London Loop Diaries #8
Section #9 Kingston to Hatton Cross (walked 11th July 2026)
The nicest thing about being back north of the Thames is just how much better public transport links are. The sections of the Loop that took me the best part of 3hrs to get to and from are behind me. Now we’re back north, getting to and from each section should - in theory - be much easier. Like the Capital Ring, the improved public transport links make most of the northern sections of the Loop shorter, giving me more options in terms of doubling them up or just heading out to tick one off if I’ve got a free morning and fancy a ramble.
Hiking a 10 mile section of the Loop during 30c a heatwave probably wasn’t my smartest idea but I was excited to tackle this section because a) lots of gorgeous looking parkland and b) a significant portion of it followed the Heathrow flight path so I decided to head out anyway.
Section 9 picks up a short walk from Kingston Train Station on Kingston Bridge, leading you away from the hustle and bustle of Kingston town centre and into the gorgeous Bushy Park. As I left the road and entered the park, I noticed the London Loop waymarking signs had changed design. The flying kestrel remains, but the green has been replaced by black giving the signs a pretty classy look. I’m yet to find a reason why this is but it left me wondering if the upmarket part of London Section 9 crosses required some upmarket signage.
The route through Bushy Park covers everything; open fields, walks alongside ponds and a beautiful stretch of covered footpaths through the Woodland Gardens giving me a welcome break from the heat. Making my way through the park, I noticed several benches with signs inviting people to stop and listen to the Skylarks which left me wondering why. Some research indicated that due to the decline of the number of Skylarks in the park, protective measures are now being put in place to regrow the Skylark population. It was good to see Royal Parks taking conservation seriously and not just offering lip service solutions to problems like this. Like the Richmond Park section on the Capital Ring, there are deer everywhere in Bushy Park, lots of them taking refuge in the shade but I noticed a few keeping cool in the ponds and streams too, happy to see they were clearly as concerned about the heat as I was.
Leaving Bushy Park takes you back out onto a short stretch of residential walking, leading you into Crane Park which runs alongside the Crane River, leading you all the way to Heathrow Airport and the end of this section. Shortly into Crane Park, the section takes you past Shot Tower, an imposing tower built in 1828 for the purpose of making lead shot. There’s a small visitor centre inside giving you information on the tower and surrounding area, a bathroom if you need it and a small cafe outside that served the most wonderful home-made iced tea which I enjoyed whilst taking a break in the shade of some nearby trees.
Thirst happily quenched, I continued along the Crane River and began to notice my pace slow considerably, not because of the heat (although that was definitely a factor) but because of how often I was stopping to take pictures of the planes taking off and landing at Heathrow Airport. I’ve been fortunate enough to fly all my life, travelling all over the world but I still romanticise air travel. I'd find myself looking up at planes overhead, wondering what far-flung locations they were headed to, envious of the passengers and the adventures ahead of them. Given how close we were to the runway I could make out the registration numbers on the planes, it really was a thrill to be this close. In fact, it might be my favourite experience on the Loop so far and I’ve heard that Section 10 has even better opportunities for plane spotting - exciting times ahead.
Like Section 8, there aren’t loads of highlights when you’re just following the river, the canopies overhead offered some much needed shade and the breeze helped to keep me cool but it was nice to just be alone with my thoughts, ambling along getting closer and closer to Heathrow Airport. The quiet serenity of the River Crane came to a fairly abrupt end as you hit the busy Great South West Road, with cars, buses and lorries whizzing to and from the airport. It was a jolt back to reality after a fairly quiet walk through parks and alongside rivers.
I need to spend more time exploring Bushy and Richmond Parks, they’re gorgeous and both warrant more detailed exploration than I’ve given them. I know I can always come back to the places I’ve enjoyed passing through whilst walking the Loop but I do worry sometimes that I’m more focused on getting from A to B and not taking the time to explore them. I can’t do everything but I need to put more thought into how I overcome this, now I’m in sections with better public transport links I should be able to justify spending more time getting into the detail of some of the future sections.
I’d said at the start that the journey should be easier now I’m north of the river. That wasn’t entirely true today as the walk ended with Hatton Cross tube station closed, sending me on an impromptu tour of London via bus, train and tube to get home — all part of the adventure.
68 miles down. 82 miles to go.
