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Home , Boston Manor, Brentford, Elthorne (ward), Hanwell, Norwood Green

Hanwell and Circular via - 7mls/11km – Park – – Long Wood Nature Reserve – Estate – Norwood Green – Grand Union Canal – Boston Manor

Route: Easy - generally good paths but also some uneven and potentially muddy ones with a short stretch of boardwalk with steps through Long Wood. Local amenities: toilets at Boston Manor station (charge) and at Osterley Park. Café at Boston Parade and at Osterley House. Three traditional : the Hare & Hounds, Windmill Lane, the Plough Inn at Norwood Green and the Fox in . Hopefully all will be reopened soon, but please check. Points of interest: local nature reserve, Osterley Park and House (NT), Grand Union Canal, Brunel’s Three Bridges, Hanwell flight of locks, Elthorne Park with children’s play area.

Transport: (Boston Manor and Osterley) and local buses (E8 & 195) from Broadway, , and stop at Boston Manor station. Bike racks at the station and also in front of the shops at Boston Parade.

Alternative start points: The canal towpath gives easy access to the route from Brentford Lock and from north Hanwell, via Brent Lodge Park. You need to leave the canal path by going up steps at Trumpers Way to join the route across the canal and towards Long Wood. As it is a circular walk, you could also start at Osterley underground station (Piccadilly Line or H91 bus Brentford/) and walk down a passage way by the station towards Bassett Gardens, turn right and then next left to Jersey Road, where there is an entrance (hole in the wall) immediately opposite into Osterley Park (shown on A-Z). Alternative route around Osterley: several members recommend a more rural route through the fields to the south of the Osterley estate. It adds less than a mile to the walk but is a little trickier to navigate. Full instructions are given at the end. Starting at Boston Manor station, turn left and then almost immediately left again into Wellmeadow Road and then right along Southdown Avenue. About half way along, turn left along a drive way (Wyke Gardens) and through a gate to enter Elthorne Park by Ealing Fields High School. Go straight ahead to the end of the field and follow the path round to the right. When you reach a large Bambi statue, you have a choice. Turn left to go down steps to reach the canal and then turn right and continue to Trumpers Way (a small industrial estate) where you need to go up steps to the road. Alternatively (especially after rain) carry along the path skirting Elthorne Park and through meadows. At a T-junction of paths, take the right hand path and continue until you reach the road. At Trumpers Way, turn left to cross the canal and go straight ahead to the end and then through a metal gate. Cross the railway line (only occasionally used for freight between Southall and Brentford but do take care). Turn left and almost immediately go through a wooden gate to the left to follow a path running parallel to the railway line. Shortly after going over a stile with a sign saying welcome to Long Wood, keep a sharp eye out for a narrow path to the right, about 100 yds before reaching the M4. Follow the path through the wood, which at times becomes a boardwalk over the boggy ground by the stream, to reach the exit on Windmill Road. Long Wood is a local nature reserve with a wonderful carpet of bluebells in spring and a haven for plants and wildlife. It was once part of the Osterley Estate and there is an interesting information board by the entrance on Windmill Road. Turn left and unfortunately there is no choice but to walk for about ten minutes along busy Windmill Road but there is a wide pavement. You pass the Hare and Hounds and there is a gap in the hedge almost immediately opposite which is a short cut to the Osterley Estate. However, as it is a busy road, it is probably safer to continue past the garden centre and cross at a small roundabout at the junction with Jersey Road. Turn sharp right along Osterley Lane and through a gate into the Osterley estate. There are a couple of paths leading off the lane to the left which take you towards the house and café. It is suggested you opt for the second one through large wooden gates to join the new 500m Nine Acre Trail which leads to the car park. Turn right along the main driveway, past a lovely lake and the magnificent house to reach the courtyard, where there is a café and NT shop, with toilets nearby (café & shop currently closed but toilets are open). Osterley House is a magnificent neo-classical mansion, built around 1575 by Sir , the founder of the Royal Exchange. It was extensively remodelled by Robert Adams for the Child family (Child’s bank) for them to entertain their guests. During the Covid 19 epidemic the house is closed to the public but hopefully it will reopen later in the year and is well worth a visit (free to NT members, otherwise a charge). From the house, the main walk continues through the estate to exit via the northern gate. However, there is an alternative route through the meadows to the south and west of Osterley to rejoin the main walk at the place in the text marked by *. If you would like to take this option please see the directions at the end of the text. To continue on the main route, rejoin the paved path in front of the house and then fork left with another lovely lake over to your right, and walk to two lodges by the northern exit from the estate. You are now back on Osterley Lane so turn left and follow it past Osterley Park Farm and over the . Where the lane bends left, take a footpath by a large metal gate across a large field in the direction of Norwood Green. * The optional extension rejoins the main walk here. You will find the footpath to your left, just before the lane crosses the motorway. At the end of the field continue ahead through narrow passages between houses, cross a road and continue along the path opposite to come out on Tentelow Lane by the Plough pub. Norwood Green is a very old settlement with records going back to Anglo Saxon times. St Mary the Virgin church is of Norman origin but was rebuilt in the C14th and extensively remodelled by the Victorians. The Plough Inn opposite also dates from the C14th but the current building is largely C17th and still retains much of its old character. Also of note is Norwood Hall, built by Sir John Soane who also designed and lived in Manor in nearby Ealing. For many years it was an agricultural college but is now owned by the Sri Guru Singh Sabba Southall, a Sikh faith institution. From the Plough, turn left along the road and then right along the side of the Green to Norwood Road. Turn right and just after a parade of shops, cross the bridge and go down steps to reach the Grand Union Canal. Continue straight ahead with the canal to your right, and walk back towards Hanwell, passing Brunel’s famous Three Bridges, the buildings of the old County Asylum (St Bernard’s) and the Hanwell flight of locks. There are information boards all along this stretch of the canal which are well worth stopping to read if you are interested in the local history and wildlife. The Three Bridges is of historic interest as it was the last major project by and marks the intersection of the canal, Windmill Lane and a branch railway line. The Hanwell flight of locks consists of six locks in close succession that raise the canal by about 53 feet. At Hanwell Lock 97 you have the option of turning left by the Capital Ring sign to join the Brent River walk which goes up to the Road at Hanwell Broadway (for buses to Ealing Broadway or Southall and Uxbridge) and then continues on the other side of the road under the to Brent Lodge Park and north Hanwell. The main route continues along the Grand Union canal, shortly passing The Fox, a very popular traditional pub, and after about a mile, immediately after Osterley Lock, follow the Capital Ring signs up a steep path on the left to Elthorne Park and retrace your steps to Boston Manor station.

Alternative route round the fields south and west of Osterley. This route has a much more rural feel to it, with large open fields and horses grazing freely. It adds less than a mile to the total distance but the path in places is rather indistinct and so hopefully the details below will help you find the way. From the house, retrace your steps past the lake to the driveway and continue in the direction of the main gateway. About half way along on the right there is a small metal kissing gate (with a red dog waste bin by its side). Go through it and follow the path along the edge of a large field and just before an exit onto Jersey Road, turn sharp right to head north continuing alongside the fields. Keep an eye out for a small path that leads into the woods on the left and emerge onto another huge field where there are usually a number of horses grazing. The path can be quite difficult to discern in places but keep walking in the same direction with the woods on your right. After a few hundred yards keep to the right of a tree standing on its own in the field, and then after a further 150 yards by another large single tree, take a well-trodden path to the right which winds in and out of the woods to eventually emerge at a footbridge over the M4. After crossing the motorway, continue on a narrow path between fences to reach Osterley Lane. Turn right and walk along the lane for about five minutes until just before the lane bends right to cross over the M4, take a footpath on the left to Norwood Green (rejoin the main walk here, marked in the text with an *).