50km Between the Great West Roads
Northala Park. The remains of the old Wembley Stadium.
Ride Overview
As a bicycle ride using dedicated cycleways or quiet suburban roads, the route is a joy and full of surprises, for hidden away between the A4 and A40, is a diverse and constantly changing panorama. The route passes through London’s newest and arguably best landscaped park, ancient woods and through two of the city’s most lovely Garden Suburbs. And just in case that was not enough, there is are six stately homes, a prison, a 12th century church and the largest gurdwara outside India. There is much to explore, but also there is the satisfaction of having had a decent morning’s pedal through some surprising landscapes on largely traffic-free cycleways.
Ride reviewed and updated January 2023
Ride Notes
The ride begins at Chiswick House where a landscape revolution was launched. Not content with the 18th century’s fashionable but formal gardens, the 4th Earl of Burlington and William Kent, both accomplished architects, combined to create a park which was much more natural in form and substance. A lake was formed fed by an ornamental cascade, woods and avenues were planted with vistas to temples and statuary. From the mid 18th century onwards, this model of a ‘naturalised landscape’ was copied and developed in estates such as Buckingham Palace, Stowe, and more recently, New York’s Central Park.
From the park, the route heads towards the river and Fuller’s Griffin Brewery, where beer has been brewed for over 350 years. As you ride past the impressive array of 18th houses, you may see the detritus left by the river after a high tide. Without an embankment, the river is apt to creep inland when it can. (If the water levels are too high to ride through, take the cycle path alongside the A4 and re-join the route 400m further along at Black Lion Lane.) In the river is the Chiswick Eyot, an island where willow has been harvested for centuries and, it is said, where the Vikings camped on one of their upstream raids.
Using a mix of segregated cycle lanes and quiet back roads, you arrive in Shepherd’s Bush where sheep were corralled after their long journey from the downs of Berkshire, before being taken to the markets in the city. Rather than follow the sheep you head north, past the 1908 Olympic site of White City, where you see how the noble Olympian ideal has been transformed into a little less noble mega-shopping area. Another site fallen from a pedestal is the old BBC Television Centre, which has been converted into flats.
And so to prison. Wormwood Scrubs was the most innovative and modern prison of its day and it was built almost entirely by prisoners. Contractors erected a 9 celled prison, whose inmates went on to build a further 50 cells, and according to a contemporary writer, “so the work proceeded steadily….the felon bees industriously adding cell to cell in the hive…” until the prison was complete in 1890.
From the Scrubs it’s a couple of noisy kilometres to Hanger Lane on a segregated cycle way to the extraordinary 1920’s Hanger Garden Estate. Arriving in the middle of a mock-Tudor estate replete with gardens and a ‘village’ green which in summer overflow with roses.
Linger and marvel, then ride onto the 12th century church of St. Mary’s, Perrivale where, you may hear the melodies of various professional ensembles filtering through the weatherboarded walls. The now redundant church has been re-purposed as both a rehearsal and concert venue.
The riding is now through well-groomed parks all the way to Northala, one of London’s newest green spaces, created with the spoil from the Westfield shopping centre mixed with rubble from the old Wembley. It’s definitely worth the trudge (cycling is officially not allowed) to the top, in order to admire the expansive views over London, to the North Downs and across towards the Chilterns. The cafe in the park is a good place to stop for coffee and homemade cake.
From the landscaped grounds the riding switches to a path which runs alongside the Grand Union Canal through woods and fields. It is a calm place to be, and a wonderful place to ride a bike. London’s rich urban wildlife habituate the banks.
After this interlude, you need to prepare yourself for the noisy, brash and beautiful Southall. There is no traffic-free cycling for the short stretch to the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall (SGSSS), which is the largest Gurdwara outside of India. What about spicing up your ride and stopping at the New Asian Tandoori Centre?
A few easy kilometres follow on quiet back roads, before Osterley Park is reached. The “faire and stately brick house” was built by the banker Sir Thomas Gresham in the 1570s and later re-developed by Robert Adam for the Childs, another banking family. You can see the influence of Chiswick House on the estate, with the large lake, the woods, avenues and stands of trees. Cattle still graze the fields and despite the din of the nearby M4, the estate is as grand as any London house can be.
Northala and the view over London
From the park, there is a stint on one of the country’s first cycleways, built in 1935, along the Great West Road. The road was conceived as a by-pass for Brentford and new factories were encouraged to open along its length. Firestone, Gillette and others built magnificent Art Deco palaces to industry, many of which still remain.
The last section of the route takes you through Ealing’s parks, to Boston Manor, another grand house and park, dating from 1623. From its serene grounds, the route rides through the Ealing Garden Suburb with its many magnificent homes, to Sir John Soanes’ house at Pitshanger. Nearby are the Ealing Studios, the oldest film and recording studios in the world, where since 1908 scores of artists have made their name including, Adele and Rhianna. Thousands of films, from Whiskey Galore to Notting Hill have been, and are continuing to be made, in the studios.
An easy short ride through more parks and quiet suburbs takes the wide-eyed wanderer back to the start in the grounds of Chiswick House.
Ride practicalities
For a shorter version of this ride - only 33km - which misses out Northala Park and Southall, try this route; Western Waters
START/FINISH: Chiswick House DISTANCE: 50KM. TOTAL ASCENT: 242m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: Cycle paths and quiet back roads MAINLINE TRAIN SERVICES: Chiswick, or Gunnesbury LINKS TO OTHER RIDES: Wormwood to Walthamstow Chiswick to Greenwich Heathrow to Ockenden RECOMMENDED FOOD AND DRINK; Hammersmith; The Elder Press cafe, (good for your pre-ride coffee and breakfast) Northala Fields; Northala Cafe, Southall; Brilliant or the New Asian Tandoori Centre (no Website) 114-118 The Green, Southall UB2 4BQ
Every route on this website has been carefully researched as well as ridden. However situations on the ground can change quickly. If you know of changes to this route, or cafes, pubs and the like which you think other cyclists need to know about, feel free to share your thoughts below.
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