Brent River Park Walk – Complete Guide & Map

A relaxing stroll through Brent River Park can be just the thing to get away from it all. Whether you’re taking the kids out, your four-legged companion for a walk or just looking for a peaceful respite on a lunch break, this park has something for everyone. This article will give you the scoop on Brent River Park Walk, its history, what you can expect to see, and the path to take. So gear up and get ready for a breathtaking stroll through one of the local parks that West London has to offer.

❌ TFL: Strike

❌ RTM: Strike

When nothing works anymore around you, or you just can’t keep track of what’s going on with public transport, I’ve got you covered. This is why I offer in this article to explore a London Park: the River Brent Park in West London. Let’s go and explore our beautiful city!

Logistics of the Brent River Park Walk

Highlights of the Brent River Park Walk

The Brent River Park Walk

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

The River Brent

The River Brent is a 17.9 miles (28.8 km) waterway, flowing from North West to West London. It forms in Finchley, where the Dollis Brook meets the Mutton Brook and then feeds the Brent Reservoir, popularly called Welsh Harp, before continuing its route towards West London, passing by Stonebridge Park and Greenford. It bends towards the South passing through Hanwell Golf Course before merging with the Grand Union Canal Slough Arm. The canalised river flows down to Brentford where it ends its course in the Thames.

The history of the River Brent dates back to the Bronze Age as shown by artefacts uncovered in what used to be Brentford. During the Roman times, Brentford evolved into a main carrefour on a trading route between villages. During the middle ages, as malaria broke out in the south of the country, villagers fled to the North arriving at Brentford and crossing the River Brent onto safer pastures. The River Brent was also used as a natural defence as not shallow enough to allow crossing by foot or by horses.

Greenford

We start our walk in Greenford, a town in the London Borough of Ealing. Greenford has an industrial past, being the precursor in domains such as chemistry. It is in Greenford itself that British chemist and entrepreneur William Henry Perkin discovered the first synthetic dye and gave it the name “mauveine”. Greenford was also the home of food manufacturer and restaurant chain owner J. Lyons and Co’s factory. The manufacturer soon became the first employer in Greenford and the site expended up to 63 acres (25 ha) at its height. It is now known as Lyon Way Industrial Estate. Its prominent landmark is Horsenden Hill, the highest point on Ealing at 85 m above sea level.

Fun fact: The group “The Who” debuted at the Oldfield Tavern (now closed) in Greenford.

Perivale Park

As you get off the bus (whichever one you take to get to the trailhead), you need to walk to the entrance of Perivale Park well indicated by a blue signpost.

Follow the path undulating alongside the river bank. The park is quite bushy and most of the walk is on and off tree tunnels. You meet on your way a lot of dog walkers and local strollers.

Related Content: The Willow Tree Wander

Then, you arrive at a modern wooden bridge leading to Perivale Park Gold Course on the other side. You can divert from our route and follow the public footpath going through the Golf Course and rejoin the Brent River Park footpath at Gurnell Leisure Center.

If you continue straight on the main path, you soon come face to face with the arch of a railway bridge. This is the Brent Viaduct that carries the GWR line from Greenford to West Ealing. Walk under the arch and you arrive at the Longfield Meadows.

Longfield Meadows

Once a hospital, then a sports Pavillon and now a series of ponds and meadows, this is the history of the Longfield Meadows in a nutshell. The site is made to provide a habitat for wildlife but also to prevent flooding. The ponds are filled with rainfall water coming from a stream at the north of the site. The stream is laid out with stones and bordered by a plantation to help clean the water before it reaches the ponds.

There are 3 ponds: the main one, a seasonal one which gets filled up during autumn and wintertime but dries out during the summer and a smaller seasonal one to hold water during the wet seasons. When they overflow, the clean water makes its way to the river. You can make a detour by the Longfield Meadows to see the different ponds before returning to the main path.

Gurnell Leisure Centre

The Gurnell Leisure Centre no longer exists and only remains the building covered in graffiti. It might not feel like the most appealing field to step in, but don’t let the appearance spook you. Behind the abandoned building, you find the Gurnell Skatepark which is busy and buzzing.

Once you are past the skatepark, venture into the adjacent field. There is no visible trail on the ground so I followed the map on my phone, but could have also cut across the field.

You then leave the fields and arrive on Argyle Road. Take right and walk down the road for a couple of meters. You then find a zebra crossing and the continuation of the Brent River Park trail is indicated by a signpost on the other side of the street.

Pitshanger Park

You enter Pitshanger Park, a 52.5-acre (21.25 ha) green space in the heart of Ealing. Formerly the site of Pitshanger Manor House, the land was purchased by the council in 1905 to create a public park. In 1913, the park was extended following the purchase of additional land and in 1914 sports grounds were created.

Nowadays, the park’s main features are:

• Allotments
• 1 play centre
• 1 playground
• 8 Tennis courts
• 1 Bowling green
• 1 basketball court
• 3 football pitches
• 1 golf course

The River Brent flows across the park, providing a habitat for wildlife.

We enter the park through the allotment area. Here you can continue onto the main footpath or turn right to head towards the Duke of Kent pub for a break.

After the break go back to the allotments and continue straight onto the main path. You arrive in an alley fenced on both sides to prevent strollers to trespass onto the golf course. The vegetation forms a tree tunnel above your head. At the end of the footpath, you arrive at an intersection with a bridge.

Do not walk across the bridge as you would exit the park, and instead turn right. As you walk down the path, you can take a peek at the golf course through the vegetation.

When you get to the end of the footpath, you arrive at an intersection with a rose garden on your right and the tennis courts on your left. Continue on the path alongside the tennis courts and then turn right after the basketball court. You walk past the playground and exit the park through the cast iron gate.

Brentham Meadows

You exit Pitshanger Park onto Meadvale Road. Take a left and walk through this pretty residential area towards Brentham Meadows. On your way, you walk past the Brentham Club, a sports club with activities such as tennis, cricket, football, bowling and dart. The club also has an onsite bar and you can rent the venue for private events.

A few detours through the streets of Pitshanger Village and you arrive at the Brentham Meadows, a nature reserve in the heart of Ealing. This part of the walk feels surreal, like an untouched spot of the countryside life in the middle of a residential area. The vegetation is overgrown, bushy and also spiky. Be mindful of it if you are wearing shorts or non-thick bottoms. The terrain can get very muddy, and even in dry weather, some patches remain wet.

If you go during the summer months, you can find berries, but I don’t know if they are edible. Maybe you do, so let me know in the comments below.

The footpath ends at the junction with the busy Western Avenue. Welcome back to civilisation after this short break! From there, you can walk to the nearest bus station or continue further down the avenue until you reach Hanger Lane Station.

Happy discovery!

Map of the Brent River Park Walk

Do you want to do this walk along the River Brent? Download the GPS map by clicking on the button below. Learn how to upload the map by following my step-by-step guide here.

Final Thoughts on the Brent River Park Walk

---

Gentle Brent, I used to know you
Wandering Wembley-wards at will,
Now what change your waters show you
In the meadowlands you fill!
Recollect the elm-trees misty
And the footpaths climbing twisty
Under cedar-shaded palings,
Low laburnum-leaned-on railings
Out of Northolt on and upward to the heights of Harrow hill.

— John Betjeman, Middlesex

---

The River Brent not only inspires London walkers looking for some nature in the city but also poets, as John Betjeman shows us in his Middlesex poem. You too, find your creative self and join me for a walk alongside the River Brent!

And you, what is your favourite London walk? Let me know in the comments below.

Like this walk? Pin it!