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Lower Colne Valley (Staines to Heathrow T5 or Circular) Short Walk

Out along the Thames and across the Colne, then through Staines Moor and Stanwell Moor along the meandering Colne River. Pass Heathrow Airport under its flight paths and walk into T5.

Circular Easy London

History

Club walks since April 2015, and a summary which goes back to Jan 2010.

Date Option Post # Weather
Thu, 11-Jun-26 Evening Walk - Lower Colne Valley: Staines to Heathrow Terminal 5 4 grey but dry
Thu, 14-May-26 a Evening Walk - Staines-upon-Thames Circular: the Thames, the Colne River, Staines Moor, the Wraysbury River [New Walk] 4 thunder lightning and hard rain to blue skies
Thomas G
Length : 10.2 km (6.3 mi)
Ascent/Descent : 43m
Net Walking Time : 2 hours
Take the 17.48 Reading train from Waterloo (via Clapham J, Richmond and Twickenham), arrives 18.22.
Returns: frequent (Elizabeth Line, Piccadilly Line and the Heathrow Express to connect at Terminal 2&3).
Staines is outside the London Travel Zones! You will need an extension to any Travelcard you have!
This route covers in a meandering fashion the Lower Colne Valley, from the Colne’s meeting with the Thames upstream through Staines Moor and Stanwell Moor to Heathrow Airport, east of Longfordmoor.
From the station, you make your way to the Thames and turn upstream past the mouth of the Colne and under Staines Bridge, site of the only Roman bridge across the Thames outside of London, before turning through old Staines and under one of many busy roads into Staines Moor. The moor is dominated by the meandering Colne, many low-lying flooded areas, bulrushes and reeds, scattered trees, imposing bramble bushes and myriads of very old anthills, as well as a varied birdlife all year round.
Apart from the Thames and the Colne, several other rivers (the Wraybury River, an anabranch of the Colne, and three distributaries of it: the Sweeps Ditch and the Longford and Duke of Cumberland Rivers), plenty of drainage ditches and some reservoirs and ponds make this a very ‘watery’ walk. Combined with a high watertable, some areas can be water-soaked, muddy or even impassable after heavy rain.
Note 1 : Outside of Staines, the route is affected by noise from the M25 and/or the airport runways.
Note 2: Some parts of the route through Staines Moor can be impassable after prolonged heavy rain.
Note 3: During ground nesting season (01/03-31/07), dogs must be kept on a lead on Staines Moor.
Note 4: The final stretch into Heathrow Airport (which is private ground) leads along road pavements that are signed as ‘Cyclists Only’. This is not adhered to by locals, including some Heathrow employees, but – technically – walking along them is trespassing. If you are uncomfortable with this, the alternative are frequent buses from the Moor Bridge stop, either to T5 (not TfL) or to Hounslow West Underground (TfL).
Refreshments : The Globe Pub & Kitchen Landside, Terminal 5, open to 21.30.
For detailed route maps, gpx/kml files, photos and walk directions click here . bad walk tag Thu, 11-Jun at 17:48
  • Thomas G
    Thu 11-Jun

    4 walkers on a grey but dry evening in fine temperatures No sign on the ground of any heavy rain any time of the day, contrary to the forecasts for the area, so the going was fine, even the grass wasn't proper wet. We saw a lot of horses and even more cattle grazing on Staines Moor, some were quite unmovable off the riverside path. The Colne was reasonably full and fast flowing, and the info panels en route were studied. Medium fine views we had from the hillock just west of T5, to the North Downs and Harrow-on-the-Hill respectively. We got to the Globe at 20.45 (last food orders are at 21.00) where the World Cup opening game was shown, and took the 21.52 Elizabeth Line (the Oldies) or Piccadilly Line (the Young 'Uns) home respectively.

Thomas G
Length : 7.8 km (4.8 mi)
Ascent/Descent : negligible
Net Walking Time : 1 ¾ hours
Take the 17.50 Reading train from Waterloo (via Clapham J, Richmond and Twickenham), arrives 18.22.
Returns: xx.08, xx.29, xx.38, xx.58 .
Staines is outside the London Travel Zones!
This circular variation of the full walk covers in a meandering fashion the Lower Colne Valley, from the Colne’s meeting with the Thames upstream through Staines Moor and back through the moor and the town centre to the station.

From the station, you make your way to the Thames and turn upstream past the mouth of the Colne and under Staines Bridge, site of the only Roman bridge across the Thames outside of London, before turning through old Staines and under one of many busy roads into Staines Moor. The moor is dominated by the meandering Colne, many low-lying flooded areas, bulrushes and reeds, scattered trees, imposing bramble bushes and myriads of very old anthills, as well as a varied birdlife all year round.
This variation of the main walk leads further through Staines Moor onto a modest rise for surround views and back along the Colne and the Wraysbury River (an anabranch of the Colne) to the town centre and railway station.

Refreshments : Plenty of options , see the walk directions pdf for details.

For detailed route maps, gpx/kml files, photos and walk directions click here . bad walk tag

  • Thomas G
    Thu 14-May

    A proper rain-bearing thunderstorm was bearing down on Waterloo station just as the posted train was due to depart, and that (or another) thunderstorm was still at it when the 4 of us disembarked at Staines. We did get started nevertheless, but soon bailed out into The Beehive pub, as the heavy rain (now mixed with hail) didn't show any signs of abating. This was a proper throwback to 1980s (or even 1960s) pub life. No rain inside though but cheap beer, so definitely a good choice. On then as the skies started to clear. And clear they did! By the time we had wound our way to the Thames and through Staines village to the moor, blue sky was dominating and it stayed that way until the end. On the moor we saw ducks, egrets, wild ponies and grazing cattle, loads of anthills and eerie mist rising from the wet grasslands in the evening sun. Due to our early pub stop we arrived at the pre-booked table in I Terroni about 15 mins late, but no worry. Food and service were good, but worries started to seep in when we found out that all London bound trains from Staines were cancelled. After a brief flirtation with the idea of checking into the Premier Inn opposite (£64), we checked bus options to nearby train or tube lines. One left from opposite the restaurant towards Hatton Cross tube within 2 minutes of us paying. thunder lightning and hard rain to blue skies