The U7 Route

 Thursday 5 December 2013

The U7 (there is no U6, I don't know why) is a small single decker, in this case a very dirty one, which takes you from Uxbridge Station to the big Sainsbury's in Hayes.  It runs only twice an hour, so Linda and I found ourselves with time for a cursory and unsuccessful search for the kind of paper Christmas decorations we used to have when we were young(er).

The bus started to fill up as we left the station area and moved into the shopping streets.  We passed several pubs, including the Good Yarn which, as we have mentioned before, takes its name from the tailors shop which used to occupy the site.  And here again we thank Wetherspoons for explaining the name.  The same cannot be said for the Corown and Sceptre, though perhaps Royalism is deemed to be a natural state of mind.

We went out along the A4020, and then round and back to pass Randalls, as well as the skating rink we saw being constructed last week:  it now appears to be ready to welcome skaters.

The cold weather and high cloud were assisted by the dirty bus windows in making St Andrew's church look rather dramatic, and the we headed along the Greenway:  aptly named as it has a wide and treelined area down the middle between the two roads.

Then it was, of course, right down the lane-like road that leads to Brunel University, and its playing fields (sorry, 'sports park') as well as the Uxbridge cemetery and mortuary, and a Pentecostal Church. We also noted Marian House.  This proves to be a care home for aged Catholic nuns.

The next feature was of course Hillingdon Hospital, where several of our fellow passengers got off, to be replaced by others, one gentleman studying a leaflet about heart disease, so I hope he will be OK.

Pield Heath Avenue took us down to the main road, and then along West Drayton Road to reach Hayes End and its community centre.

We also passed Hewens College, which we thought was looking a bit run down, paint peeling and so on.  But clearly they are in the throes of major changes, so have other priorities.

Heading along the narrow (and humped) Mellow Lane West, we saw horses in a field to the right, while the left had side was occupied by bungalows.  Our route continued through assorted housing, some ex-social housing, but almost all with hardened from gardens.  There were occasional hedges and small trees, some with beautiful autumn colour.

We turned left to pass Uxbridge County Court, and came to a parade of shops.  The bus stop was on an island with a cycle lane to the left of it, which seemed safer than asking people to share the crowded main road with its many cars and vans.  One of the vans was a Dairy Valley delivery van, promising lassi, sweets and paneer.  The only website I can find is in the USA.

Now we came to one of the two high rise residential blocks on Hayes, and then on towards the Lombard Retail Park.  The bus was much emptier now, though there were still a few people aiming at the Sainsbury's at the end of the route

We have often been interested in the punning names of hairdressers, but were somewhat taken aback by 'Eroticut'.  They do not seem to have a website, so we cannot discover exactly what they offer....

We also passed the Big Events and Marquee Company, whose website offers amazing ideas, more than 40 years to late for Linda and me.

We had a long wait at the traffic lights before being allowed to turn right and then left, and reach the Sainsbury's at Hayes, where our journey ended at 12.25.