Date climbed: 13th October 2018
Coordinates: 20° 27' 10 S, 57° 18' 60 E
Route Start / End: out and back from parking at Le Morne Trail Entrance on the south of the peninsula
Route Distance: 7.3 km (4.5 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 560m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee

Inspired by our easy conquest of the country high-point, we set off for Morne Mountain 2 days later. This was the walk where most articles suggested that having a guide was either mandatory or highly recommended. The 2 reasons for this are the steepness of some sections and that some of the route goes through private property. Taking the advice of the couple we'd met in the hotel earlier in the week we decided to try it ourselves.

Parking for the walk is easy to find on the South Side of the Morne Peninsular. You need to sign in at the control booth by the gate. There were a couple of employees in the booth but neither seemed bothered about either checking or helping people.

From the trail-head the first 3 km is a gradual easy ascent on wide paths. This takes you to a fence and a gate which marks the entrance to the private area. I'd read stories of people either being turned away or charged an entrance fee for going past this point. On the day we went the gate was open and no-one was around so we passed straight through. This is a good point to make a decision whether to attempt the full climb or call it a day. From here you can see the steep part and several people we spoke to had decided they weren't fit or brave enough to go further.

A few minutes past the gate you'll reach the Chimney. This is a steep high-sided section that's the hardest part of the route. Normally there's ropes on either side but these had been removed for maintenance. There's lots of rocks and routes to hold on to though and we found it easy to help each other up. I definitely would not have attempted this on a wet day as the descent through it would be treacherous.

Even if it wasn’t for the sharp edges, this is not a route to rush through. There’s an amazing view out of every angle. On a clear day like the one we had you can see for miles and get a great perspective on the underwater waterfall next to the peninsula.

The walking route ends by a big metal cross. The actual summit can only be accessed with climbing gear and proper experience. We had neither but it’s hard to be disappointed with a finish as spectacular as this. The Cross was rammed with people queuing for the best selfie positions. We found a quiet rock, waited patiently for our turn whilst taking a breather, then started our descent.

We took our time on the way down as we negotiated the tricky parts of the chimney. We were thankful that we didn’t take a guide so that we could have the walk to ourselves. Observing some of the other trekkers on the way up though, it was clear that some people should have taken a guide. Some were clearly not fit enough, others poorly dressed, one was carrying a baby and some had no water with them. If all a guide did was tell them to be better prepared, then there’s definitely a reason to use them.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not certainly against guides in general. They play an important part of the local travel economy, especially in developing countries. I had some amazing experiences with guides on Kilimanjaro, the Inca Trail and the Balkans. In these trips the guides kept us safe, informed us on local history and were great ambassadors for their countries. My problem is with companies, like the one I battled with in Mauritius. They try to exploit tourists with “mandatory" guides for simple trips like Piton de la Riveire Petite Noire. We were happy to save the money this time and spend it on bigger tips for locals who really deserved it.

Far from being just a honeymoon destination, I discovered a wonderfully diverse, fun and adventurous island that would be high on my list of places to return to.

More on the web:

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Richard gower21 October 2018Trek, Mountain, Coast, Mauritius, Country High Points, Island High PointsComment

Tough 10, Epping Forest

When: October 21st 2018
Where: Epping Forest, London
Course: Single lap hilly trail race starting on Chingford Plain and snaking through the hills of Epping Forest.
Other Trails touched (walk): London Loop, Greenwich Meridian Trail
Other Trails touched (cycle):
Finish time: 1 hour 2 minutes

They weren’t joking when they called it Tough 10! This was never going to be a PB and a week of 3 long haul flights and epic jet lag didn’t help either. Great course though and I even managed to bag a new Trig Point at Pole Hill, 7k in.

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Richard gower21 October 2018Run, 10k, London, Trig PillarComment

Fort Reno, Washington DC High Point

Significance: Highest Point in Washington DC
Parent Peak: Montgomery County High Point
Elevation: 414m
Date “climbed”: 17th December 2018
Coordinates: 38° 57' 6'' N, 77° 4' 33'' W
Links: Wikipedia / Peakbagger

This was my second US State(ish) High Point of the year. Similar to High Point, New Jersey earlier in the year it was a convenient evening excursion whilst working in the area. This one is a pretty underwhelming “peak” in a fairly flat city. At 125m the highest point isn’t even higher than the Washington Monument. Even so, its easy to get to and there’s decent nearby parking so it’s a worthwhile trip for any High Point geek already in the DC area.

You can get to the high point by walking up to the gates of the Department Of Transportation salt depot. There’s a large brick tower behind the gates so you can’t miss it. There’s also a USGS-style survey marker at the highest natural point in the park. I spent half an hour searching for it but then gave up as my jetlag was kicking in and finding a solution for that became more interesting than finding the plaque.

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Richard gower17 October 2018US State High Point, USAComment

Wills Neck: Quantock Hills High Point

Significance: Quantock Hills National Landscape High Point
Member of: Marilyn, Hardy
Parent Peak: Dunkery Beacon
Nearest Higher Neighbour:
Elevation: 263m
Date climbed: September 15th 2018
Coordinates: 51.1096° N, 3.1937° W

Route Start / End: Out and back from the car-park next to the Forest Office on Cockercombe Road. Follow the track up to the T-junction, then its a ~4k circular walk taking in the high-point.
Route Distance: 8.5 km (5.3 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 217m
Subsidiary tops on route: none
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched: None
Map: OS Explorer Map (140) Quantock Hills and Bridgwater
Links: Will's Neck (Wikipedia), Bagborough Trig Pillar, Quantocks AONB, National Trust Quantock Hills

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Richard gower16 September 2018Trek, Trig Pillar, National Trust, Quantock Hills AONB, Somerset, EnglandComment

Surrey Bacchus Wine Half Marathon

When: September 9th 2018
Where: Denbies Wine Estate, Surrey, UK
Course: Single lap hilly trail race that looks like a waving alien on its side. Starts and ends in Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking and passes through National Trust land, Dorking Wood and Ashcombe Wood.
Other routes touched (walk): North Downs Way, Ranmore SCC, Prospects of Polesden SCC, Mole Gap Trail
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Finish time: 2 hours 11 minutes

Half Marathon #46 of 50 and my favourite so far. There were 5 wine stops along the route with wines from the Denbies Wine estate, plus pizza, cake and music. Basically, a big party with a bit of running in between.

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Richard gower9 September 2018Run, Half Marathon, National Trust, Surrey, England, Surrey HillsComment

Thames Path Challenge 28k

When: September 8th 2018
Where: Bishop's Park, Fulham, London, UK
Course: Thames Path from Bishop's Park to Hurst Park, West Molesey, Surrey
Other Trails touched (walk): Thames Path, Beverley Brook Walk, Capital Ring
Other Trails touched (cycle): NCN 4,
Finish time: 7 hours 16 mins (Walk)

This was a return to the Thames Path for my first long-distance walk with Timea and the start of our training for next year's Camino. We were part of a group from Timi's company, Activision, some of whom did the 50k or 100k options. Just like the Threshold series that I'm more familiar with, this was a really well organised event from Action Challenges.

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Richard gower8 September 2018Trek, London, Thames, Middlesex, EnglandComment

Dunstable Downs Trail Half Marathon

When: September 2nd 2018
Where: Dunstable Downs, Bedfordshire, UK
Course: Single loop starting at Creasey's Park Community Football Centre, Dunstable, heading up over Dunstable Downs on the Icknield Way across the National Trust grounds. Loops back through Studham Common, returning to base back along the Downs. Lovely views.
Other routes touched (walk): Icknield Way, Chiltern Way
Other routes touched (cycle): Chilterns Cycleway
Finish time: 2 hours 11 mins (Hot + Hilly)

route-28491890-map-full - Dunstable Downs.png

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Richard gower2 September 2018Run, Half Marathon, National Trust, Chilterns, Bedfordshire, EnglandComment

The Beeches Summer 5k Road Race

When: August 22nd 2018
Where: Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire UK
Course: Out and back along paved roads in the country park with single small loop half way. Hilly
Other routes touched (walk): Beeches Way
Other routes touched (cycle): Beeches Cycleway
Links: Burnham Beeches & Stoke Common, Burnham Beeches Half Marathon, East Burnham Park - Highest point in Slough (Near Burnham Beeches)
Finish time: 29 mins

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Richard gower22 August 2018Run, Buckinghamshire, Chilterns, EnglandComment

Cycling The River Crane & The Hounslow Baseline

A geek cycling microadventure along the River Crane and Hounslow Baseline on sections of the London Loop, Capital Ring and Thames Path.

Start / Finish: Minet Country Park, Springfield Rd, Hayes, UB4 0LL
Distance: 46.7 km (29 miles)
Elevation Change: +/- 153m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (walk): Hillingdon Trail, Grand Union Canal Towpath, Shakespeare’s Way, London Loop, Thames Path, Capital Ring
Other Routes Touched (cycle): None
Map: OS Explorer 173 London North and OS Explorer 172 Chiltern Hills East
Links: River Crane, Minet Country Park, Cranford Park, Crane Park, Hounslow Baseline
- Drawing The Line at Hounslow (article, St Margarets, 2010)
- Heathrow Airport honours the work of Major General William Roy (article, Ordnance Survey 2013)

The idea for this trip came whilst reading Mike Parker's book, Map Addict. In his fascinating and funny account of all things map-related Chapter 2 covers the beginnings of the Ordnance Survey. Prior to the establishment of the Ordnance Survey General William Roy pioneered the techniques that would later be used to map all of the UK. The Hounslow Baseline was the first point to point measurement and was chosen “because of its vicinity to the capital and the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, its great extent, and the extraordinary levelness of its surface, without local obstruction whatever to render measurements difficult.”

I won't go into the rest of the story as its well documented elsewhere and Mike Parker's book is a great place to start. Instead, this blog post describes a ~50k circular cycle adventure that explores the Hounslow Baseline and the nearby River Crane.

The River Crane

The best place to start is the car-park at Minet Country Park in Hayes. A few hundred metres West you'll cross a bridge giving the first sight of the Crane. The source is further North in the park but you can't see it so its not worth venturing further.

From the bridge continue North-West through the Parkway underpass, then take a left and follow the cycle path that runs parallel to the Parkway.
The Parkway will cross over the Grand Union Canal and mainline railway. Don't forget to marvel at the industrial wasteland along the way. Once you have crossed the Grand Union Canal you'll also be on the well-signed London Loop which you can follow for much of the route of the Crane.
Take a right at the roundabout, then first left at the Crane Pub onto Watersplash Lane.
From Watersplash Lane you'll enter Cranford Park, the first of a chain of parks and green spaces that follow the Crane for most of its course.
At around KM 5 you'll cross over the A4 Bath Road then through a small housing estate in Cranford before re-entering the park.
At KM 7 you'll reach the A30, a busy dual carriageway with a solid central reservation. Unless you want to risk cutting across you'll need to cycle West for ~1km to the nearest crossing then back on the other side.
Once over the A30 continue along the green spaces including The Causeway, Donkey Wood, Brazil Mill Meadows, and Pevensey Road Nature Reserve then into Crane Park, home of Crane parkrun.
The Crane passes under the A316 and B358 as they cut across Crane Park. After the B358 continue alongside the River Crane but don't follow the London Loop signs as they leave the Crane at this point.
Continue through Crane Park and Kneller Gardens into Twickenham. From here is harder to stay next to the river so you'll need to navigate through several residential streets. This is where a map and a GPX file is essential.
The Crane eventually meets the Thames next to an apartment block off Railshead Road. Take the footpath next to the Capital Ring sign to see the confluence of the 2 rivers.

The Thames Path & Capital Ring at St Margarets

From the end of the Crane there's 2 options to get you to the Hounslow Baseline: a direct but busy road route through St Margarets, Twickenham and Strawberry Hill or a marginally longer but more scenic Thames Path route. Taking the latter (as I did) also takes you along 500m of the Capital Ring before it crosses Richmond Lock Footbridge. A stop at the Barmy Arms and a visit to Eel Pie Island make a great half-way rest stop for the trip.

From The Thames Path opposite Eel Pie Island:

Turn right onto Wharf Lane, then left onto Heath Road and left onto Hampton Road.
Continue along Hampton Road for approx 2 KM, taking a right onto Burtons Road.
Continue along Burtons Road, taking a left onto St. James' Road an continue all the way to the junction of Windmill Road and The A312.
Turn left onto the A312 (Uxbridge Road) and look out for a small footpath on the right near a zebra crossing.
Follow the footpath into a small cul-de-sac called Roy Grove where you'll find the South-Eastern end of the Hounslow Baseline.

The Hounslow Baseline

The street name, Roy Grove, is the first clue that you've found the right place. The actual monument is on the opposite side of the turning circle in an unloved patch of grass between 2 houses. The monument is a barrel of a cannon sticking the ground, next to a plaque describing the life and work of Major General William Roy. To cycle the Baseline:

Return back down the footpath and take a left onto the A312 Uxbridge Road.
Follow the A312 for ~7 KM until it crosses the A30 and reaches the Hatton Cross Roundabout at Heathrow. The road name will change several times along the route from Uxbridge Road, to Hampton Road West, Harlington Road East and Faggs Road. There's very little navigation to do as its a pretty straight route, presumably following the original Baseline.
At the Hatton Cross Roundabout take the 4th exit onto Envoy Avenue, then left onto the Eastern Perimetre road. This is a bit of a diversion from the original route of the Baseline but unfortunately necessary as the airport is not keen on people cycling across the runways.
The Eastern Perimeter Road will become the Northern Perimeter Road. Follow this until the junction of Nene Road.
The end of the Baseline is on a grassy triangle of the North East side of this junction.

The monument, a twin of the South West one at Roy Grove, is in the far corner of the grassy triangle. You can barely see it from the road so you'd have to be looking for it to notice it. The rest of the site is now a Heathrow Business parking car park. The area could have been used for another 25 parking spaces with hundreds of thousands of pounds of revenue. Its nice that a little-visited monument has been preserved there instead.

I've read a few opinions that the Ordnance Survey should do more to preserve and promote the 2 monuments that are so important to their history. I don't agree. It seems fitting that they are hard to find and you'd need a map and some navigation skills to find them.

Doomed Village

From the monument it's just over 7 KM back to Minet Park. The easiest way is to continue North over Nene Road, crossing the A4 and taking the A408 through Sipson. This is one of the "Doomed Villages" that will be lost to the future expansion of the airport. As you pass by Sipson Close, look left as this will be the end of the proposed 3rd runway. I've been through here a few times in the past and normally see "Stop Heathrow Expansion" banners on most roads, presumably preaching to the converted. Maybe the lack of them this time is due to the increasingly lost cause of trying to stop the inevitable?

From the A408, turn right onto Sipson Lane, then left at the roundbout onto the High Street.
Turn right at the A437 North Hyde Road and continue until the Parkway roundabout from the start of the trip.
Retrace the route along the cycle path next to the Parkway, crossing back under into Minet Park

Red = course of the River Crane, Yellow = cycle route, Blue = Hounslow Baseline. Green = (approx) future site of proposed Heathrow 3rd runway

Elevation plan of the cycle route (marked as yellow in the map)

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Richard gower19 August 2018Cycle, Canal, Thames, London, Middlesex, EnglandComment

Middlesex parkrun & The Eel Pie Pilgrimage

Back in April I completed my 100th different parkrun event at Hazelwood. What I didn't know at the time was that it was also my last of the 20* parkruns in the historic county of Middlesex. This only became important in the last few weeks when looking for new parkrun challenges to tick off. I'd completed LonDone and the Channel Islands Region in July. Next up would be the South-East England region but there's 84 of them and I've only ran 26 so it will take ages. I needed some smaller, more frequent hits, and the mini-regionnaires of the Historic Counties would do the job. It would also be a nice match with my other current obsession, the UK County Tops.

The Historic County of Middlesex has been chopped and changed over the years and now doesn't really exist except as a legacy in some postal addresses. Most relevant to the parkrun geek, it's also in the address of parkrun Headquarters that can be found at the bottom of every page on parkrun.org.uk. A pilgrimage to the parkrun HQ would be a fitting end to the Middlesex mini-regionnaire.

So, as a part of a different micro-adventure, I headed towards Eel Pie Island. This is a quaint, quirky place in the Thames just South of Twickenham. I'd read about it and its interesting musical history a few years ago and had wanted to check it out. Discovering that it's now the Global HQ for parkrun meant that I had to go immediately. I wasn't really sure what to expect though. I had visions of a sprawling HQ complex, maybe under a volcano, with Paul Sinton-Hewitt at the centre of it, stroking his cat and surveying a huge map of the world, planning his next country to conquer.

As it turned out there were no volcanoes and if there was a sprawling complex it was well hidden. Although you can walk onto the island over a footbridge, there's no access to Phoenix Wharf where the offices are. There's some cute cottages along a quiet footpath but no obvious signs of a global HQ. I assumed that the secrecy was for a reason. They're probably in league with the Illuminati and the Bilderberg Group is probably also behind the fence. Assuming I was being watched by parkrun's crack security militia I decided to retreat before being captured, never to be seen again.

*at the time

Completing Middlesex parkun

If you've done LonDone , you've pretty much also done Middlesex as its only Hazelwood that sits outside of the Greater London region. The other odd exception is Oak Hill. It's the only North-West London event that's not within the Middlesex boundary, due to an oddly shaped scoop of old Hertfordshire that plucks it out from its neighbours. I'm now hoping for a new parkrun to be set up in Wrotham Park as it would have the honor of being the only event that's inside old Middlesex but outside of both Greater London and the M25.

Here's the full list of all parkruns, at the time of writing, that are in the Historic County of Middlesex.

Actual course routes and positions for events that I have completed

*Hackney Marshes starts and ends in Historic Essex but most of the course is in Historic Middlesex

Bracknell

Completed: November 28th 2015
Time: 26:13
Other routes touched (walk): N/A, but the western side runs parallel and very close to the Wokingham Way
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/bracknell/
Inaugural: April 4th 2015

California Country

Completed: June 1st 2019
Time: 27:11
Other routes touched (walk): California Greenway
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/californiacountry
Inaugural: February 23rd 2019

route-30152280-map-full - California Country.png

Dinton Pastures

Completed: July 21st 2018
Time: 26:11
Other routes touched: N/A
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/dintonpastures/
Inaugural: July 14th 2018

route-28146147-map-full - Dinton Pastures.png

Maidenhead

First Completed: March 28th 2015
Fastest Time: 24:17
Other routes touched (walk): N/A, but the southern tip nearly touches the Maidenhead Boundary Walk
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 4
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/maidenhead/
Inaugural: March 21st 2015

route-28146210-map-full - Maidenhead.png

Newbury

Completed: August 18th 2018
Time: 27:21
Other routes touched (walk): Greenham Common Yellow Route
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/newbury/
Inaugural: February 11th 2012

Prospect

Completed: July 28th 2018
Time: 26:42
Other routes touched (cycle): N/A, but the southern sections nearly touch NCN 422
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/prospect/
Inaugural: May 5th 2018