Living in Hillingdon

Hillingdon is London's westernmost borough and its second largest by area, stretching from Northwood and Harefield in the north to Heathrow Airport in the south. Heathrow is by far its largest employer and shapes much of the southern part of the borough, from aircraft noise to hotels, logistics depots and the thousands of residents who work at the airport.

The borough has a strong suburban and rural character. Uxbridge is its main town, home to Brunel University and the Battle of Britain Bunker. Ruislip has a village high street, Ruislip Lido and Ruislip Woods, a national nature reserve. Northwood, Eastcote and Ickenham are leafy suburbs, and Harefield is a village surrounded by fields near the Hertfordshire border.

Green space is abundant. The Colne Valley Regional Park runs along the western edge with lakes, rivers and canals, and the Grand Union Canal crosses the borough. Large parks and woods include Hillingdon Court Park, Cowley Recreation Ground and Harefield's countryside.

Transport depends heavily on location. The Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines serve Uxbridge, Ruislip and Hillingdon; the Central line reaches West Ruislip; the Elizabeth line serves Hayes & Harlington, West Drayton and Heathrow; and Chiltern trains stop at West Ruislip. Journeys to central London often take forty-five minutes to an hour. For someone working at Heathrow, Brunel or in the Thames Valley, that distance hardly matters, and the reward is woodland, lakes and canal paths closer to home than almost anywhere else in London.