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A 4 mile circular pub walk from the Duck House in Ruislip, Middlesex. The walking route heads north past the site of an old castle to reach Ruislip Woods – a beautiful mixed woodland and National Nature Reserve. You’re likely to see plenty of wildlife with the woodland being home to everything from badgers and foxes, to woodpeckers, squirrels and owls.

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Ruislip is located in north west London, in the London Borough of Hillingdon in Middlesex. The walk starts and finishes from the Duck House pub which is on the roundabout between the A4180 High Street and the B466 Eastcote Road. If you are travelling by car, the nearest car park is the St Martin’s Approach pay and display car park which is just around the corner (go down the B466 Eastcote Road and take the first left into St Martin’s Approach). Alternatively, the nearest underground station is Ruislip Station which is on the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines and is just a 10 minute walk along the High Street.

Approximate post code HA4 7AR.

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Standing on the pavement facing the Duck House pub, turn right and then immediately left down the small gated private road which passes between the pub and the public toilets, signed to Manor Farm Heritage Site.

Follow the gravel driveway ahead. On the left you’ll pass Horse Pond, the duck pond from which the pub takes its name. When Manor Farm was a large working farm, the pond was used to wash down the working horses and

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1. The walk has just a couple of long but steady gradients.

2. The woodland paths are all fairly wide but they are uneven with roots and can get very muddy after periods of rain and in the winter.

3. There is one single gate on route and no stiles.

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Access Notes

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Moderate Terrain

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to allow them to drink. On the right you’ll pass the public car park and then the site of a pre-Norman motte and bailey castle, now just some earth mound remains.

Continue ahead passing the buildings of Manor Farm on the left. Manor Farm is on the site of the ancient administrative centre for Ruislip Manor. The most impressive remaining building is The Barn, built in 1280, an aisled barn which is 36 metres long and divided into 17 bays. The timber for the main oak posts was almost certainly taken from nearby Ruislip Woods. Today, the farm complex is a cultural and arts public site housing a library, art gallery, tea room and craft workshops.

As you reach the converted stables, where the main gravel driveway bends right, fork left onto the narrow tarmac path signed as a public footpath. Keep ahead steadily downhill and passing the Winston Churchill Theatre on the left. Bear right onto a pavement alongside a concrete access road and you’ll come to a T-junction with a road.

Cross over with care and turn left along the pavement, crossing the bridge over the River Pinn. Immediately afterwards turn right onto a narrow woodland path which then emerges to the bottom of a residential road. Bear left to follow the pavement up the road, passing between houses each side. At the crossroads go straight ahead to continue on Sherwood Avenue. At the end you’ll reach a T-junction with Broadwood Avenue. Cross over and go ahead through the staggered barrier onto the footpath into Ruislip Woods.

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Keep ahead to join the boardwalk heading into the woodland and, as it ends, continue ahead on the main woodland track.

Ruislip Woods is a National Nature Reserve covering 726 acres. Evidence of Bronze Age settlements has been found within the woods and its ownership has changed hands many times over the years. Following the Norman conquest, Ernulf de Hesdin was given ownership of Ruislip Manor and Woods as recognition of his services to William the Conqueror. Since then the woods have passed into the ownership of Bec Abbey (1087-1481), Kings College Cambridge (1481-1931) and finally the local authority who still manage the site today. Timber from Ruislip Woods was used in the 1339 construction of the Tower of London and the 1344 construction of Windsor Castle.

Ignore the boardwalks to the left which lead to a side path, just stay on the main track as it swings right and then meanders through the woodland. You’ll come to a crossroads with a bridleway. Go straight ahead into the area of trees, and then take the left-hand of the two paths ahead.

At the bottom of the slope you’ll come to the buildings of Ruislip Lido ahead, with the large lake visible beyond the buildings. The reservoir here was opened as a feeder for the Grand Junction Canal in 1811, but was converted to a lido in 1933 with facilities for swimming and boating.

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Turn right just before the lido and follow the woodland path with the fenced lido area on the left. Through the fence you’ll see the small tracks of the miniature railway. This railway was first opened in 1945 and at that time the carriages were pulled by a steam locomotive.

Continue for some distance, staying on the path closest to the wire fencing on the left. As the fence on the left ends, you’ll see the open grass hills of a golf course directly ahead and a T-junction in the path. Turn right here on the path which runs within the top edge of the woodland signed as Footpath R39. Follow the main path as it climbs steadily and at the top you’ll reach the summit of Haste Hill (you’ll see a gate, car park and bins on your left).

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At this top corner, turn right and then keep left to follow the path marked with a white circle and arrow, following the fence line on the left. As the fence line swings left, bear left on the boardwalk footpath which follows it. Next, bear left on the bridleway marked with a blue horseshoe with the fence still close on the left.

Follow this bridleway steadily downhill and then as it bends left and then right, following the edge of the woodland. You will pass the gate into Ruislip Stables on the left. You will come to a crossroads with a large oak tree in the centre. Turn right still following the bridleway marked with a blue horseshoe. Keep ahead on the very straight stone path heading back through the centre of the woodland.

Continue until you reach a major crossroads in the path. Turn left onto the wide track heading for a wooden footbridge. Cross the footbridge over a small ditch and keep ahead on the stone track heading south. At the end of this path, exit the woods alongside the vehicle barrier to reach a small roundabout. Go straight ahead and then straight ahead again at the next roundabout to join Kings College Road (named after the Cambridge college who were lords of the manor from 1451).

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Continue down Kings College Road for just a few paces and, opposite the entrance to a car park on the left, turn right under a

height restriction barrier signed as public footpath R137. Pass the cafe to the left and you’ll emerge to a playing field.

Cross the field diagonally left (at about 10 o’clock) and pass through the gateway where you’ll reach a cinder oval running track surrounding another area of grass. Cross this in the same direction and, when you reach the track on the opposite side, turn right along the track and then bear left to join the stone path in the field corner. Ignore the footbridge over the River Pinn to the left, instead keep ahead on the grass path with the river to the left and an open

meadow to the right. Eventually you’ll emerge through a gate to reach a T-junction with a residential road. Turn left along the pavement and follow it over the white 1920s style bridge.

Keep straight ahead on St Martin’s Approach until you reach the public car park on the right. Turn right into the car park and go straight ahead on the pedestrian walkway and out through the gap in the hedge on the opposite side. Turn left down the gravel driveway and out past the gate where you’ll find the Duck House on the right for some well earned hospitality.

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Disclaimer

This walking route was walked and checked at the time of writing. We have taken care to make sure all our walks are safe for walkers of a reasonable level of experience and fitness. However, like all outdoor activities, walking carries a degree of risk and we accept no responsibility for any loss or damage to personal effects, personal accident, injury or public liability whilst following this walk. We cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies that result from changes to the routes that occur over time. Please let us know of any changes to the routes so that we can correct the information.Walking SafetyFor your safety and comfort we recommend that you take the following with you on your walk: bottled water, snacks, a waterproof jacket, waterproof/sturdy boots, a woolly hat and fleece (in winter and cold weather), a fully-charged mobile phone, a whistle, a compass and an Ordnance Survey map of the area. Check the weather forecast before you leave, carry appropriate clothing and do not set out in fog or mist as these conditions can seriously affect your ability to navigate the route. Take particular care on cliff/mountain paths where steep drops can present a particular hazard. Some routes include sections along roads – take care to avoid any traffic at these points. Around farmland take care with children and dogs, particularly around machinery and livestock. If you are walking on the coast make sure you check the tide times before you set out.

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