London to St Albans

35 miles (56 km)

This ride follows London Cycle Network and National Cycle Network routes from south west London to the Hertfordshire town of St Albans. The route runs for about 35 miles, following signed paths through west London including waterside sections along the River Thames, the Colne Valley and the Grand Union Canal.
The route starts in South West London on Putney Bridge. Here you can pick up National Cycle Route 4 to take you along the river towards Barnes. You continue through Chiswick before crossing the Kew Bridge to head through Brentford. Here you pick up a nice waterside section along the Grand Union Canal, heading west through Norwood Green, Hayes and Hillingdon before coming to Uxbridge.
The next stage takes you along the lovely Colne Valley Trail where you'll pass a series of pretty lakes with views of the River Colne. Just before Rickmansworth you turn north east to follow another traffic free section to Watford. Here you turn north on a mixture of quiet roads and off road trails to Bricket Wood Common where you pass through the common. The final section runs through How Wood before coming into St Albans.
To continue your riding in the St Albans area try the Alban Way or the Cole Green Way. They are both nice traffic free rides taking you into the Hertfordshire countryside.
See the St Albans Cycle Routes page for more rides around the area.