Walking with Keilyn: Richmond to Kingston Vale... and beyond

Sunday February 22, 2026. 

Light rain changing to clear skies, with winds up to 5 mph, 13°C (55°F).

An unplanned trip to London resulted in an epic excursion with various modes of transport used.

As there were engineering works on the Metropolitan line, resulting in trains not going further north than Harrow-on-the-Hill, a rail replacement bus service was in place. Deciding against this we took a taxi to Watford High Street station.

At Watford High street station we waited for a train to Euston. As it pulled into the station Keilyn gave the driver a wave, which he responded to with a wave and a 'toot' from the train horn. The Lioness line train whisked us off to Willesden Junction, where we changed to a Richmond-bound Mildmay line train, which took us through Acton and across the River Thames.

On leaving Richmond station we grabbed a hot drink from Costa and began our walk. 

The Quadrant brought us onto The Square and then Sheen Road. We followed this road, passing wonderful architecture and some remarkable almshouses, all the while aeroplanes flew lower as they began their approach to Heathrow Airport.

We continued heading west until we reached East Sheen Cemetery. This cemetery is home to many Commonwealth War Graves, actors, such as Roy Kinnear, along with ordinary people. The cemetery is also the last resting place of William Ellsworth Robinson (1861-1918), who the world knew as Chung Ling Soo.

After a good walk around we left the cemetery, through Sheen Common and into Richmond Park. By now the sun had begun to burn the clouds away, raising the temperature. Having no real plan we simply wandered along various paths, paved and muddy, through woods and across open green spaces. Cyclists, joggers, dog walkers, families and, occasionally, a car passed us by as we kept our eyes open for any sight of deer.

Eventually, behind some low bushes, I could just make out the head of a deer. As we moved slowly and quietly around the bushes, keeping our distance, we saw an entire family of deer. We took plenty of photos, before continuing our walk. 

Although we didn't see any more deer, jackdaws, of which there were hundreds, parakeets, various other birds, geese and buzzards were in abundance. We meandered our way through the park, eating our sandwiches on the hoof, as we marvelled at wildlife. We both decided that we would return in the spring and explore even more of the amazing park.

Eventually we found ourselves at Robin Hood Gate, Kingston Vale, where we used the facilities. We then sat down and discussed the next leg of our day. We had two options in mind. 1. A walk across Wimbledon Common to Wimbledon station. 2. Take a bus to Wimbledon and then have another wander. Option 2 was chosen, so we made our way to Vale Crescent where we caught a Tolworth-bound 265 bus to Shannon Corner, New Malden. Here we changed to a Tooting Broadway-bound 131 bus, which dropped us outside Wimbledon station.

At Wimbledon we went for a short wander and purchased snacks and drinks, before heading into the station. We made our way through the ticket barriers and descended the steps to Platform 10, where a tram was waiting. 

Neither of us had been on a tram, in London, so we were both excited as we boarded and took our seats. At this point we hadn't made a plan as to where we would alight from the tram, so we took it all the way to West Croydon. It was a very ride as it travelled along its designated tramway, taking us across the whole of south London. As we neared Reeves Corner the tram left its designated tramway as the tracks merged the road. This was a strange sensation, as cars, cyclists, buses and vans were now alongside us.

We left the tram and took a short walk around West Croydon before making our way into the station. Once more we moved through the ticket barriers, descended the steps and made our way to Platform 1, where a Windrush line train was pulling in. Once the passengers had disembarked we boarded the train and sat back, waiting for the train to pull out.

Once we were moving the discussion started as to where we were going to get off. Many ideas were discussed. 1. Rotherhithe, so that we could walk along the River Thames back towards Tower Bridge. 2. Wapping, so that we could walk towards St Katharine Docks and Marina. 3. Highbury & Islington, where we could catch the Mildmay line back to Willesden Junction and then onto a Lioness line train home. In the end none of these options were picked, with us both deciding that we would get off at Whitechapel instead.

The train took us ever north, passing through the Thames Tunnel, to Wapping, Shadwell and our destination of Whitechapel. As we passed through the barriers, Keilyn asked which exit we needed. Whitechapel Road or Durward Street? I chose the Durward Street exit, as this would bring us to where, back in 1888, the body of Mary Nichols had been discovered.

After taking a few photos we headed along Durward Street and turned down Court Street and joined Whitechapel Road. Here I took a photo of the manhole cover that marks the spot where the Whitechapel 'Fatberg' was defeated, back in 2017, before we headed westward.

We passed the site of the original Whitechapel underground station, which is now a business, the old Whitechapel Bell Foundry, on the corner of Fieldgate Street, before we headed up Gunthorpe Street. More of an alley that opens into a narrow street, Gunthorpe Street was the site of another Whitechapel murder. That of Martha Tabram. Although not listed as a victim of Jack the Ripper some people do believe that she was one of his victims.

We then joined Whitechapel High Street and made our way towards Aldgate station. Once more we passed through ticket barriers and descended the stairs to the platform level. As all trains were stopping at Harrow-on-the-Hill we boarded the first train to arrive, which we rode to Baker Street.

At Baker Street hot drinks were purchased, before we had another discussion as to which route to take home. 1. Take a train to Harrow-on-the-Hill and then the rail replacement bus to Watford. 2. Take a train to Northwick Park and walk the 480 metres to Kenton station, where we could catch a Lioness line train to Watford. 3. Take a Bakerloo line train to Harrow & Wealdstone station, where we could catch a Lioness line train. Option 3 was picked. 

So, with drinks in hand, we descended the stairs and escalators to the Bakerloo line platform and boarded our train. To our surprise this train was to terminate at Queen's Park, rather than Harrow & Wealdstone. Not that it mattered. 

At Queen's Park we alighted from the train and noticed that we had a few minutes to wait before a Watford-bound Lioness line train would arrive. This gave us the chance to take some photos of the station and the nearby train depot. Once our train arrived we boarded, took our seats and then had another discussion as to where we would take the train to. 1. Bushey, and walk the 1.5 miles home. 2. Watford High Street and either get a bus or walk the 1 mile home. It wasn't until we were approaching Bushey station that we decided on the Bushey option.

On leaving the station we made our way along Eastbury Road, before heading into Oxhey Park so that we could walk along the River Colne. We followed the river, crossed Wiggenhall Road and up Thomas Sawyer Way, passing the back of Watford General Hospital.

Before we knew it we were home.

It was a truly epic adventure where we completed a giant circle of London, saw new places, travelled on different modes of transport and took in the wonders of London.

Distance travelled:

• Bus - 4.7 miles (7.56 kms)
• Cable Car - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Car - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• DLR - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Ferry - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Overground - 39.5 miles (63.56 kms)
• River Boat - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Taxi - 1.5 miles (2.41 kms)
• Train - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Tram - 5.4 miles (8.69 kms)
• Underground - 6.5 miles (10.46 kms)
• Walking - 9.3 miles (14.96 kms)