The London Loop

Hayes → Moor Park

Distance: 18.28 miles
Ascent: 227 metres
Duration: 5 hours 51 minutes

Hillingdon
« Not walked | Not walked »

You should have guessed: today new gadgets join us for the first time. We buckled and both bought Apple Watches. Running in Workout mode for six hours and taking a phone call partway along was enough to pretty much drain their batteries flat, but they gave us award after award for our effort.

The walk itself mostly followed the Grand Union Canal, diverting briefly to pass through Stockley Park and again to loop around a meandering river. At Denham Lock we paused in Fran's Tea Garden - not the most salubrious affair, but charming in its way, with row upon row of second-hand books to thumb.

Past Harefield we left the canal (and its swarms of flies) and headed across field and meadow through beautifully scenic countryside before hearing the familiar but somehow out-of-place clatter of the Metropolitan line. For the first nine years of my life this was the only railway that I knew, but nowadays it's startling to see the Underground rattling out to Hertfordshire.

The London Loop

Kingston → Hayes

Distance: 13.75 miles
Ascent: 81 metres
Duration: 4 hours 19 minutes

Kingston, Richmond, Hounslow, Hillingdon
« Not walked | Not walked »

The contrast between this walk and last week's was plain from the very start. Once over Kingston Bridge we were in glorious Bushy Park with its wise old trees providing cover for dozens of deer.

Hounslow Heath came next, and rising behind the bushes I could see the shape of Heathland School where Dad taught in the late 1970s. As head of the Maths department he'd bring home the school computer for the holidays and so, in 1978, my life-long fascination with this game called software engineering began on a Research Machines 380Z.

(Before we set out on our walk this morning we nipped into the Apple Store in Kingston and I showed Emma the Apple Watch. She was hooked, but now I'm just struck in awe comparing that tiny device with the huge metal beast that we used to hide in the wardrobe whenever we left the house, lest any tech-savvy burglar of the '70s know what to do with it.)

We touched the edge of the Heathrow complex and followed the river Crane up to Cranford Countryside Park. The beautiful stable block and church by the car park stand stoically defiant in the face of the aircraft above and the motorway thundering alongside.

Tech

The watch

It was an interesting experience to try on the Apple Watch today.

I've learnt that the 38mm watch might suit me better than the 42mm. I learnt that the Apple Watch Sport is as good as the more expensive Apple Watch for me (at £7,000 the Apple Watch Edition was never a contender!).

I'd have liked to be able to see the various coloured straps on my wrist; clearly black and white will work but what about the pink, green and blue?

I'd also have liked to tried on a fully functional watch rather than one that was playing a demo loop, but there were functional devices elsewhere in the store to play with.

That was an interesting element: each functioning watch was paired with what I presume was an iPad whose display was synchronised with the watch. So the iPad continuously explained what was happening on watch screen and gave tips for what to do next. This is a great way to learn about the device. I wonder whether anything like that will be available to try at home.

I'll find out soon enough: I placed an order. I'm looking forward to seeing how having a small computer on my wrist changes my daily routine.

The London Loop

Coulsdon South → Kingston

Distance: 14.92 miles
Ascent: 205 metres
Duration: 4 hours 42 minutes

Croydon, Sutton, Kingston
« Not walked | Not walked »

With the exception of a few moments - such as the wide avenues of Nonesuch Park - we've spent far too long walking on roads today. Suburbia has felt close at hand every step of the way, an omnipresent functional affair with little charm to offer.