Nora, companion in Hayes

Where the Paddington Arm leaves the Grand Union at Bulls Bridge there is a stretch of towpath nobody expects to find this close to the airport, and Nora takes guests along it while there is still light. Athletic at 166 cm, long honey blonde hair tied back more often than not, hazel eyes that go green outdoors and stay hazel indoors. Twenty six, she dresses simply: a dark dress, a long coat, trainers in the bag for the towpath and a heel for afterwards.

She is straightforward and good humoured, with none of the polish that makes some evenings feel rehearsed. She would much rather hear about your week than talk about her own, though she can be talked into it around the second hour. There is no second language and she has never wanted one. Her English is plain, which travellers who have spent all day being processed by other people tend to appreciate more than they expect. She cycles the canal at weekends and knows where every decent bench between here and Southall is.

Hayes gives you two genuinely useful things: the Elizabeth line, eight minutes from the central terminals, and hotels that cost less than the perimeter without being any further from a gate. Nora travels in from Paddington on that same line in under twenty minutes, which means she can be at a Hayes hotel faster than most guests clear their own baggage hall. Dinner is usually wherever you are staying, and she is honest that this is not a town hiding a great restaurant. Three hours is the minimum here, her travel counted inside it.

If the towpath sounds better than a lobby, say so when you write. Hester needs a hotel name and a night, and the stations, walk times and hotel list are all on the Hayes page.

• Hayes, UB3 and UB4
• 166 cm, athletic
• Long honey blonde hair, hazel eyes
• Twenty six, travels in from Paddington
• Under twenty minutes from Paddington by train

Because the train is quick, Hester can often place a Hayes evening at shorter notice than anywhere else on this side. Give her a hotel and a start time; she will say straight away whether it is possible.

Her figures are the desk figures, published in full on rates, and the whole arrangement runs in one thread from the first line to the confirmation. Every frame in the hall is reached from the hall.