Cowley is a village contiguous with the town of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon. A largely suburban village with 16 listed buildings, Cowley is 15.4 miles (24.8 km) west of Charing Cross, bordered to the west by Uxbridge Moor in the Green Belt and the River Colne, forming the border with Buckinghamshire. Cowley lies on a ridge 28 to 45 m above mean sea level.
Yiewsley is a large suburban village in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It is situated 2 miles south of Uxbridge, the borough's commercial and administrative centre. Yiewsley was a chapelry in the ancient parish of Hillingdon, Middlesex. The population of the Yiewsley ward was recorded as 12,979 in the 2011 Census.
The Colne is a river in England which is a tributary of the River Thames. Just over half its course is in south Hertfordshire. Downstream, the Colne is the boundary between Buckinghamshire and London and finally between corners of Berkshire and Surrey. On leaving Hertfordshire, the watercourse splits off into several separate branches, a few of which rejoin it, and its main branch flows into the River Thames on the reach above Penton Hook Lock at Staines-upon-Thames.
The River Crane, a tributary of the River Thames, is a river running through west London, England. It is 8.5 miles (13.6 km) long and flows entirely within Greater London. The Crane flows through three London boroughs: Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames. Although the drainage basin is heavily urbanised, the Crane Valley is one of the few river corridors within London that provides a continuous belt of semi-natural habitat. However, in common with many urban rivers, the Crane's natural morphology has been significantly altered over the years by river engineering works such as widening, straightening and bank reinforcement.
The London Borough of Hillingdon is responsible for 239 parks and open spaces within its boundaries. Since much of the area is within the Green Belt, there are large areas of land properly called open space. They range in size from the Colne Valley corridor to the smallest gardens and playing fields.
Ingrebourne Valley is a local nature reserve (LNR) in Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering. It is owned and managed by Havering Council, and has a visitor centre managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. Most of it is in Hornchurch Country Park west of the River Ingrebourne, but there are also areas north and south of the park which are part of the LNR. It has a wide range of habitats, including woodland, grassland, the river and marshes. It is an important site for a range of species of plants, animals and birds, including great crested newts, slow worms, the harvest mouse and the water vole.
Maple Cross is a village in Hertfordshire, England, which up until the Second World War consisted of an inn, a blacksmith's shop and a few cottages. Today there are around 800 postwar council houses. Some of these have been sold into private ownership. The area is close by junction 17 of the M25 motorway, which makes up the western boundary of the village. It lies on the western fringe of Rickmansworth, about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of Watford and 6 miles north of Uxbridge.
Frays River is a semi-canalised short river in England that branches off the River Colne at Uxbridge Moor and rejoins it at West Drayton. The river is believed to be a man-made diversion of waters from the River Colne to feed watermills around Uxbridge. The name is originates from John Fray who owned Cowley Hall beside the river in the fifteenth century. Other names for the river are the Uxbridge and Cowley Mill Stream, the Cowley Stream or the Colham Mill Stream. In the 17th century the river powered five mills. Drayton Mill at West Drayton was mentioned in Domesday Book and was used for flour milling, paper-making and the manufacture of millboard. It ceased operation in about 1923.
Stocker's Lake is an old flooded gravel pit of approx 90 acres (37.5ha) at Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England, within the Colne Valley Regional Park which is designated as a Local Nature Reserve.
The Colne Valley Regional Park is a 27,500 acre area of parks, green spaces and reservoirs alongside the often multi-channel River Colne and parallel Grand Union Canal, mainly in Buckinghamshire, with parts in the London Borough of Hillingdon, Berkshire and Hertfordshire, and a small area in Surrey.
Frays Farm Meadows is a 28.2-hectare (70-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Denham in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was notified as an SSSI in 1981, and has been managed by the London Wildlife Trust on behalf of Hillingdon Council since 1999. It is part of the Colne Valley Regional Park.
Denham Lock Wood is a 6.3-hectare (16-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) next to the Grand Union Canal, and near Denham in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was notified in 1986 and is managed by the London Wildlife Trust on behalf of Hillingdon Council. It lies within the Colne Valley Regional Park.
Mid Colne Valley is a 132 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Harefield in the London Borough of Hillingdon and Denham in South Buckinghamshire. Its main importance lies in its extensive diversity of birdlife in lakes in former gravel pits.
Cranebank is a Local Nature Reserve on the east bank of the River Crane in Hatton in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is owned and managed by Hounslow Council. It is also part of The Crane Corridor Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.
The Chase is a nature reserve in Dagenham in London. Most of it is in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, with a small part in Havering. It is owned by the boroughs, and managed by London Borough of Barking & Dagenham - Parks & Countryside Ranger Service. The boroughs have designated the sections in their respective boroughs as Local Nature Reserves. The Chase, together with the neighbouring Eastbrookend Country Park, is also designated a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.
Rickmansworth Aquadrome is a 41 hectares public park and Local Nature Reserve in Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire. It is owned and managed by Three Rivers District Council.
Northmoor Hill Wood is an 8.7 hectares Local Nature Reserve in Denham in Buckinghamshire. It is also of geological interest.
Colne Valley is a 5.1 hectare Local Nature Reserve north and east of Earls Colne in Essex. It is owned and managed by Colchester Borough Council.
