This walk, filmed in April 2021, starts over in West London with a walk from West Drayton to the medieval village of Harmondsworth. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book but pre-dates the Norman conquest with the manor at one time being held by King Harold. The parish church of St. Mary dates from 1067 and its Great Barn raised between 1425 and 1427 was called ‘The Cathedral of Middlesex’ by Sir John Betjeman. The village is now threatened by the expansion of Heathrow Airport with the building of a Third Runway which would involve the demolition of at least 761 homes in the area and the entire village of Longford, according to a report on the BBC website.

The video looks at the buildings of Harmondsworth including the Five Bells pub, the church, tithe barn and Harmondsworth Hall before passing along Moor Lane for a look at the Barnes Wallis memorial. We cross the Duke of Northumberland’s River and the River Colne to Harmondsworth Moor where we stand atop the Keyhole built using stone from the original Waterloo Bridge. Crossing Wray’s River we walk along (or rather hobble, following an accident) Accommodation Road and down to the A4 Colnbrook By-Pass and the the Bath Road and through the village of Longford. The walk ends at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5.
Massive thanks to Alexandre for suggesting this walk.
Reading about the Last Wolf of Perry Oaks from Highwayman’s Heath by Gordon S. Maxwell published in 1935