This walk starts from Acton Town (Piccadilly Line) Underground Station and finishes at Boston Manor Underground Station, three stops further on.
Paths are well-surfaced with no appreciable hills, although there are several flights of steps around the Brentford area. The length is 6.16 miles (9.92 kilometres)
The walk explores a mixture of environments from the wide spaces of Gunnersbury and Boston Manor Parks, through to river and canal landscapes, and the vestiges of industrial Brentford. There are fine houses dating from the 17th to the early 19th century and some good modern architecture too.
1. From Acton Town Station, turn left and walk along Gunnersbury Lane. On reaching the North Circular Road after 400 metres, cross and continue along Popes Lane for a further 100 metres, then turn left through the gates into Gunnersbury Park and immediately turn right by the park wall through a group of conifers to enter the Italian Garden.
2. Bear left between a circle of hedges and the back of the classical Temple (probably built in the 1760's), then turn left to the Round Pond. Turn right to follow around its edge anticlockwise, continuing past a lawn with fine trees now on the right. Leave the lake on a forward path towards buildings ahead (toilets can be found near here). Bear right to arrive at the Classical Arch above a flight of steps which ascend.
Round Pond, Gunnersbury Park
Many of the parks in the former county of Middlesex were once the grounds of country mansions, as is the case at Gunnersbury. The original house of 1658-63 was demolished in 1800 and replaced by a house known as Gunnersbury Park in 1802, (subsequently much altered in 1835), and Gunnersbury House in 1805. They are now unimaginatively known as the Large Mansion and the Small Mansion respectively. The site of the old house lay between the two. The completely refurbished museum, reopened in 2018, is well-worth a visit (free entry) and is sited in the Large Mansion, the former home of the Rothschild family.
3. Continue on to walk beside the Large Mansion. Where this building ends, (unless visiting the museum - the entry is on the other side), ignore the Small Mansion and turn right down a slope, continuing between lawns. The building over to the right is the Orangery, built in the 1830's. Pass a lake, then turn left on the cross-path on a short diversion to view the Gothic ruins, built around 1840. These are a cheap brick imitation of an ecclesiastical building, their main purpose being to shield the view of the stables from Gunnersbury House. Now retrace your steps and pass both the lake and the Orangery, keeping both on your right.
4. Just past the Orangery, turn sharp left. Go past the first short path on the right leading to the now-lost tennis court, then take the next path on the right in 20 metres. A signpost here for wildflowers and meadows leads through a nature reserve. After coming into the open, bear left to arrive at a T-junction, where turn right, then keep left at following junctions, close to the edge of the park. Eventually the Gothic Tower, originally a tile kiln, is reached, behind which is Potomac Lake, formed around 1861 from a flooded claypit.
5. Continue beside the lake (which is sometimes hidden), turning right with its railings around the next junction. Ignore a path coming in from the left, but leave the lake at the next junction, continuing forward for about 100 metres, then exit the park through a small gate on the left. Go through this onto Lionel Road North and turn left past the primary school, then turn right into the playing fields of Carville Hall Park (North). Follow the right edge of the field until a cross-path is reached; go left and soon turn right through a gate in railings. Go past play equipment to exit onto Clayponds Avenue, where turn left to the main road.
6. Now cross over the A4 (and under the M4) at pedestrian-controlled lights, to go forward into Clayponds Lane. Follow railings for 40 metres and turn left into Carville Hall Park (South). This is so secluded that it isn’t even marked on most maps! There is only one forward path through this cheerful little park, and even the proximity of the motorway and the tower blocks peering over the other side of the park can’t altogether dispel the charm of this hidden oasis. The house in the park was originally called Clayponds, then later Carville Hall, and was known to have existed in 1777, later undergoing a Victorian remodelling. Continuing to the end of the park only gives access back onto the main road, so retrace your steps back through the entrance gate, and turn left to continue along Clayponds Lane and over the railway bridge.
Carville Hall Park (South)
7. On reaching Green Dragon Lane (by Greenrod Place), turn left along the road; the tall blocks of Brentford Towers Estate are now on the right. A short diversion can be made by cutting through the raised green area on the left with play facilities, before dropping back onto the road. Continue as Green Dragon Lane curves right and passes the entrance to the London Museum of Water and Steam, formerly known as the Kew Bridge Steam Museum.
London Museum of Water and Steam: This magnificent industrial museum, with its 71.6 metre-high tower, is housed in the former premises of the Grand Junction Water Works Company’s Kew Bridge pumping station. It is now home to the world’s largest collection of steam pumping engines, together with a steam railway and a museum of water treatment and supply. The museum is open at weekends and many of the engines can be seen working. (Admission charge).
London Museum of Water and Steam
8. Now turn left into Kew Bridge Road and follow it as far as the Express Tavern. Turn right over the controlled crossing to negotiate the busy junction and go down the sloping road to the right of Kew Bridge.
Drop-out Point: Several bus routes are available from near this junction and connect with Brentford, Richmond and Chiswick. Kew Bridge Station, from where trains run towards Hounslow and back to Clapham Junction and Waterloo, is a few steps past the Express Tavern.
Recommended pub: If you are in need of refreshments, the Express Tavern, built in 1882 and still having a late-Victorian feel to it, can provide both real ale and food. Alternatively, there are shops across the main road junction.
9. On reaching the river, turn right along The Hollows. This narrow path threads its way between new apartments and the Thames, on which a number of house-boats are berthed. Continue by the river as far as possible, noting Brentford Ait, the first of a string of three islands here. Eventually negotiate a slope and then steps to come out on Brentford High Street opposite the new premises of the Musical Museum.
Musical Museum: This museum, open Friday to Sunday, would be more accurately described as the Museum of Mechanical Music. As well as the more obviously expected exhibits, such as pianos played by paper roll, there are some ingenious mechanisms which play other instruments. The museum also possesses a Wurlitzer organ and recitals are regularly given. (Admission charge).
10. Keep by the road for a short while, then go down the slope into Waterman’s Park, continuing by the river. Opposite the park is the ragstone church of St George, built in 1887. It was the home of the Musical Museum for some years, but has now been converted into residential use. At the end of the park, Waterman’s Art Centre is reached. Continue between the centre and river. We are now opposite another small island, Lot’s Ait, which contains a boatyard and is home to the rare Thames Door Snail, Clausilia biplicata, found in only a handful of locations in Britain.
11. Go down the steps to pass the back of an office block. On exiting the car-park, turn left to take a covered path by the river again, passing under the linking bridge to a boatyard on the opposite bank. Circumnavigate an inlet to keep by the river, passing a modern development of restaurants and apartments. The original route then swung left around the dock to gain entrance to gain entrance to the Grand Union Canal. Unfortunately, part of this route is now blocked off, pending redevelopment works, and is forecast to be reopened in April 2024. In the interim, go as far as the Gelata Pera building. Turn right here, then left and right again up Pump Alley to gain Brentford High Street, then turn left until Dock Road is reached. Turn down here to regain the original route which accesses the Canal.
The Grand Union Canal links London with Birmingham and was open throughout its length by 1805 — the section from the Thames to Uxbridge being opened in 1794. Brentford was once a heavily industrial town, with a huge gasworks, breweries and a distillery, as well as the waterworks. There is now little left of this industrial past, but part of the atmosphere of old Brentford still survives around the boatyards.
12. Cross over the canal by the lock gates and immediately reverse your direction by going down steps, recrossing the canal and going down more steps. Walk alongside the lock and go over a metal bridge by a weir onto Johnson’s Island. This whole area is a fascinating labyrinth of alleys and watercourses. Go forward now between fences and over a further bridge to emerge at Fuller’s Brewery Tap pub — another reliable outlet for real ale. Note how the pub has been designed with access on high as an anti-flood precaution. Follow Catherine Wheel Road, (another area being redeveloped), back up to the High Street for a final time and, this time, turn right.
13. In 20 metres, cross the road by the lights near the Beehive pub and walk up the left-hand side of Half Acre. On your way, note St Paul’s Church over to your right, built with a tall spire in 1868, but extensively remodelled in the 1990’s. Continue for another 80 metres, then turn left into The Butts, the name coming from the area’s former use for archery practice in Tudor times. The street is flanked by detached Victorian villas and ends in a spacious square, the site of the Middlesex elections in the 18th century. The houses here date from the late 17th century onwards.
14. Make for the top left corner of the square and turn into the Market Place. On reaching the green-tiled Weir pub, note the board recording the stay of the painter, J M W Turner in 1785-7. Turn right along a short section of Lion Way by the former Magistrates' Courts, and leave by passing through bollards at its end. Immediately turn right over the River Brent onto The Island, then turn left alongside the river to arrive at the Grand Union Canal again. Ignore the bridge with the curved rising path, but continue forward to cross the second bridge by Brentford Gauging Locks. Once over, immediately turn sharp right (i.e. away from the nearby main road bridge). Pass a cast-iron marker inscribed “G J C Co Braunston 93 miles”. The initials refer to the Grand Junction Canal, the former name of the Grand Union. Braunston is where the Grand Union meets the Oxford Canal in Northamptonshire.
15. Swing left over an inlet and head towards the office blocks in the distance. The smart new apartments are left behind, and we enter another area now being redeveloped. The huge shed that stood here as a maintenance depot for the canal has now been demolished, and a temporary walkway has been built over the canal. Pass under a railway bridge; the canal now twists and turns, accompanied by new commercial buildings. Particularly impressive is the GlaxoSmithKline complex on the other side of the Great West Road (A4), the sky spectacularly reflected in the sheer glass curtain walling of the main office block.
16. Continue until a bridge is reached, then cross into Boston Manor Park. Take the broad path on the left by the noticeboard, following first across grass, then into woods. Fork right under the motorway to find Boston Manor House ahead. At the top of the path, turn left to visit the house, which has an adjacent cafe.
Boston Manor House is a fine, if rather severe, Jacobean house, built in 1623 for Lady Mary Reade, who later married Sir Edward Spencer of Althorp. In 1670, it passed into the hands of the Clitherow family, who lived there until the property was acquired by the local authority in 1924. The house contains some fine plasterwork and a comprehensive display about its history.
17. On leaving the house, return to your original path and continue past outbuildings. On arriving at the lake, turn left and follow it before turning right at the junction. More paths run off into extensive woods, but these can be tricky to negotiate. Otherwise, follow the lake around and exit through the park gate at Boston Manor Road. The underground station can be reached by turning left along this main road, but for a more pleasant route, turn left again by the park railings down Boston Gardens, which runs parallel to the busier road. Continue on for 550 metres. When a driveway is reached on the left, giving access to playing fields, turn right and continue up the slope to reach the main road again. Boston Manor Underground Station is just over to the left.
© Mike Biggs, Ramblers (Inner London Area), 2023. If you have any comments about this walk, or notice that it needs updating to take account of changes on the route, then please contact Mike at