IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Ashford Avenue, HAYES, UB4 0ND

This public footpath at the junction of Berwick Avenue and Ashford Avenue leads to the Paddington Branch canal towpath, the Hillingdon Trail, and Yesding Valley.

"Blue Moon" and "Promises" moored on the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal.

The brook in question is the Yeading Brook which is a tributary of the River Crane. The Dog Rose Ramble and the Hillingdon Trail pass through Brookside Open Space, just after crossing the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal at Spikes Bridge. See http://www.bertuchi.co.uk/dogroseramble.php for more about the Dog Rose Ramble. There was an interesting cloud formation when I took this photograph on a day of sunshine and showers.

The canal was glassy smooth until this boat arrived, so the boat is reflected in the waves of its wake.

The Paddington Arm is a these days a quiet waterway, very suitable for the cruiser shown here, which is a purpose-built, steel hull vessel, probably about 12 ft. beam. Such a vessel cannot reach the canals of northern England, but it can reach the whole of the Thames, the Wey, the Basingstoke and Kennet and Avon Canals, the Grand Union, and the rivers Lee and Stort, so there is plenty of scope for extensive cruising. The added comfort of a wide-beamed vessel can be appreciated.

The Paddington Arm of the then Grand Junction Canal was opened in 1801 from Bull's Bridge near Southall to Paddington Basin. The canals were initially a success, particularly for transporting coal, building materials and other bulky loads, but the rise of the railways not long after the canals were built substantially reduced their importance. Now they are primarily a leisure facility. The Paddington Arm was one of the last to see the old-fashioned style of regular commercial traffic of paired narrow boats carrying the traditional materials such as coal, oils, and tar. The Paddington Arm now sees regular commercial traffic, usually in the form of aggregates. The canal is seen here from Spikes Bridge which carries the Dog Rose Ramble and Hillingdon Trail over it.

These moorings are near Southall, but are just in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The permanent moorings have water and electricity connections. There are narrowboats and some larger canal boats.