Uxbridge

Uxbridge combines an impressive history with walking trails through parks, open spaces and along the Grand Union Canal. For families and other travel groups, this creates a varied mix: you can explore historic sites, take a guided tour or spend a day outdoors. When choosing a holiday apartment in Uxbridge, it helps to decide on your preferred travel rhythm in advance – cultural discoveries, a special insight into wartime history or outdoor activity each create different priorities.

History at the Battle of Britain Bunker

One particularly notable place to visit is the Battle of Britain Bunker. The Group Operations Room was built in 1938 and is remarkably well preserved. During the Battle of Britain and other important operations of the Second World War, it played a fundamental role in air defence. A guided tour includes a 45-minute presentation in the preserved Operations Room and also offers the opportunity to explore the Plotting Room.

Younger visitors can take a family-friendly tour tailored to this target group. Once a month, you can also visit the Battle of Britain Bunker as part of a self-guided visit. The nearest station to the bunker is Uxbridge; the walk is approximately 1 mile long. You can take the approximate walking distance into account when planning your arrival and day around this historic site.

Museums, Churches and Documents

The Hillingdon Museum and Archives Service is located next to Uxbridge Library in the Middlesex Suite Building of the Civic Centre in Uxbridge. Families can experience an interactive exhibition of a Victorian house there, featuring an original fireplace from the borough’s collection. Those interested in historical texts can view the essay “Peregrinations of a Kiddy” in Hillingdon’s reading room without an appointment. A typed transcription of the original text is also available there.

The Church of St Margaret is a preserved medieval town church. Its nave and north aisle date from the early 15th century, while the north-west tower dates from the 14th century. The large south aisle from the late 15th century was built as a guild chapel. Uxbridge Quaker Meeting House was built in 1817. In the Crown and Treaty public house, formerly Place House, negotiations for the Treaty of Uxbridge took place in 1644.

Basset's Grant also tells part of the area’s development. The 12th-century document is the oldest document in the Hillingdon borough collection. It granted the residents of Uxbridge the right to sell property freely, as well as an exemption from tolls. Insights like these make Uxbridge a destination for travellers who enjoy connecting their stay with specific historical topics.

Parks, Waterways and Circular Walks

Hillingdon Council publishes four Uxbridge walks through parks, open spaces and along the Grand Union Canal. Uxbridge Walk 4 is a circular route of just under 4 miles. It follows the Grand Union Canal and the River Colne before returning to Uxbridge.

Uxbridge Common is a 5-acre traditional village common with a pond, a network of ditches and a line of trees along its edge. Fassnidge Park is a traditional formal park from the Edwardian era in the heart of Uxbridge. It also has a free-to-use skatepark. Stockley Country Park comprises 11 lakes and around 200,000 trees and shrubs. The varied landscapes therefore range from urban parks to more expansive areas with water and woodland.

Uxbridge Lock as a Historic Place to Visit

A visit to Uxbridge Lock offers insights into how trade and transport – roads, rivers, canals and railways – shaped the historic town of Uxbridge. Free guided walks are offered at the Uxbridge Lock site on the Grand Union Canal. Together with the Uxbridge walks, this provides options for different day plans: you can focus on a guided insight or plan a circular route of just under 4 miles.

For further orientation in the local directory, you will also find Hillingdon, Harlington, Ickenham, Harefield, Northwood, Harmondsworth, West Drayton and Ruislip. Before searching for a holiday apartment, you can consider which focus should define your trip: bunker history, historical documents, churches and buildings, or paths through parks and along the water.

To the higher-level travel overview: Hillingdon.