Rickmansworth to West Drayton

fr de

This is the fifth stage of the multi-day route "Railways and Waterways, between Oxford and London".

There is water, water everywhere on this walk, starting with the diverse habitats of the Rickmansworth Aquadrome, then passing more lakes and nature reserves. A stark contrast is the massive HS2 Colne Valley viaduct crossing the canal.

This walk is part of a multi-day hike: Railways and Waterways, between Oxford and London

Details

n°100292567
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
–
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.52 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: No
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 13 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 108 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 203 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 89 ft
Downloads
Open in the mobile app
Download GPX GPX
Download PDF PDF

Photos

Pynsfield Lake
Footbridge
Crossing over
Canal Boats near Uxbridge

Description of the walk

Start: Rickmansworth Station (TQ 057 945)

(S) From the station, turn right onto Station Road and follow it under the railway lines.

(1) At the High Street, keep ahead on the footpath opposite (slightly to your right).

(2) Turn right on Ebury Road, then right and left to reach the roundabout.

(3) Keep left, cross the road and turn left, then right over the footbridge into the Aquadrome Local Nature Reserve.

(4) Turn right and follow the Colne Valley Trail to the Aquadrome car park. Turn right and keep following the Cole Valley Trail and any diversions to reach the canal.

(5) Turn right along the towpath and pass three locks before reaching the Coy Carp Pub at Pynesfield Lake.

(6) From the pub, continue past the Broadwater Lake Nature Reserve to reach the River Garden pub.

(7) A little further on, the canal goes under the new bridge constructed for the HS2 railway line, followed by the one carrying the Chiltern Railway line. The next lock is Denham, the deepest on the Grand Union Canal.
Option: Just before the busy A40, a footbridge on the right leads to the Denham Country Park, where there are amenities.

(8) Continue under the A40 as the surroundings become more urban, although the River Colne still runs alongside. Go under the A4020 and the A4007, and after a mile, reach the Malt Shovel at Cowley Lock.

(9) After another mile, the Slough Arm of the canal takes off on the right. This was built in the late 19th Century to transport bricks from Slough to London.

(10) Keep following the Grand Union Canal and go under a minor road bridge.

(11) After the following bridge, leave the canal and keep turning left to reach West Drayton Station.(E)

Waypoints

  1. S : mi 0 - alt. 197 ft - Rickmansworth station - Rickmansworth, Chilterns
  2. 1 : mi 0.15 - alt. 167 ft - High Street - Take the footpath opposite (right)
  3. 2 : mi 0.22 - alt. 157 ft - Ebury Road - Turn right
  4. 3 : mi 0.42 - alt. 161 ft - Roundabout - Go left
  5. 4 : mi 0.54 - alt. 161 ft - Aquadrome Local Nature Reserve - Turn right
  6. 5 : mi 1.24 - alt. 151 ft - Towpath - Turn right - Stocker's Lake
  7. 6 : mi 3.11 - alt. 138 ft - Coy Carp pub
  8. 7 : mi 4.79 - alt. 125 ft - River Garden pub
  9. 8 : mi 6.38 - alt. 115 ft - Footbridge to Denham Country Park (on the right)
  10. 9 : mi 8.89 - alt. 105 ft - Malt Shovel at Cowley Lock
  11. 10 : mi 9.81 - alt. 95 ft - Slough Arm of the canal
  12. 11 : mi 10.37 - alt. 105 ft - Leave the canal to the station
  13. E : mi 10.52 - alt. 102 ft - West Drayton station

Notes

Travel Information:

  • Start - Rickmansworth Station is on the London Underground and Metropolitan Line.
  • Finish - West Drayton Station is on the Elizabeth Line. To return to Rickmansworth from West Drayton Station, take the Elizabeth Line train to Farringdon, then change to the Metropolitan Line.

OS Explorer Map

160

Grid References

  • Start TQ 057 945
  • Finish TQ 060 801

Refreshments and facilities

(4) There is a café and toilets at Aquadrome Local Nature Reserve.

Worth a visit

Other walks in the area

Walking Metro-Land, Chilterns

Association / Club / Walk leader
↔6.14 mi ↗+177 ft ↘-161 ft ◔3h 00 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Batchworth (Hertfordshire)
This walk visits Rickmansworth and Croxley Green, whose current size and character owe much to the arrival of the Metropolitan Railway. The varied route includes woodland, fields, a moor designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a village green, rivers and a canal.

Walking Rickmansworth Aquadrome to Cassiobury Park

Visorando Member
↔8.81 mi ↗+272 ft ↘-279 ft ◔4h 15 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Batchworth (Hertfordshire)
This walk starts at Ricky Aquadrome with its 3 lakes and goes along a delightful stretch of the River Chess, through Whippendell Woods (particularly nice in mid April when the bluebells are out), to Cassiobury Park with its 2 cafes and voted one of the 10 best parks in Britain and along short stretches of the River Gade and Grand Union Canal. Do allow plenty of time for exploring the many interesting features on this walk.

Walking Colne Valley Wildlife, Chilterns

Association / Club / Walk leader
↔6.16 mi ↗+144 ft ↘-144 ft ◔2h 55 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Batchworth (Hertfordshire)
This walk gives you the opportunity to experience the abundance of wildlife in the beautiful Colne Valley across many different types of habitat. It’s a wonderful location for all ages to explore and enjoy with the possibility of spotting rare migrating birds.

Walking Woodoaks Farm

Association / Club / Walk leader
Woodoaks Farm
↔4.83 mi ↗+377 ft ↘-381 ft ◔2h 35 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Three Rivers (Hertfordshire)
This short but varied walk starts from an historic farm, enjoys sweeping views and looks at some important local history. There's also the chance to explore nature in Philipshill and "No Dragon" woods. You can finish the walk with some of the best cake in the area.

Walking Wild Flowers from Cassiobury Park

Association / Club / Walk leader
↔4.67 mi ↗+148 ft ↘-157 ft ◔2h 15 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Watford (Hertfordshire)
This beautiful walk takes you from the outskirts of Watford into the depths of the countryside to see a host of wild flowers.

Walking Chess Valley Route, Chilterns

Association / Club / Walk leader
↔5.95 mi ↗+328 ft ↘-348 ft ◔3h 00 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Little Chalfont (Buckinghamshire)
This stile-free walk explores the picturesque Chess Valley and the pretty village of Chenies with its Tudor manor house, 15th century church and village green. It climbs to Church End, Sarratt, passing through the churchyard of the 12th century church. There are fine views of the valley and the River Chess.

Walking Chalfont St Giles and Chiltern OAM

Association / Club / Walk leader
↔6.21 mi ↗+446 ft ↘-413 ft ◔3h 15 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Chalfont St Giles (Buckinghamshire)
A lovely walk that passes through woods and farmland with pleasant distant views. You can visit Chiltern Open Air Museum and Milton’s Cottage. Note there is currently a temporary diversion in place (since May 2022) which prevents entry into Newlands Park whilst development work is undertaken. This description includes the diversion.

Walking Chalfont and Latimer to Chorleywood via Flaunden

Visorando Member
↔11.76 mi ↗+712 ft ↘-833 ft ◔6h 00 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Little Chalfont (Buckinghamshire)
This Chilterns walk takes in parts of the Chess Valley walk at the start and end of the route and a section of the Chiltern Way in between. There is a variety of scenery with undulating landscapes, pastoral scenes of grazing animals, fields of wild flowers in summer, a cricket pitch, a golf course, a quarry, two churches and the shallow chalk stream of the River Chess.

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.