GPS Cycle and Walking Routes

Hillingdon Trail

19 miles (30 km)

Travel through North London along the Hillingdon trail and enjoy parkland, countryside and waterside walking along the Grand Union Canal.
The walk starts in Cranford Country Park and heads through the borough of Hillingdon passing West Ruislip and Harefield before finishing at Springwell Lock on the Grand Union Canal. There's much to enjoy on this walk including sections along the Grand Union Canal, the Yeading Brook and the delightful Ruislip Lido.
Here you will find a reservoir with boating and sailing and the Ruislip Lido Railway which runs about one third of the distance around the reservoir.
There's also sections through Bayhurst Wood Country Park and Ruislip Woods and Minet Country Park where there's ponds, grassland and a variety of wild plants and flowers.

Hillingdon Trail OS Map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Hillingdon Trail Open Street Map - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Pubs/Cafes

Ruislip Lido is a nice place to stop and enjoy a waterside snack. There are two options here with the Waters Edge pub located next to the car park on the western side of the lake. They have a good menu and outdoor seating with views over the water. There's also the Ruislip Lido Cafe at the south eastern edge of the lake.
In Harefield there's the splendid The Old Orchard to consider. They have a lovely large garden area where you can enjoy a meal outside on finer days. From there's a wonderful view towards the surrounding countryside, rivers and lakes of the Colne Valley. They also have a charming interior with interesting old photos on the wall. They serve a good range of high quality food and have a good drinks selection as well. You can find them to the north west of the woods at Park Lane with a postcode of UB9 6HJ for your sat navs.

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

In Harefield you can join with the Colne Valley Trail and enjoy a walk or cycle along a series of pretty lakes and the River Colne.
In Ruislip you can link up with the Celandine Route. This popular walk will take you along the River Pinn from Pinner to Cowley.
For more walking ideas in the area see the London Walks page.

Photos

Hillingdon Trail in Mad Bess Wood, Ruislip - geograph.org.uk - 62479

Hillingdon Trail in Mad Bess Wood, Ruislip. Part of Ruislip Woods National Nature Reserve.

Hillingdon Trail by Ickenham Marsh - geograph.org.uk - 18613

Ickenham Marsh. This part of the trail runs North from Western Avenue, alongside Yeading Brook and Ickenham Marsh

Footbridge over the Grand Union Canal, near Southall - geograph.org.uk - 22996

Footbridge over the Grand Union Canal, near Southall. The canal here is the boundary between Ealing and Hillingdon. The path over the bridge is the Hillingdon Trail.

Pond, Minet Country Park - geograph.org.uk - 93303

Pond, Minet Country Park. The Minet Country Park is newly created from a derelict area used partly as car boot sale, & for motor cycle scrambling. It is now an attractive country park. Its features include a cycle track, children's playground, lodge, & areas that make it a nature reserve appreciated by many bird species & other wild life. For a "Nature Trail" around the Minet Country Park before and after its creation, see the photographer's web pages:

Ruislip Lido - geograph.org.uk - 28051

Ruislip Lido. This view shows the beach alongside the dam The water is for the canal system.

Yeading Brook - geograph.org.uk - 854341

Yeading Brook in Ruislip.

On the Hillingdon Trail - geograph.org.uk - 62031

The trail picks out some interesting open spaces through a pretty densely populated area. Here it crosses the style on the left to go down to Bayhurst Wood Countryside Park near South Harefield.

Pasture with buttercups by Bayhurst Wood - geograph.org.uk - 827717

Pasture with buttercups by Bayhurst Wood

Elevation Profile

Video

GPS Files

GPX File

Hillingdon Trail.gpx (On Desktop:Right Click>'Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold>Share>Save to Files')

Memory Map Route

Hillingdon Trail.mmo (On Desktop:Right Click>'Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold >Share>Save to Files)