Circumnavigating London on Foot – The London Loop Part 1

The London Loop Part 1 : Teddington to Hatton Cross

Time for another quest, the scope limited in the current COVID-19 world, so no Globe Trotting hunting Concorde, instead a longish walk.

I have been walking a lot since COVID has become part of our lives, usually in the evening around the neighbourhood, my Fitbit tells me that since March that’s an average of 21,000 steps per day !

Much as I love this part of South West London, I wanted a challenge and was vaguely away of the London Loop, a walking route around London of some 150 Miles ( 242 km) which happens to pass through Bushy Park very close to my home in Teddington.

The only real question was which way… Clockwise of course!

The Beginning and hopefully the end – Chestnut Avenue, Bushy Park

The route is signed although not very well in places and although the trusty OS Explorer map can be vague in places, it really is required – it may not be hiking up Snowdon but without one you will get lost !

1:25,000 Ordnance Survey – Old School but very necessary!

Today was Part 1 an easy 10 miles or so from the starting line of the Chestnut Avenue in Bushy Park, following the River Crane to Hatton Cross close to Heathrow Airport, actually remarkably rural as you case see from the pictures below..

Interesting sight on this part of the route is the Shot Tower in Crane Park, built in 1826 to manufacture lead shot.

Essentially a lighthouse with a heating chamber rather than a light at the top. Lead was heated until molten, then poured through a copper sieve. The size of the shot determined by the size of the holes in the sieve. As the drops of molten lead fell through the air surface tension formed them into spherical balls. At the bottom of the tower the lead shot was caught in a water-filled basin.