Ruislip Woods Walk Guide [With Free Map]

The Ruislip Woods Walk offers an escape into ancient woodland without leaving Greater London. This walk takes you through historic forests, open fields, and notable landmarks—all easily accessible by public transport. In this guide, you’ll find practical information about the route, points of interest like Ruislip Lido and St Mary’s Church in Harefield, and highlights such as the Planet Trail.

For this blog post, we follow the Ruislip Woods Yellow Route, the longest of the 3 trails in Ruislip Woods.

Logistics of the Ruislip Woods Walk

Map of the Ruislip Woods Walk

Do you want to do this walk? Simply download the GPS map for free by clicking on the button below. Learn how to upload it onto your navigation app by checking my step-by-step guide here.

Highlights of the Ruislip Woods Walk

The Ruislip Woods Walk

So now we covered the basics, let’s get to the walk.

The Ruislip Lido

Ruislip Lido, nestled in the London Borough of Hillingdon, boasts a rich history that dates back to its creation in 1811 as a reservoir built to supply water to the Grand Junction Canal. Over time, it transformed into a cherished recreational spot, officially reopening as a lido in 1933. The area gained popularity for swimming and boating activities, and during World War II, it served a unique purpose as the Royal Air Force used it to train aircrews in water survival techniques.

In 1945, the Ruislip Lido Railway was introduced, enhancing the site’s appeal. Originally a simple track for transporting building materials, it evolved into a beloved miniature railway attraction. Today, the Ruislip Lido Railway is the longest 12-inch gauge railway in the UK, stretching just under 2 miles through the surrounding woods. It has two stations and a fleet of charming locomotives, making it a nostalgic and scenic ride for visitors of all ages.

The Planets Walk

As you start your walk alongside the Lido, you come across display boards featuring vivid imagery and fascinating facts about the planets and other solar system objects. This is the Planets – Walk trail. It offers visitors an engaging journey through our solar system, starting with the Sun, located opposite the new boathouse, and proceeding outward to each planet in sequence.

The trail spans approximately 2.4 kilometres around the lake, with the planets positioned at proportional distances to represent their relative spacing in the solar system.  This educational walk provides a unique opportunity for both children and adults to learn about astronomy while enjoying the natural beauty of the area.

Ruislip Woods

Ruislip Woods is London’s largest single area of woodland, covering over 700 acres, and forms the city’s first National Nature Reserve. These ancient woods are a precious fragment of the once vast forest that blanketed much of Middlesex in prehistoric times. The woodland is made up of five main areas:

• Park Wood,
• Copse Wood,
• Mad Bess Wood,
• Bayhurst Wood,
• Poor’s Field.

Together, they form a varied landscape rich in biodiversity, with the dominant tree species being oak, hornbeam, and beech.

Originally established as a medieval hunting park for deer and wild boar before 1086, Park Wood still bears signs of its past, with visible earthbank boundaries. In 1608, much of the surrounding Common Wood was cleared, transforming Poor’s Field into a heathland. The construction of the Ruislip Reservoir in 1811 claimed part of the woodland, reshaping the landscape.

The Yellow Route

The Yellow Route is the longest of the marked trails through Ruislip Woods, offering a full exploration of the reserve’s varied landscapes over roughly 6 miles (9.6 km). Introduced in 2019, it begins at St Martin’s Church in Ruislip and ends at St Mary’s Church in Harefield, linking key parts of the woodland, including Park Wood, Poor’s Field, Copse Wood, Mad Bess Wood, and Bayhurst Wood.

Related Content: Best Woodland Walks Near London

Park Wood

We start the walk in Park Wood, where the Yellow Route joins the White Route. Walk straight for 500 m until you reach the railway boundary fence. Then turn right and walk alongside the railway fence for 400 m. You then arrive at the boundary of the Haste Hill Golf Course, a scenic 18-hole public course in Northwood, designed by Harry Colt and opened in 1930.

Continue for another 100 m to reach a footbridge. Cross the bridge and walk towards the Haste Hill railway station. On your right are the fences of the Ruislip Local Nature Reserve.

It is time to leave Park Wood.

Poor’s Field

You know you reached Poor’s Field as the landscape changes drastically from a wooded area to open grassland. On the other side of the open field, you find a swing gate. Go through that gate and enter Copse Wood.

Copse Wood

We are now back in a wooded area. One of the main features of Copse Wood is the medieval earthbanks, a raised soil embankment, historically used as a boundary or defensive feature in ancient landscapes such as hunting parks or settlements.

In summer, Copse Wood becomes a prime location for glimpsing the elegant White Admiral butterfly. With its graceful flight and bold black wings streaked with white, this rare species is a sign of the woodland’s ancient, well-preserved character.

Halfway through Copse Wood, the Yellow Route joins the Hillingdon Trail, a 20-mile (32 km) long-distance walking route traversing the London Borough of Hillingdon from Cranford Park in the south to Springwell Lock near Harefield in the north.

Mad Mess Wood

Cross Ducks Hill Road and enter Mad Mess Wood. The origin of the name Mad Bess Wood, first recorded in 1769, remains unclear. The most widely accepted theory is that it refers to a local woman, possibly a landowner, who was known for patrolling the area and confronting poachers.

When you reach the border of the wood, you come across the first stile of this walk. Cross the stile and continue on the Hillingdon Trail until you reach Breakspear Road North.

Bayhurst Wood

On the other side of Breakspear Road North, you enter the last wood of our walk, Bayhurst Wood. Despite its name, this part of the trail is a mix of open fields and woodland.

In the end, you need to cross the second and last stile of this walk before entering another wooded area.

St Mary’s Church

We are nearing the end of our walk. Continue down the path in the wooded area, which opens at the end onto the St Mary’s Church graveyard.

St Mary’s Church is the oldest building in Harefield, nicknamed “the Westminster Abbey of West Middlesex.” A place of worship had likely stood on the site since at least 1086, when a priest was recorded in the Domesday Book, despite the earliest surviving parts of the current church dating from the 12th century.

Originally owned by the Knights Hospitaller, the church later came under the patronage of the Newdigate family after the Dissolution. It remained a “private peculiar,” exempt from episcopal oversight, until becoming a parish church in 1898.

Beyond its architectural significance, St Mary’s also holds deep cultural and historical importance. The churchyard is home to over 100 graves of Australian soldiers who died at the nearby Harefield Park Hospital during World War I, and they are remembered each year in a long-standing Anzac Day ceremony. One of its most striking features is the elaborate tomb of Alice, Dowager Countess of Derby, a 17th-century noblewoman linked to the Spencer family, ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Where to go next?

Here ends our walk. There are not many good places to eat around there, therefore, my advice is to take the bus 331 from St Mary’s Road stop on Church Hill for a 5-minute ride to the Village Road stop in Denham. From there, walk 7 minutes to the Swan Inn, a cosy pub located in the heart of Denham village, the perfect spot for a post-hike lunch.

Bon appetit!

FAQ

Final Thoughts on the Ruislip Woods Walk

The Ruislip Woods Walk is a great option for anyone looking to explore ancient woodland, local history, and peaceful trails close to London. With good transport links, clear signage, and a variety of landscapes, it’s an easy and rewarding day out for walkers of all levels.

And you—what’s your favourite forest walk? Let me know in the comments below.

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