A simple route and an excellent walk

This route was thrown together at the last moment after my walking companion clarified his requirements from start at 12pm to finish by 12pm. A quick play suggested that if we started at Radnor Gardens Twickenham, half way between us, we could do the Duke of Northumberland's River, Brentford and Kew Gardens.

We had done all of these sections before but never strung together like this before.

The route was flexible enough to enable us to vary it, either longer or shorter, according to the time we had left.

To put some more certainty into the schedule I booked tickets for Kew Gardens with entry between 11 and 11:45am.

Knowing the route meant we could avoid referring to maps and could walk at some pace while talking about football, politics and Chelsea.

We did have to pause for a few minutes while crossing the A316 when I met someone I knew walking the other way. She is involved in opera and it is always good to bump into people like that.

The healthy timing meant that we could take the scenic route through Brentford, winding along the industrial canal. The wiggles on the map show the intricacies of the route and you need your imagination to add the houseboats, locks, shipyard, wrecked boats, and modern housing. You also need some imagination at times to reassure yourself that this is indeed a formal path and you are not trespassing.

We are both members of Kew Gardens and this was the sort of time that being a member was useful. We could have walked along the main road but as it cost us nothing (extra) to go through the gardens we did that. We were only in the gardens for something like twenty minutes, including queuing up for a coffee.

And we got to Richmond Station a couple of minutes ahead of the 12pm deadline. Unfortunately my companion's partner was not aware of that deadline so was not there to meet him, but that's another story!

This was an excellent walk. It was simple to put together and delivered mightily on providing a wide range of interesting vistas.