Uxbridge: Bunker, local history and canal walks

Uxbridge offers several distinct points of interest for a stay: the Battle of Britain Bunker and its wartime history, historic churches and local collections, as well as parks and walks along the Grand Union Canal. This means you can focus your time on a particular theme or alternate between culture and landscape within the destination. The sites also differ in whether you want to focus on a guided tour, a self-guided visit, history on site or a walking route.

The Battle of Britain Bunker

The Group Operations Room was built in 1938 and is remarkably well preserved. It played a vital role in air defence during the Battle of Britain and other major operations of the Second World War. A guided tour of the Battle of Britain Bunker includes a 45-minute talk in the preserved Operations Room; visitors can also explore the Plotting Room. There is also a family-friendly tour tailored to younger visitors. Once a month, visitors can explore the bunker on a self-guided visit; check the dates before travelling. The nearest station is Uxbridge, about a mile’s walk from the bunker.

Churches and local history

The Church of St Margaret is a well-preserved medieval town church with parts dating from several centuries. The nave and north aisle date from the early 15th century, and the northwest tower from the 14th century. The large south aisle was built as a guild chapel in the late 15th century. Comparing the different parts makes the church’s successive building phases clear. Uxbridge Quaker Meeting House was built in 1817.

Uxbridge’s political history also has a specific setting: negotiations over the Treaty of Uxbridge were held in 1644 at the Crown and Treaty public house, formerly Place House. Basset's Grant gave the people of Uxbridge the right to sell property freely and exemption from tolls. The 12th-century document is the oldest document in the London Borough of Hillingdon’s collection.

Museum and local reading

The Hillingdon Museum and Archives Service is next to Uxbridge Library in the Middlesex Suite Building at Uxbridge Civic Centre. Families can experience an interactive exhibition of a Victorian house at Hillingdon Museum, including an original fireplace from the borough’s collection. Those interested in local writing can consult the essay Peregrinations of a Kiddy in the Hillingdon reading room without an appointment. It includes a typed transcript of the original text.

Parks and walks in Uxbridge

Uxbridge Common is a traditional five-acre village common with a pond, a network of ditches and a line of trees along its edge. Fassnidge Park is a traditional formal Edwardian-era park in the heart of Uxbridge, with a free-to-use skatepark. Hillingdon Council publishes four Uxbridge walks that pass through parks and open spaces and along the Grand Union Canal.

Uxbridge Walk 4 is a circular route of just under four miles. It follows the Grand Union Canal and the River Colne before returning to Uxbridge. A visit to Uxbridge Lock can show you how roads, rivers, canals and railways shaped trade and transport—and, in turn, the historic town. For planning a walk, two different distances are available: the walk of about a mile from the nearest station to the bunker and the circular walk of just under four miles.

Explore more destinations: Hillingdon, Harlington, Harmondsworth, Ruislip, Harefield, Northwood, Ickenham, West Drayton

Go to the main travel overview: Hillingdon.