Walking and Cycling

The District Council has promoted its Cycling Strategy for nearly 40 years, introducing many new improvements to make cycling easier and to improve walking conditions, often in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council and other key organisations.

We want to enable and encourage people of all abilities to use their bike to get around - particularly people who do not usually cycle. We also want to make walking easier for everyone.

Start to walk and cycle more around the Three Rivers District

Take a look at our local cycling and walking knowledge base to help you get around. Let us know if you have any useful contributions. Use this page to find out more about promoted routes and support, or contact TPP@threerivers.gov.uk - new and current schemes are listed in the section below. 

Three Rivers Cycling Strategy

The District Council has developed and promoted its Cycling Strategy since 1981 with visible success in creating and improving the cycle routes it promotes across the Three Rivers District.

The map below shows the proposed promoted network, which is planned to link homes with workplaces, schools and key destinations. You can download the current Three Rivers Walking & Cycling Strategy here.

This Strategy is supported by the Southwest Hertfordshire Cycle Study 2013, published by Hertfordshire County Council which you can download here. 

Recent projects

These include the upgrades to the Grand Union Canal towpath in partnership with other local authorities and the Canal and River Trust, and the South Way cycleway.

This towpath now provides a nearly traffic-free route that connects Croxley Green, western Watford, Hunton Bridge, Kings Langley and Nash Mills with 5 miles of wider, level, surfaced and well-signed paths.

The South Way Cycleway connects the improved towpath with Abbots Langley, Leavesden and into Garston on a nearly traffic-free shared footway and bridleway.

Key Local Cycling and Walking routes

The Ebury Way (Traffic-free route from Rickmansworth to Watford) - The Ebury Way Map (pdf)

The Ebury Way is an important local traffic-free path for cyclists, walkers, and horse-riders. it is heavily used by people travelling to school, work and for recreation.

It forms part of the largely traffic-free National Cycle Network created by Sustrans, the NCN Route 6 from London Paddington to Keswick, via Watford, Luton, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Market Harborough, Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Worksop, Sheffield, Manchester, Blackburn, Preston, Lancaster, Kendal and Windermere. 

For more information visit Sustrans, the charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle, at Sustrans.org.uk.

This path uses the old Ebury Railway embankment to cross the Colne, Chess and Gade rivers as well as the Grand Union Canal. Cycling is permitted along the whole length but horse-riders are restricted to the eastern part between Moor Lane Crossing and Rickmansworth.

Grand Union Canal towpath (Traffic-free route connecting six local settlements)

This key route for people cycling and walking connects many local settlements including Rickmansworth, Croxley Green, Watford, Hunton Bridge and Kings Langley. It is a shared surface, used by many people for a variety of waterside activities and managed by the Canal and River Trust (CRT), which promotes its Share the Space campaign here.

The new wide level surface. was delivered by Three Rivers District Council and partners, with around 9 kilometres (about 5.5 miles) of Grand Union towpath upgraded since 2013. The Grand Union Canal towpath also runs southwards from Rickmansworth towards Harefield and on, into central London where it joins the Regents Canal running through the heart of the Capital.

Partners include the CRT and Hertfordshire County Council, which released planning obligation funding collected by the District Council - to improve local infrastructure in response to new property development. 

Cycle parking in local town and village centres

New and current schemes

Leavesden Cycle Hub

- Rickmansworth and Chorleywood - Proposed alternative routes to busy main road.

- Carpenders Park and Bushey High Street - Proposed links to existing Greenways Network.

- Kings Langley (Primrose Hill) and Apsley, on to Hemel Hempstead - Final link in Grand Union Canal towpath route, connecting local settlements.