What to do on a Beautiful Easter Sunday? Well go and explore the Brentford Branch of the Grand Union Canal. The Canal is part of the area of our West London Group. I had never been and had hear great things.
We parked in Trumpers Way, Hanwell, where there is free parking at certain times of the day. Please check the sign posts to make sure you don’t get a ticket. Once set up we walked down to the bridge and launched under the bridge. There is a low access point here.
Then it was down stream to Brentford. Initially the canal is quite Urban, but that quickly gives way to lightly wooded banksides and the birds that they attract.
There is plenty to see along the way, with narrow boats moored up and attractive bridges crossing the canal. The Spring sunshine had brought out the walkers and families. It was great to be out after all the March rain.
The route from Trumpers Way to Brentford has a couple of Locks to pass, with reasonable access to the water either side. After the last lock Brentford comes into view with it’s modern office blocks and pleasant parks. They are improving Brentford a lot with lots of new building taking place. A location to consider if wanting to move to West London.
We decided to stop in the Brentford Basin, which has been redeveloped into a marina with cafés and shops. The canal it’s self continues on for another kilometre or so to it’s junction with the River Thames. We had brought a picnic to make the most of the weather.
Finally, it was time to head back as there was decorating and gardening to be done and all those other Easter Sunday activities. It was a wonderful paddle and a route I will come back to with our West London Group.
If you are a paddler and would like to join our West London Group on an outing one evening over the summer, why not sign up to our Discord channel and get updates. They will also be posting on the club calendar very soon.
