Royal Windsor GPX Route
A proper gravel loop from London to Windsor and back.
Fast, mostly flat, and built around long stretches of traffic-free gravel, canal towpath and quiet trail.
One of the best all-day gravel routes from London, straightforward to ride but long enough to feel like a proper day out, with a downloadable GPX for easy navigation.
Ride Details
- Ride Level: Red - Challenging
- Distance: 90 km / 55 miles
- Terrain: Natural, gravel, cycle paths and single track (62% off-road)
- Bike: Gravel/CX or hybrid
- Includes: GPX file and printable Ride Guide
The Route
Leave Gunnersbury Station and drop onto the Grand Union Canal at Brentford, following it for a few miles before branching off to visit Osterley House. The route rejoins the canal for another four miles through Stockley Park, then it's back to the towpath one last time (follow it far enough and you'll end up in Birmingham, but that's another trip).
After Yiewsley things get more interesting: the Colne Valley Trail cuts through rough old scrubland, weaving around the M25/M4 interchange into Colnbrook, a scruffy, forgotten-looking village hiding a genuine gem in the coaching inns of the old Bath Road – more on that below.
Back in the modern era, the route runs into Slough (it's the nice bit, promise) and picks up the Jubilee River, a flood-relief channel cut in 1977 that's blended into the landscape so well it's hard to believe it's not natural. Past the playing fields of Eton, a long railway viaduct carries the route into Windsor.
Windsor marks roughly halfway. The return leg has a more genteel feel: past Windsor Castle, through the Old Town, and into the immaculately kept Great Park, where a fine gravel trail (which sadly turns to tarmac) leads through the Savill Garden, past the Guards Polo Club at Smith's Lawn, and around Virginia Water.
After crossing the busy A30, the route returns to gravel across Thorpe Green, past the rollercoasters of a theme park glimpsed over the fence, and on to a bridleway into Chertsey. From there it winds to Weybridge, where eight miles of uninterrupted gravel along the Thames towpath lead to Hampton Court. Cross the river, ride through Bushy Park to Teddington, and cross back over on the footbridge to follow the towpath home to Kew and Gunnersbury Station.
The Totem Pole at Virginia Water
Deep in Windsor Great Park, on the shore of Virginia Water, stands a 30-metre Canadian totem pole, carved from a single red cedar and gifted to Queen Elizabeth II in 1958 to mark the centenary of British Columbia joining Canada. It was raised in a ceremony attended by the Queen herself, and remains one of the more unexpected things you'll ride past on an English gravel route.
Along the Way
Places to Visit:
6 miles Osterley House
17 miles Colnbrook Village – home to the Ostrich Inn, said to date from 1106 and one of England's oldest pubs
24 miles Windsor
31 miles Windsor Great Park
47 miles Hampton Court
Places to Eat:
8 miles The Running Horses, near Osterley Park
17 miles The Ostrich Inn, Colnbrook
17 miles Budgens, Colnbrook – makes home sandwiches to order on store-baked bread
24 miles Windsor – plenty of choice
41 miles Weybridge – plenty of choice
Finish
Finish back at Gunnersbury having covered one of the best gravel loops London has to offer, with a downloadable GPX file for easy navigation and a decent stretch of towpath, park and quiet trail throughout.
Start and End Points
Start/Finish: Gunnersbury Railway Station
Ride Details
- Distance: 90 km | 55 miles
- Climb: 580 m | 1900 ft
- Percentage off-road: 62%
- Trail surface: Natural | Gravel | Cycle Paths | Single Track
- Technical Grade: Red - long distance gravel route
- Mudometer: Easy – good all-weather gravel paths with few areas of mud.
Is this ride for me?
At 90km this sits at the shorter end of our Red routes, and the surfaces are some of the kindest you'll find at this grade – it's the distance rather than the terrain that makes it a Red. Budget five to six hours in the saddle, and treat Windsor as a natural halfway stop.
Read more about our grades here.
Is my bike OK for this ride?
The route is best completed on a gravel/CX bike or hybrid.
I did part of the route yesterday but in clock wise direction starting from Walton on Thames to Windsor Castle. I was pleased to find the route follows many footpaths most of the time in gravel and grass, and not much paved roads, always trying to go off road. The most difficult part was the swallow U section near Virginia Water town. Thanks to the writer Charlie!
Really varied and interesting. Highly recommended.
Brilliant day out. I was surprised to find so many unknown trails in my local area. I would recommend to the route clockwise, especially in the weekend, as the Thames path can be pretty crowded. Thanks for creating a lovely route.
A lovely route, thanks for the effort here.
Definitely a couple of glorious hidden tracks - the route along Thorpe Park and also the the wonderful route through Windsor Great Park.
Points to note:
The route shared is *anti-clockwise* and goes to the River Brent first.
My Garminder had immense fun trying to reroute me as I did the route clockwise; I did ask it to ignore the start point.
The Thames Path between Kew Bridge and Twickenham lock is closed and the earliest reopening is [Summer 2025] so you need an alternative route here.
There was a fun run near Walton on the day I did it!
Suggestions.
The segment between Colnbrook and Ditton Park is horrible. I appreciate it connects to the Colne Valley segment but the gates into the Colne Valley are anti-scooter gates and as a result quite difficult.
I recommend an alternative route from the Grand Union at Langley (Slough branch) via quiet Langley roads and into Ditton Park. Probably less hassle and much calmer.
I completely missed the Stockley Park deviation around the Grand Union - is it required?
The segment between Chertsey/Staines through a field might be impassable in winter
Highlights
I loved the hidden track UNDER the M3
The track alongside Thorpe Park is worth it alone!
A tip top route through Windsor Great Park.
Osterley Park (River Brent) is lovely!
Other.
I didn't stop; Windsor is a natural stop, but even though I know it well, I can't recommend anywhere good.
Really enjoyed this route, had a bit of everything and stopping half way for the Cinnamon bun cafe was perfect! Highly recommend if you want to get the miles in. We did it before Christmas, a bit muddy but was fine.
A great and challenging route in mid winter.