Today's the day Crossrail finally joins up, creating fresh connections across the capital. Suddenly it's much easier to travel deep into the heart of the West End without changing trains, hurrah! But simultaneously it's also much easier to ride through the new tunnels and explore the outer reaches of the capital. So if you stay on the train beyond Paddington, what delights might await you in the fabled lands of West London? Here's my comprehensive purple guide.
Things to see and do in West London
Acton Main Line(6 mins)
The station: sparse futuristic box Outside the station: muted attempt at public piazza, zebra crossing, mini-roundabout. Place of interest nearest to the station: Harry's Bar Cafe, a wooden cabin improbably topped by a cheeseburger and a sausage on a stick. Also a shady terrace where workers in hi-vis eat cooked breakfasts and perhaps reflect on the fact it used to be sunny here before they started building the flats opposite. Bargain lunches include burger and Coke for £7. Shops near the station: Acton Cafe, Acton Glass, Apple Tree Healthy Foods, Dalpash Bakery, Goblin Motorcycles, Horn Lane Post Office. Best place to eat near the station: Balti House, whose illuminated sign claims this is 'The Best Indian Restaurant In Town', which must be correct because otherwise Trading Standards would have asked them to take it down. Place of interest quite near the station: Acton Railhead (a Deutsche Bahn facility for the transfer of aggregates), immediately alongside Hanson Readymix Concrete, Horn Lane Scrap Metals and Quattro Muck Away. Places of interest a fair walk from the station:i) the swings and roundabouts in Springfield Gardens ii) the cafe the losers are exiled to in The Apprentice, iii) the erupting hellscape that is North Acton. Worth visiting? No, stay on the train.
Ealing Broadway(8 mins)
The station: bland commuter funnel Outside the station: bus stop, an annoying little line of steps, always some kind of roadworks. Shops that are part of the new station building: Dexters estate agents (other units available to rent). Shops that are part of the former station building: Wok Stop, Ladbrokes, Peri Peri Chicken, Heron News. Place of interest nearest to the station: Haven Green, a square patch of preserved common, now diagonally severed by a chain of bus stops. Place of interest nearest to the station if you prefer shopping: The Broadway, a high street and attached mall now somewhat overshadowed by Westfield. Best place to eat near the station: Pick from Subway, Five Guys, Ali's German Doner or Steak-on-the-Green, depending on your budget. Best place to drink near the station: Either The Shanakee Irish freehouse, the Beerkat taproom or The North Star gastropub, depending on your prediliction. Places of interest a fair walk from the station:i) Walpole Park ii) historic Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery (currently with mini robot exhibition) iii) Ealing Studios. Worth visiting? Very much the mainstream choice.
West Ealing(13 mins)
The station: sparse futuristic box Outside the station: row of planters, speed hump, big hole where Peter's Hairdressing Salon, A2Zee's Cafe and the Brookford Launderette used to be (destined to become 18 storey tower). Place of interest nearest to the station: West Ealing Delivery Office (open to collect your undelivered parcel until 10am). Shops in flux opposite the station: What used to be the Kool Kafe dessert parlour has subdivided into a barbers and the local taxi company, Manor Wheels, who have just decamped from their throwback premises two doors down. Shops near the station: Bri Clean Dry Cleaning (express service a speciality), Global Ceilings (phone 081 810 5914), Vogue Kitchens, Ceramics Cafe, a little kiosk that cuts keys. Best place to drink near the station: The Drayton Court Hotel, now a smart Fullers pub, up a leafy sidestreet verging on desirably metropolitan. Supermarket immediately adjacent to the station: A giant Waitrose, but it takes five minutes to walk there because the station entrance is on totally the wrong side. Places of interest a fair walk from the station:i) Drayton Green ii) the shops on West Ealing Broadway iii) Ealing Farmers Market (every Saturday morning at Dean Gardens). Worth visiting? Hard to justify.
Hanwell(15 mins)
The station: gorgeous listed throwback Under the station: arched passageway with steep stairwells up to the platforms, absolutely nowhere to put a gateline, ticket office, member of staff trained to interact with anyone seen taking photos. Outside the station: Queenly suburbs, attempt at a community garden. Place of interest nearest to the station:Conolly Dell, a small refurbished park with pooled water features. Shops near the station: Nothing really, but walk far enough and you'll find Richard Wilde Upholsterers (so olde-worlde its telephone number is painted in gold across wooden shutters) and Rosario's Gentlemen's Hair Fashions (tiny barbers with the look of a time capsule about it). Shops further from the station: Plenty along Hanwell Broadway, including a Rolls Royce dealer and the shop where Jim Marshall sold his first Marshall guitar amp in 1962 (now Hanwell Halal Meat & Groceries). Places of interest a fair walk from the station:i) Hanwell Clocktower (not as old as it sounds) ii) Bunny Park (including zoo and hedge maze) iii) the eight-arched WharncliffeViaduct (Brunel's finest). Worth visiting? Mainly thestationitself, to be honest.
Southall ਸਾਊਥਾਲ (18 mins)
The station: sparse futuristic box Outside the station: roundel, lamppost, bikes chained to railings in the absence of obvious bike racks. Place of interest nearest to the station: 'Southall Castle', a turreted Edwardian water tower converted into a six storey block of flats in 1984. Place of worship nearest to the station: A tie between Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara (long, low and orange-topped) and Imambargah Al-Hasan Mosque (not for nothing is Southall nicknamed Little India). Shops near the station: Pagh Vala turban-fitters, Bengal Fish Bazaar, Overseas Immigration Services, several former banks under new management. Signs of regeneration opposite the station: A lone barista-led coffee cart at the entrance to The Green Quarter, a Berkeley-led project inexorably transforming 90 acres of former gasworks into 3750 flats. Best place to eat near the station:Saravanaa Bhavan, an outpost of the world's largest South Indian restaurant chain and self-professed "World's No. 1 Indian Vegetarian Restaurant', located inside the former Glassy Junction pub. Places of interest a fair walk from the station:i) Himalaya Palace shopping centre (inside extraordinary formercinema) ii) Southall Market (assorted themes weekly) iii)Southall Manor House (Southall's oldest building, now businessy event space). Worth visiting? Nowhere else in London is like Southall.
Hayes & Harlington(22 mins)
The station: sparse futuristic box Sounds familiar: They built a lot of sparse futuristic boxes out here, usually bolted onto the side of the existing station rather than above the tracks where the original entrance used to be. Shop nearest to the station: Station Kiosk, purveyors of snacks and drinks, which used to make a much better living before they shifted the station entrance elsewhere. Outside the station: litter bin, bus stop, steps (at one end just a few, at the other end a heck of a lot). Signs of regeneration outside the station: Everybloodywhere, from the hideous orange-panelled StayCity Aparthotel to the anodyne apartments and student hutches rising on all fronts, thankyou Crossrail. Best place to eat near the station:takaa tak, the unlikely-named and culturally-confused restaurant and cocktail bar underneath the Aparthotel, proudly serving "Full English Breakfast, Cocktails & selective Indian Fusion Food Menu". Shops near the station: Rhone Dentures, Hayes Vapes, YMCA charity shop, 24/7 Cabs, Bagel Stop. Places of interest a short walk from the station:i) The Grand Union Canal and its towpath ii) the former Nestle Factory currently being turned into 1500 flogged-abroad flatsiii) a fairly big Asda. Worth visiting? Depressingly skippable.
West Drayton(25 mins)
The station: original brick building leading to unshowy box. Outside the station: bus turning circle, collapsing road surface, a few parking spaces. Place of interest nearest to the station: The Grand Union Canal again, because this has always been a key transport corridor. Shop nearest to the station: Bean There Drank That, a coffee shop that's trying just a little too hard. Shops near the station: Quinn Edwards Hairdressing, Maja Deli, Granny Satchwills Bakery And Sandwich Shop, AJ's Barbers (the Bee's Knees). Chief station quirk:West Drayton is to the south of the railway while the north side is all Yiewsley (but unlike at Hayes and Harlington the two don't get joint billing). Best place to drink near the station: Take your pick from the Railway Arms (Sky Sports etc) in Yiewsley or The De Burgh Arms (Sky Sports etc) in West Drayton. The latter has a party hall for hire, if that swings your decision. Places of interest a fair walk from the station:i) London Loop section 11 ii)St Matthew's church (designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott) iii) Ronnie Wood's childhood home in Whitethorn Avenue. Worth visiting? Not really, but better than going one more stop to Iver.
