Worst run?

[jonny]

there are buses straight from wimbledon to morden, which i have used in the past. i personally find the tram to morden road and then a run to morden is more reliable than either of the other options.

[Steeevooo]

I'm not looking forward to the Ickenham to West Ruislip run (because it's uphill).

I've never understood the whole "Ickenham - W.Ruislip worries me because it's uphill", the only section of it that is uphill is the approach to West Ruislip station as the station entrance is located above the train tracks. Indeed, I may be wrong, but is the first little bit after leaving Ickenham not downhill marginally?
But if this is classified as uphill purely because the entrance is above the tracks and thus you have a slight incline, could the same not be said about the last section of the Northwick Park - Kenton run?

[Starkey7]

Steeevooo [sic], you're right: you run uphill on the approach to both Ickenham and West Ruislip. However, the uphill bit at Ickenham is only about twenty yards, while the uphill bit at West Ruislip is quite a bit more substantial. Due to the relative straightness of the main road, it's also slightly discouraging to see your target uphill and quite a long way away, so perhaps the whole effect is merely psychological!

However the Bakerloo line (and all the other parallel tracks) are in a slight cutting as they pass under Kenton Road. They're low enough that the footbridge is on the same level as the pavement outside the station entrance. In fact I'd class that run as downhill simply because you run down the stairs at Northwick Park to leave the station!

[jonny]

i think what steeevooo says about the last bit of the northwick park to kenton run being uphill is correct. IIRC the station entrance is on a road bridge over the tracks.

[Starkey7]

Hmm I beg to differ. You're right, Kenton Road does go over the line, but the station entrance is to one side of the line (in fact, the west side). I do the Northwick Park to Kenton walk quite often, and I don't recall it being uphill to the station entrance. As I said, the line is in a deep cutting, which is probably the way it works!

Tell you what, I'll have a detailed look on my way to the Snake challenge on Friday, and let you know.

[editorsfoot]

I walked from Northwick Park to Kenton a couple of weeks ago, from the Northwick Park side it is flat, from the other side of the bridge the road climbs to Kenton Station. Perhaps I will take my GPS to measure the altitude next time!

[Starkey7]

Now that is what I call an idea and a half. While you're at it, could I give you a list of runs between stations that you could measure with your GPS thing?