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.