 |
| Grand Union Canal and Great Western Railway viewed from the end of newly opened Weston Walk, Horton. |
A new path opened early in 2017 has further reduced
the amount of road walking on the London Loop through Hillingdon borough.
Following a green strip beside a new development site, Weston Walk links the point where the trail leaves Stockley Park directly with the Grand Union Canal towpath just east of where the Loop originally rejoined the canal at Horton Bridge.
The original route along roads through a largely
industrial area does have some minor points of interest, though most walkers
will undoubtedly prefer the new greener alternative, even though it’s very
slightly longer (by 150 m or so). At the time of writing, signing on the ground
was still directing walkers along the old route. I’ve amended my route
description to include both options.
As explained in my commentary on London Loop 11, in the 19th
century much of the land to the north of the canal here was covered by
brickfields. The site immediately to the south of Horton Road, once known as
Coopers Dock, had several subsequent uses, including as a printing works and a
concrete works. It had been derelict for a decade before developers Prologis
took it on a few years back for redevelopment into a business park under the
name Prologis Park. A big distribution depot now stands on the eastern portion,
while at the time of writing the rest was already flattened ready for building.
Improvements to public access have been provided under a ‘section
106 agreement’ (s106), where a developer undertakes to provide public benefit
as a condition of planning permission. This includes resurfacing the towpath
along the south of the site – you’ll only benefit for a few metres of this if
you’re walking the Loop – as well as the current path, the line of a former
private drive converted into a landscaped green strip. It appears to be named Weston
Walk after one of the company’s executives, Paul Weston. Information boards narrate
the story of the local brick industry, and at the end is a small grassy mound
which provides good views of the canal and the Great Western Railway, running
parallel at this point. I’ve said more about the former under London Loop 11,
and the latter under London Loop 10.
 |
| Entrance to Weston Walk, Horton, a stroll across former brickfields beside a new distribution depot. |
No comments:
Post a Comment