Self Guided Walks
Since 2004 Ruislip Woods Trust has created four self-guided walks to enjoy in Ruislip Woods.
The walks have been created with accessibility in mind so that they can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. Each colour coded walk (Yellow, Red, Blue and White) has been created to start and end at a regular bus stop, so that the walks are accessible to everyone. As the buses also call at or near underground stations, it should be possible for just about anyone in London to reach the routes on public transport without much difficulty.
All of the walks are relatively easy and they also are planned to be interesting. There are a few gradients on some walks and the White Route (St Vincent’s Hospital site to Bury Street) is definitely easier and quicker to walk north to south than vice versa. Along the way obstacles have been removed, surfaces improved to remove impassable muddy sections and the occasional bench seat has been installed.
You can download either a PDF printable version of each walk, or a .GPX file to use on phones and navigation devices.
For information on guided walks organized by Ruislip Woods Trust, please see the Events page.
Yellow Route
The ‘Yellow Walk’ was developed in 2019. This walk is the fourth and latest in the series of coloured walks through Ruislip Woods that are designed to be bus stop to bus stop walks enabling you to explore leaving the car behind and without having to retrace your steps if you don’t want to.
This is the longest of the walks at 6 miles (9.6KM) and starts in Ruislip by the Duck Pond at Manor Farm and takes you through all four woods and on into Harefield ending at the Anzac memorial at St Mary’s Church, Harefield. There are yellow arrows on posts to mark the way.
This walk has taken a while to put together and we would like to thank both the Ramblers Association and Tesco “Bags of Help” for their financial help with design and printing, We were also helped by many other generous souls who gave their time and expertise to enable us to research and publish and we thank them all and hope that you enjoy exploring the walk in different seasons.
We are especially indebted to Mark Morgan and David Duncan for their hard work coordinating the project, walking and re-walking the route and Richard Hutton who put in the new marker posts with yellow arrows.
St Martins Church, Ruislip to St Mary’s Church, Harefield.
Accessible by Buses 331, H13 and U10
This walk can take over 3 hours to complete.
From Wiltshire Lane to Reservoir Road (Lido car park)
Accessible by Bus Route H13
Red Route
The Red Route is 0.8 miles (1.2KM) long. The path starts from Wiltshire Lane and ends at the Lido car park, Reservoir Road, and is mostly downhill, however, it can be walked either way round.
Accessible by bus H13 alighting at the top of Wiltshire Lane, Northwood. The H13 can be boarded from Ruislip, Ruislip Manor, Pinner, and Northwood.
Blue Route
The Blue Route is 1 mile (1.6KM) in length and is effectively a loop around Mad Bess Woods.
The path starts from “Arens at the Six Bells” Pub on Ducks Hill Road and ends further up Ducks Hill Road. It can be walked either way round.
Accessible by bus 331 alighting at the Six Bells Pub. The 331 can be boarded from Uxbridge, Harefield, Denham and Northwood.
White Route
The White Route is 0.9 miles (1.5KM) long that goes through Park Wood.
The path starts from Wiltshire Lane and ends at Bury Street, and is mostly downhill. It can, however, be walked either way round.
Accessible by bus H13 alighting at the top of Wiltshire Lane, Northwood. The H13 runs from St. Vincents in Wiltshire Lane, Northwood to Ruislip Lido in Reservoir Road, Ruislip. The H13 can be boarded from Ruislip, Ruislip Manor, Pinner, and Northwood.
Page last updated: 31/10/2023
By Anand Punja