We’re very excited to have discovered a new cycling concept on our doorstep….Canal Cycling!
We recently learnt that the Slough arm of the Grand Union Canal starts quite close to home. This is a clean and peaceful stretch of canal, brightened up by colourfully decorated house boats. After 8km it joins the main canal which is an amalgamation of waterways created during the 19th century to create a communications route between The Midlands and London. We left home with a vague plan to cycle to Paddington for lunch before returning the same way.
It was a scenic and educational 80km round-trip ride along the mostly gravel flat tow path. One interesting landmark was Asylum dock, from which produce grown by patients in the Hanwell Asylum was loaded onto barges and shipped to the London markets to generate income. Also interesting were the steps carved into the canal, apparently help horses out when they were pulled in by the weight of the barges. However, the highlight of the day was talking to Dylan, a young ‘metal fisherman’ who was using magnets on a rope to extract metal objects from the canal. He was setting up a business to collect metal and then recycle or resell it. We directed him to the moped which we had seen dumped under bridge number 4 and wished him the best of luck with his endeavours. We did meet some real fishermen, Romanians who were fishing for pike which live in the waters along with roach and rudd. The Canal River Trust continues to improve the canal environment, but it will take more than the effort of a few volunteers to clear up the shocking amount of litter around some areas where the locals clearly consider the canal to be their local rubbish tip.
Distracted by a detour at Hayes, we missed the turnoff to Paddington and instead ended up passing through Syon House in Brentford and lunching in a lovely cafe in Kew. Happily, this means another day of adventure awaits us in the near future….
