Acton Park and Southfields Recreation Ground
- Start and finish: Welcome sign inside entrance to Acton Park on The Vale (Uxbridge Road) opposite Mansell Road
- Distance: 2.8 km (1.74 miles)/accessible route 1.27 km (0.79 mile)
- Transport: Bus 70, 207, 266; rail Acton Central
- Parking: Meters in East Churchfield Road and East Acton Lane
- Facilities: Acton Park Café in centre of park, and other cafés and shops in The Vale east of the park. Toilets in The Vale opposite Stanley Gardens.
- Accessibility: This walk is only suitable for wheelchairs if you stay on the paths inside Acton Park
This is a fairly level walk joining up two parks to the east of Acton town centre with only a short uphill section in Acton Park.
Directions
From the welcome signboard, walk up the large driveway past the 'Twilight Tree', which has its own information panel. Be careful of traffic from the park contractor's depot. After the rose gardens, turn right and walk round the perimeter of the park. You'll pass the bowling green on your right and the Derwentwater Memorial (again with an information panel) on your left.
As you go round, keep the playgrounds on your left and then follow the path around to the right, past the tennis courts. At a junction, take the orange hoggin path on your left. After the houses, turn left out of the park and walk down to The Vale (the Uxbridge Road). Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and turn left. Take the first road on the right (Stanley Gardens), walk along it on the pavement and continue through the alleyway straight ahead of you to Rugby Road. Take the first road on the right (Hatfield Road).
At the end of the road, go through the gate into Southfields Recreation Ground and take the orange hoggin path on your left. Keep the small woodland on your right and, where it turns a corner, turn with it. The meadow on your left here is filled with flowers in the springtime and, if you take a small detour, you can look at the 'Enchanted Tree', which was carved by the same chainsaw sculptor as the tree in Acton Park.
At the end of the woodland, turn left when you come to a large tarmac path. Follow this around the perimeter of the park past the changing rooms and the playground. Walk on the grass round the rest of the park (although a hoggin path might be put in soon) and, after the houses, take the path on your left into Mansell Road. At the end of Mansell Road, turn left and cross the Uxbridge Road at the pedestrian crossing. On the other side of the road, turn right and a short walk past Acton Park Lodge brings you back to your original starting point.