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From What Mountainbike? magazine, issue 18.COLNE VALLEY, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

Distance: 21.63km (12.98 miles) Time: 1-3 hours Rating: Easy Map: OS Landranger 176 for West London.

The borderlands of London, where our capital city meets the country, are always interesting from a biker's point of view. Analyse an OS map at the point where the grey turns green and you can often find light rides for native Londoners that don't require much travelling to and from car parks or train stations. Amid the rural sights and sounds are usually clues that the metropolis is not far away. On this pleasant trip on London's western edge, the obvious ones are planes banking on their way in and out of Heathrow, and ambient swooshing from invisible motorways.

But don't worry, there's still enough dirt, flora and look-see to build up a sense of freedom and earn your Sunday roasties.
To start this city-to-country route you'll need to get you and your bike to West Drayton station (a halt on the London Paddington-Slough line), and then from there you'll find yourself crossing the Colne Valley on bridleways and lanes into south Bucks, touring Langley Park Country Park (perhaps visiting the cafe in Black Park Country Park on your way through) and returning on a tranquil arm of the Grand Union canal. The route is just right for newbies and cruisers, as there are nil hills (just one short rise beyond Colne Brooke and a longer one in Langley Park Country Park), with enough low and mid-gear work so regular legs know they've done something worthwhile. The bridleway beside Heath Lodge is very muddy after rain, as are tracks in Langley, but otherwise most surfaces are all-weather terrain.

The first section, from the station to Love Green, crosses the low-lying Colne Valley, a natural water margin that limits the city's expansion and drains the Chiltern Hills into the Thames. Water is everywhere, in rivers and culverts, angling and wildfowl lakes, plus the Grand Union canal. You meet the Colne River (the London/Bucks borderline) at Little Britain Lake, a popular local beauty spot. After crossing the M25 you'll turn into the airbrushed bridleway driveway of Delaford Manor - it is legal, honest - and cross babbling Colne Brook.

Next come lanes to Langley Park Country Park, the open landscaped former estate of grand Langley Park house. From there you may cross the fast, busy A412 dual carriageway and do an extra full anticlockwise bridleway tour of Black Park Country Park to the popular lakeside cafæ, or cut out the tour and do a spur straight to the caff on road.

The return trip follows lanes to the Slough Arm of the Grand Union canal. This runs for several kilometres back to the Colne Valley, past our original crossing point, then south on to the main branch of the canal, almost directly to West Drayton station.

ESSENTIAL INFO

Best time to go: The drier the better, and very pretty from spring to autumn around the rivers.

Getting there: By train, West Drayton station is 25 minutes out of Paddington via Ealing Broadway en route for Slough, with half-hourly trains much of the week (no bikes on trains in rush hour, Thames Trains, national rail enquiries 08457 484950). By car, the station lies 1.6km (1 mile) NW of M4 J4 (Heathrow Terminals 123 turn-off, by Holiday Inn) on Yiewsley High St (the station used to be West Drayton & Yiewsley).

Eating and drinking: The cafæ in Black Park Country Park is the best open air destination (indoors too), serving full meals, snacks and proper coffee beside the lake. The Turning Point pub lies on the Grand Union Canal E of Little Britain Lake, 0.4km (0.25 mile) north of where we join it from the Slough Arm near the end of the route, a so-so pub in a lovely setting beside a brand new canal marina. On the High St beside the station is the De Burgh Arms, which appeared in the film Genevieve, but is still another 'okay' pub.

Tourist info: Call The Colne Valley Park Visitor Centre on 01895 833375.

What to take: This is a sheltered ride, never far from civilisation, so you need little more than the minimum ride kit: a puncture kit, bun money, bottle and waterproof - and mobile phone.

Bike shops: Randall's at 2 Station Rd, West Drayton 01895 447693 (just the other side of the tracks from the station) is a sound general bike shop with MTB mechanics and also the contact point for West Drayton MBC.

Map: OS Landranger 176 for West London.

ROUTE DETAILS

The start West Drayton station has a small amount of parking (seven days a week: 80p up to four hours, £2.20 all day), map reference 176/061801.
1 0.00km (0.00 mile) Station forecourt. Turn left along the station drive to High Street. Turn left and immediately right, Tavistock Road. Continue to the end (where the road bends right, Honeywells) and turn L, Trout Rd (cross little Fray's River). Past the right-hand bend, fork left through yellow metal gates onto bridleway. At stream crossing, go straight ahead on London Loop bridleway sign posted (SP) 'Colne Valley Trail, Rickmansworth'. Continue for 0.98km (0.61 mile), cross Slough Arm canal bridge to Little Britain Lake (there's a ford crossing on left).
2 2.01km (1.26 miles) Little Britain Lake. Turn R (lake on L) on broken roadway, continue over the bridge to the lane up the second side of the lake, Old Mill Ln. Turn L (keeping lake on L) and ride for 1.53km (0.96 mile) to T-junction. Turn L, Iver Ln, and after 0. SP 'bridleway', to Delaford Manor. Cross brook and turn R in front of houses. Continue up gold-sanded bridleway to becoming surfaced Coppins Ln, to T-junction with Bangors Rd Sth, SP 'cycle route 6'.
3 3.96km (2.38 miles) Bangors Rd Sth. Turn R on road, join footway cyclepath, and turn first L (blind corner), Love Green Ln. At T-junction in Love Green village turn R, then turn L on to SP 'bridleway'. Continue to road, Wood Ln, cross and go straight ahead, Bellswood Ln. At T-junction, Billet Ln, see bridleway entrance on R to Langley Park Country Park.
4 6.52km (3.91 miles) Billet Lane, Langley Park. Take bridleway through park (shown on park map), continuing round right with arboretum on L to angled bridleway crosstracks. Turn R uphill for 0.32km (0.2 mile), then fork L, but stay L of toilet block on the grass track (not R of block on gravel track as SP 'bridleway', goes wrong way). At trees turn R on woodland singletrack, continue to gate near road (rough short-cut to A412, go straight ahead, through fence, across ditch). Turn R, on track parallel to A412, and after 0.28km (0.18 miles) emerge at A412 dual carriageway lay-by.
5 8.76km (5.26 miles) Turn left and ride on A412 back 0.61km (0.38 mile) to ornate gateway entrance to Langley Park Country Park (Avenue Drive). (Direct, busy road route to Black Park Country Park lakeside cafæ: turn L and ride with care on A412, after 0.9km (0.56 mile) turn R with UTMOST CARE ON FOOT into Black Park Rd. Continue to country park car park entrance after 0.9km (0.56 mile), cafæ is R through car park on far side of lake - no cycling, defer to park maps).
6 10.27km (6.16 miles) Avenue Drive, Langley Park. Turn L, down the driveway, to the gates of Langley Park house at the bottom. Turn R SP 'bridleway' George Green Drive and continue 1.1km (0.69 mile), staying on this track (ignore George Green Field turning L), to road at George Green village. Go L on road, continue for 1.58km (0.99 mile), care at width restrictions, to canal bridge. Take access ramp down to canal on far right side of bridge.
7 16.15km (9.69 miles) Slough Arm canal. Go R on towpath, beneath bridge, E (canal on left). Continue for 5.48km (3.43 miles) (one carry section, down steps to remain on towpath beneath bridge) to canal T-junction with Grand Union canal (alternative return: at 4.72km (2.95 miles) at black footbridge turn R up to Colne Valley Trail bridleway and retrace steps). Cross black/white iron bridge, turn R, S on Grand Union, and continue to second bridge, West Drayton High St. Leave canal L up ramp, turn L up road to junction at top, and L again on High St. Cross canal bridge. Station road on L at mini-roundabout and you're back at the start once again.

Total distance: 21.63km (12.98 miles)