95km London to Windsor Loop
Ride overview
The route is West London’s finest gravel tour. In winter, its a tough old ride with much mud and even more water, but come spring when the paths have dried, its a gorgeous day out. The first half of the ride is sublime; rough, gritty, sometimes dirty and always interesting. There’s a hint of lawlessness and much noise - be that from birds or planes. The route is nature rich - there are more species of critters and plants than you’ll find in a national park. You’ll see tenacious nature everywhere; buzzards flying with planes, wild horses on wildflower-rich grassland and few if any, humans. On the return leg, there’s more order with Windsor Castle, the Great park and Savill Gardens, one of the finest spring gardens in the land. Thereafter you ride past Thorpe Park, through tidy Weybridge and onto the Thames which will take you on a smooth and wide gravel path to Richmond. Then its the deer park and down to cross the river for the final time.
(Route re-ridden and revised March 24)
Click here, to read an account of riding the route in deep winter
Ride Practicalities
START/FINISH: Kew Bridge station DISTANCE: 95km TOTAL ASCENT: 428m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: Traffic-free cycle lanes, canal side paths, gravel tracks, a few roads of which a couple have short busy sections. A good ride for a gravel/hybrid bike RECOMMENDED CAFÈS/PUBS: Windsor; The Bexley Arms, Windsor Great Park; Savill Garden Cafe, NEARBY MAINLINE TRAIN SERVICES: Kew Bridge, Windsor, Chertsey, Mortlake PLACES TO VISIT; Windsor Castle, Savill Gardens, Hampton Court LINKS TO OTHER RIDES: Arcadian Thames, Between the Great West Roads, On the fringes of the Thames, The Lower Brent, Pylons, Poplars and Planes
Ride Notes
From Kew Bridge, you ride on the segregated cycleway C9, into Brentford. When the cyclepath runs out, there’s a kilometre of busy high street before heading north on the Grand Union canal. At first this is an urban ride, orderly with smooth paths and new builds, but once past the curvaceous GlaxoSmithKline building, the surface becomes delightfully rougher. You jump, jolt, and glide your way past Thomas Telford’s elegant Gallow’s bridge, past factories pouring out smells of baking and noisome metal working to the Hanwell Flight of Locks, which at 16m of elevation counts as the first hill.
The route continues beside the Grand Union canal. There’ll be joggers who’ll not hear your bell, dogs intent on tipping you into the water, and retired people moving to the side of the path with slow reluctance. But generally its’ a pleasant 17km of riding; mixed and varied, industrial and rural. Come early on a spring morning, or in the depths of winter and the path will be yours to play with as your mood and cycling powers dictate.
The Colne Valley Trail
At Cowley, you’ll turn off onto the ‘Slough Branch’ which you follow for a kilometre after which a whole new set of conditions and challenges arise. The riding is thrilling. Officially you follow the Colne Valley Trail through a lawless landscape. It’s wild and messy; flowers mix with mattresses, buzzards fly with planes. Wild horses watch you with a studied gaze as you pedal over the course grasslands, and there are barriers along the way which force you to dismount. (They are there to prevent motorcycling joy riders). Woods are thick with trees, the noise of planes and motorways intense, the nature dense.
Route Guidance: Once you arrive at the great grass meadow before Colnbrook, the bridlepath is not clear. Essentially head across the field on grass towards the tall poplars at the far end of the field
A carpet of daffodils in the Windsor Great Park
Route guidance; At Langley, after a short ride alongside the M4 on an excellent cycle path, and after bridge crossing, the route heads onto Ditton Park Road. There’s a gate on the left bearing the legend ‘permissive path’ along with an NCN 61 sign. The gate is often locked, in which case continue up Ditton Park Road to the top, turn left on London road, and left again after 100 m or so onto Cedar Road. This will bring back to the Jubilee River Path.
After the free-riding over the edgelands, you approach Jubilee river via the grounds of Ditton Park, a huge Victorian Mansion, now a banqueting venue, but in its time, a Royal residence and home to the Dukes of Montagu. The Jubilee River, is a 1970s creation to relieve the Thames (and the housing which borders its banks) from winter floods. The path is wide and gravelly (as opposed to muddy). After a kilometre or two of urbanity - allotments and playing fields - you’re in Royal Windsor, where you might stop at the Bexley Arms for a home cooked lunch. The Great Park, which follows after an uphill rise on a gravelly path is tidy and ordered. The route passes Savill Gardens, which is the finest spring garden in the land. There’s a cafe and restaurant at the entrance to the garden, which makes it a a good place to refuel.
Route guidance; The path to Savill Gardens, is busy at the weekend and cycling is permitted at the moment so please ride slowly with due caution, giving pedestrians the right of way at all times.
The Thames Path near Walton-on-Thames. The plants are Alexanders, brought over by the Romas, who harvested the stalks which are not dissimilar to asparagus.
Route Guidance; From Savill Gardens, there is an ‘unofficial cycling route’ to Virginia Water, passing the Totem Pole. It’s busy with pedestrians and popular with children riding their bikes. Please don’t jeopardise the Park Authorities ‘turning-a-blind-eye’ to cycling on this path - ride very slowly and enjoy the park.
Once out of the Park, the riding mixes woods and commons with pavement. You ride past Thorpe Park and the screams of those on rollercoasters seem similar to those of the ring necked parakeets which also fly around these parts. From Thorpe, the suburbs of south-west London bleed into each other and the route seeks paths across water meadows and back roads through housing estates.
Route Guidance; At Chertsey Meads, the route follows the River Bourne across the water meadows. After rain it is all but impossible to ride here so head across the bridge on a shared path to Philip Southcote School, then take a left, riding on the shared path beside the road following the NCN 4 signs to Weybridge. When you arrive at Ham Court, to Finally, you reach the Thames at Weybridge where a wide and well maintained gravel path takes you for the final push to Hampton Court, Bushy Park and onwards into Richmond Park. There’s a final couple of road kilometres back to Kew, where the ride ends.
Where my wheels go, is grateful to Hidden Tracks for the inspiration for this ride.
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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