Uxbridge to Northwood Hills

Autumn 2024 is shaping up to be the season of hikes — a great opportunity to explore the more rural parts of London. Today, I joined a couple of friends for a hike in Northwest London. The Chess Valley Walk was our original plan, starting at Rickmansworth tube station and finishing at Chesham. However, we made the mistake of assuming the tube lines would be fully operational on the weekend. Instead, rail replacement buses were running from Northfields. So, we quickly switched gears and decided to meet at Uxbridge station, improvising a new route from there.

Upon arriving at Uxbridge, we thought it best to walk along the river and canal, aiming to reach Harefield. The path was straightforward, mainly following the canal banks. Despite still being in London and relatively close to a tube station, the area felt like a remote village. Passers-by greeted us as we hiked, though most people seemed to be walking their dogs or going about their day rather than hiking like us. The canal was reasonably clean, and the path was well maintained, but the scenery didn’t change much during the hour-long walk, except for a charming bridge that carried Chiltern railway trains. After an hour and a half, we transitioned from the canal path to more suburban roads, eventually arriving in Harefield.

Once in Harefield, we had three options: continue along the same path for a few miles to Rickmansworth (and deal with the rail replacement buses), turn back and retrace our steps to Uxbridge, or take a route through Ruislip Woods to Northwood Hills station. We unanimously chose the final option, though we didn’t fully realise what we were signing up for. This hike wasn’t planned, so we relied on Google Maps to guide us from Harefield to Northwood Hills. Unfortunately, this blind trust was quickly tested as Google Maps frequently lost its way, my phone’s GPS lagged behind, and we found ourselves hitting dead ends in the forest multiple times. With the sun beginning to set, we eventually navigated our way out, emerging by a golf course. What started as a short walk to the nearest tube station ended up being a two-hour hike through the woods, complete with elevation changes and uneven terrain. At last, we found ourselves back in civilisation, walking past semi-detached homes just a few corners away from Northwood Hills station.

In the end, we made the most of our impromptu hike. Compared to the original route we had planned, this hike worked well as a warm-up for the more challenging ones I have ahead. The first leg, from Uxbridge to Harefield, was more of a leisurely walk, with a clear path and no elevation to speak of. The trek from Harefield to Northwood Hills, however, was more challenging, due to the distance, elevation changes, and rough terrain. The biggest issue we faced was the lack of useful signage within Ruislip Woods, which led to us getting lost several times. Many of the paths we took didn’t match up with Google Maps, and phone GPS signal was unreliable in the woods.