Holiday apartment in Hounslow – parks, stately homes and culture

Hounslow has more than 160 parks and open spaces. Stately homes, historic gardens and museums complement the borough’s extensive parks and former royal parkland.

Nature and parks

Hounslow Heath is the only legally designated Local Nature Reserve in the London Borough of Hounslow. Boston Manor Park covers 34 acres of historic parkland, woodland, a lake and a meadow. Gunnersbury Park adds picnic meadows, formal gardens and lakes where visitors can go boating in summer.

Hanworth Park is also one of the historic parks and gardens of the London Borough of Hounslow. The site was formerly a royal park and is used mainly for informal recreation. The Longford River runs through the northern part of Hanworth Park; it is man-made and mostly covered. The whole of Hanworth Park, including the Longford River, is designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, or SINC for short. Hanworth Park also has a walk generator that can be used to create a personalised walk through the surrounding area.

Syon lies in a landscape of trees, meadows, walking paths and vistas. This means that different park landscapes exist side by side within the borough: historic gardens, open meadows, woodland, lakes and a landscape in which a man-made, mostly covered river channel also forms part of the designated natural setting.

Culture and history

Boston Manor House is a Jacobean manor house built in 1623. At Hogarth’s House, the building’s history extends from its construction between 1713 and 1717 to its use as William Hogarth’s (1697–1764) country home from 1749 and up to his death. Visitors can see the artist’s former home and a large collection of his works there; Hogarth’s House can be visited free of charge.

Chiswick House is an 18th-century villa set in classically designed gardens and is one of the early and significant examples of neoclassical architecture in the United Kingdom. The gardens of Chiswick House are associated with the emergence of the English landscape garden movement. Chiswick House and Gardens also offers a free audio guide to the history of the house and gardens.

Osterley House is a Georgian country house maintained by the National Trust. Syon House was built in the 16th century on the site of the medieval Syon Abbey and came into the possession of the family of the current owners in 1594. Together with Boston Manor House, Hogarth’s House and Chiswick House, it forms a series of historic sites representing different periods, building types and garden contexts.

Museums and music

The Musical Museum offers fully guided tours with practical demonstrations conducted by volunteers. Exhibits include player pianos and violins, pipe organs, music boxes, gramophones, keyboards and synthesisers. The Mighty Wurlitzer Cinema Organ has become an attraction in its own right. The Musical Museum’s collection also includes more than 20,000 paper music rolls.

The London Museum of Water & Steam presents the history of London’s public water supply and the pumping engines that helped transform the city. It is housed in the historic buildings of the former Kew Bridge Waterworks in Brentford. The museum has the world’s largest collection of stationary steam engines.

Routes and connections

Brentford High Street forms part of Cycleway 9. Brentford Lock offers opportunities for walking and cycling. Chiswick town centre is well connected to central London by underground and rail services in Zone 3. This means that historic parks, walking and cycling routes, museums and the good connection between Chiswick centre and central London are all located within the same geographical area.

Also pay attention to included services, individual price components, and booking and cancellation conditions. These fields make it possible to compare different offers objectively side by side. You can then view or compare the options directly in the offers section. Further information about the area can be found at Hounslow, Isleworth and Feltham.

For the higher-level travel overview: Greater London.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Haringey, Brent, Merton, Sutton, Bromley.