To Denham Country Park from Rickmansworth Aquadrome and return

Given the proximity to London, this was a remarkably "wild" section of Grand Union Canal. Indeed it was, in my opinion, less developed and less suburban than the next leg to the north, which we'd walked a fortnight previously. I loved it. There was road noise when we were close to the  A40/M40, but elsewhere it was remarkably peaceful, and I didn't hear any aircraft noise from Heathrow. There were occasional helicopters and light aircraft overhead, but we must have been away from the flight lanes used by commercial flights.  There was some activity from boats on the canal, though less than last time we were here; in contrast there were more people about on the towpath, including some large family groups. The weather was mostly dull, but dry and not too cold. 

As last time we were here, we drove down the M1 from Milton Keynes and round the M25 to Rickmansworth, and parked at Rickmansworth Aquadrome (TQ057938). The parking here is free, and it was much less busy than last time we were here, because we'd come on a Sunday rather than a Saturday and so avoided the weekly Parkrun.  Our aim was to walk south along the canal towards Denham Deep Lock, though we weren't sure how far we'd get (and didn't really mind) - and then to retrace our steps. In the end, we made speedy progress so reached Denham Deep Lock without difficulty (stopping for lunch nearby), and walked on into Denham Country Park, where we're intending to park next time we're here. This enabled us to check out the parking (TQ048864) and also to visit the toilets and cafe! Entertainment was provided by a party for a 4 year old, just being set up in the Garden Room, just next door to where we were sitting.

It's about a third of a mile from the Country Park's Visitor Centre to the canal, and the most direct route emerges close to Denham Deep Lock. The lock is indeed deep, and close to it was a curious boat with another boat inside. I think the official route of the Grand Union Canal Walk is actually on the other side of the canal here, passing through woodland by a flooded gravel pit. The official  route crosses back to the western bank at Bridge 182 (shown at the top of the page) though we'll probably cross about a kilometre further south, to enable our access to and from the Country Park. We could hear traffic noise, presumably from the M40/A40 about a mile further south, but apart from that, it was a pleasant walk through scrubby countryside.

North of Bridge 182 we passed under an existing, functional railway bridge and then the site where HS2 will cross the Grand Union Canal. Here it is difficult to distinguish working gravel pits from the HS2 construction sites on either side of the canal, but we soon left it behind. There was a large marina in another flooded gravel pit to the east of the canal, though what had presumably once been a narrow bank between the two had been breached, with the location of this now just marked by a rope, presumably to discourage boats from attempting to go that way and get grounded. In advance of the walk I'd wondered about the name of the next lock: Widewater Lock. Now I can tell you that the canal is indeed wide both to the south and to the north of the canal. To the north, despite the houses of South Harefield beyond, the far bank of the canal is most attractive, bordered by reeds.

From here and all the way back to the car, large lakes formed by flooded gravel pits were never far from the canal to our left. Earlier on, we'd watched sailing on one of them. There was an access track between the tow path and the lake, but only a couple of cars came along it, and the next section felt peaceful and unspoilt; I acknowledge that the landscape is actually pretty much entirely man-made! The area around Black Jack's Lock was more conventionally pretty, with a thatched cottage on the other side of the canal. We stopped at a bench here for me to change my socks, watching dogs running about near the thatched cottage and some other houses opposite. As we sat, we were passed by one of the large family groups, but we overtook them again soon after we resumed our walk.  We crossed an oddly shaped weir, with water pouring over it into one of the many waterways in the area.

The area around Coppermill Lock was obviously once industrial, though it appears that the mill here was only used for copper processing for a relatively short period of time, and most of the buildings are now converted to residential use.  On the side channel leading from a former mill, there is now a canoe slalom course. The guidebook mentions "The Fisheries Inn" nearby, but this is now the Coy Carp Inn. I'd guess that some of the family groups had been for, or were are aiming for, Sunday lunch here. The countryside had become more open, but as we passed the sewage works on our left, we entered a curious section of the canal, with many burnt out or half-sunk remains of canal boats. There was a boatyard on the opposite bank, so perhaps some of these are "in control" but some are not, one was at least partly free of its moorings and drifting on the canal. Another obstacle to passing traffic on the canal was the mooring of wide-beamed boats so close together that I don't think another wide-beamed boat would fit between them.

Between Springwell Lock and Stocker's Lock, the flooded gravel pit lakes continued to our left while the open rolling land continued to our right, with some attractive farm buildings; apparently a film version of "Black Beauty" was filmed here. If it hadn't been for a large disused industrial building on the right, a large number of moored boats, clearly their owners' homes, and the growing number of cyclists and other walkers, it would have felt as if we were in the middle of no-where. But don't misunderstand me: the disused industrial sites and the boats moored on the canal add to the character of the place; I wouldn't wish it any other way. The volume of other walkers was easily explained by the approach of Rickmansworth and Rickmansworth Aquadrome in particular. This morning we had joined the canal to the north of the Aquadrome, at the same place as we'd joined it last time we were here. Today we left the canal soon after Stocker's Lock and walked through the Aquadrome back to the visitor centre and our car.