Part of the Chiltern Rivers Series
River start: Harrow Weald Common, Greater London
River end: Confluence with the Frays River at Yiewsley, Greater London
River length: 18.3 km / 11.4 miles
Cycle route start / end: Colne Visitors Centre, Denham, Uxbridge, UB9 5PG
Cycle route length: 46.9 km / 29 miles
Cycle route ascent: +/- 571m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): London Loop, Grand Union Canal Towpath, Hillingdon Trail
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN routes 6, 61
Map: OS Explorer Map (172) Chiltern Hills East, OS Explorer Map (173) London North, The City, West End, Enfield, Ealing, Harrow & Watford
Links: Celandine Route along The River Pinn, Harrow Weald Common, Pinner, Ruislip, Hillingdon, Yiewsley

It was January 3rd and it was penis-vanishingly cold. It was also my last day of Christmas holiday before returning to work. Time for a cold, wet, muddy adventure to kick off 2017.

I chose the River Pinn and the Celandine Route that follows much of it. The source of the Pinn is Harrow Weald just south of the Harrow View Point, a good look-out point.

I'd chosen to do a 30-mile circular cycle ride that included the Pinn on the return half. My base was the car park at Denham Country Park. from there I hopped on the Grand Union heading North. A meandering north-easterly route through Harefield, Northwood and Oxhey. I probably could have found the actual source if I'd parked the bike and walked around the footpaths at Harrow View Point. Desperately cold and needing a wee, I decided to push on.

It's a few miles before the first sighting of the Pinn at the end of Pinner High Street. The town takes its name from the river and is the start of the Celestine Route. This is a well sign-posted route through parks and bridleways that follow the river to its end.

Within 10 minutes I had already missed a sign and added an extra mile in a loop that took me right back to the start at Pinner. Making better use of my map app on the second attempt, I was back on track. The majority of the route is off road and lots of it on grass. Following a couple of days of heavy rain, the mud was quickly turning my mountain bike brown.

As with the River Chess walk of 2 weeks before, I found the Pinn to be a pleasant find in an area that I thought I knew well. The route alternated between green riverside paths and bland suburbs. Two weeks ago I'd not heard of the Pinn and I would be surprised if many locals had either.

Towards the end, the Celandine Route diverts from the river as it crosses the A40 then into Hillingdon and Brunel University. It then joins back up at Yiewsley before abruptly stopping at the A408 in front of a Tesco Superstore. The Celandine Route joins the Grand Union canal just to the north of Tesco where there’s a footpath that you can follow between the High Street and the towpath. The river actually crosses the canal and joins the Fray’s river which meets the Colne about a mile south in West Drayton

My final 4 miles were a continuation of the Grand Union past Cowley and Uxbridge back to the start at Denham. The Pinn is certainly not pretty and there are more interesting routes, but for a cold, muddy New Year adventure it did the trick for me.

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Cycling The River Pinn and Celandine Route