The Middlesex Greenway is a regional walking route along the western and northern edges of Middlesex, where there is let green to be found, hence its name. The path was devised in the 1990s by Stephen J Collins and published in a booklet available on-line. The path has been digitised for WildþingUK, with the assistance of Steve Collins.
Rupert Barnes walked the whole of the Middlesex Greenway in October 2017: the log of the walk is hosted here.
Much of the Greenway has supplied a route for the Middlesex Boundary Path, being developed here too.
The Middlesex Greenway runs from Staines, at the county border with Surrey, and runs northwards up the River Colne, which forms the western border of Middlesex, then from Uxbridge it strikes out north-eastwards through suburbs and countryside to reach the north-eastern corner of the county on the River Lea. The whole route is with Middlesex, passing along the county border in a few places.
The Greenway takes in a variety of scenery, including the city and the suburbs, “Metro-Land”, industrial lands, canal towpaths, riverbanks, farms, woods and open countryside, in particular in the north of the county. It allows for excursions from the path to explore places of interest around the county’s edge, in a miscellany of towns, villages and their innumerable pubs.
To do justice to the route it needs a full description – the log of the walk gives a running commentary, but I am working on a point by point technical guide, having just satisfied myself that the route as walked does match (which a few missteps) the route as originally published by Steve Collins. The map below shows the route in detail.
The total length of the walk is 46 miles.
The Greenway and the Boundary Path
The Middlesex Boundary Path is an independent project, developed here for the Association of British Counties, but building on a great deal of work put by Stephen Collins on the Middlesex Greenway. The current draft route follows the Greenway to Uxbridge before continuing further north. It rejoins the Greenway on Harrow Weald Common, continuing with it as far as Southgate, where the two finally part until the end of the latter at Enfield Lock.
The route: map
Links
- Middlesex Greenway article on Wikishire