Elthorne Park & Waterside is a delightful multi use park in Hanwell of some 7.5 acres offering something for the whole family.  Now long established, it was acquired by the Council from the Earl of Jersey in 1910. 

 

In addition to history in the form of the large Sarsen Stone excavated locally and displayed inside the front entrance, there is a formal park with old bandstand, outdoor gym, children’s playground and public tennis courts.  This area is kept as a traditional park - but go beyond that and you are in wide open fields, a football pitch and paths and meadows leading down to the River Brent. Between the Park and the River Brent is Elthorne Waterside which was designated in 1970 and is managed for nature conservancy - a great place for spotting wildlife. Elthorne Waterside provides a sanctuary for wet meadow plants and wildlife. Popular for quiet recreation and dog walkers.

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Work in Progress

The work on maintaining the Park continues, with a view to biodiversity.  The young trees planted on Osterley Island and adjacent woodland will be mulched to support the woodlands regeneration and sustainability.  Cuttings were taken from the Black Poplar trees planted six years ago and there is a plan to grow these on.  So do look out for these developments.

 

History

The Park is called after the ancient name given to this part of Middlesex in Saxon times -   as is the Council Ward in which it sits.   At one point there was even a movement to rename Hanwell as Elthorne in the later 19th Century (hence the railway station being renamed Hanwell and Elthorne). This movement had come to an end by the early 20th Century, but the name was used for the name of Hanwell’s then new park. 

 

Elthorne Park is part of the flood plain of the River Brent and the Grand Union Canal and the continuous Brent River Park which includes Brent Lodge Park, Brent Meadow and part of the Brent Valley Golf Club.

 

Sports Centre

There is also Elthorne Park Sports Centre run by EveryoneActive : https://www.everyoneactive.com/centre/elthorne-sports-centre/. - currently offering a one day free pass: https://www.everyoneactive.com/promotion/haveadayonus/

 

 

Ealing Health Walk - Elthorne Park and Waterside

 

As part of their Health Walk programme Ealing Council has created the following as a suggestion for Park users. Please note some of the info might be slightly out of date. For example the Mosaic Trail while still there has lost some of its mosaics!

 

• Start and finish: Main entrance to Elthorne Park on Boston Road

• Distance: 3.2 km (1.98 miles)

• Accessibility: This walk is not suitable for wheelchairs

An attractive walk around meadows, woodland and the Grand Union Canal with a few information boards on the route.

Directions

Turn left at the Sarsen Stone (where there is an information board) and follow the perimeter of the formal park until you see two yellow bollards. Go through these, turn right and go past a metal gate into the large area known as Elthorne Waterside where you should beware of rabbit holes, as they are abundant here. Keep to this gravel path as it goes past the brick-built 'Mosaic Trail' plaque and a granite sculpture, and then goes downhill. At the bottom, go straight across at the junction, and then, near the road, go down some steps on to the canal towpath and turn left. Be careful here – the path is a bit narrow initially.

Follow the path between the canal and a ditch (where you might see water voles) until you come to Osterley Weir, where you cross over the weir on a footbridge to Osterley Lock Island. Here you might see herons, kingfishers or cormorants and there is a picnic spot beside Osterley Lock on the island, which is an attractive wooded spot with a maze of little paths.

Carry on the towpath until you cross another footbridge and then turn left before the motorway flyover. Take the path beside the river and then follow it uphill through woodland. At the first junction (at the top of the hill), turn left and follow the path round the edge of a plateau with woodland on your left and playing fields and meadows on your right. This whole area used to be a rubbish dump with refuse arriving from central London along the canal and now it's a haven for birds and wildlife.

Walk past the sculpture of a deer, which was erected in the park in 2000, then on in between two fenced-off areas. After the path goes downhill, go straight across at the junction and keep the scout hut on your left. Go uphill and, at the first junction, turn right to stay inside the park. After the houses, turn left through a wooden gate into Elthorne Park again. Keeping to the left, walk past the tennis courts and the playground around the edge of the park till you come to where you started. If you've time to spare to make up an hour's walk you can always do another circuit of the small formal park.

 

 

Access: 

Boston Road Hanwell London West London W7 2AD

Transport: Tube: Boston Manor (Piccadilly line), Bus: E8
Facilities: Tennis courts, playground, football pitches (just behind the park), bandstand
Open access