Things to Do in Uxbridge: 16 Days Out, Prices Checked

Uxbridge’s days out split into the town itself, with a wartime bunker, a listed 50-metre lido and a canal towpath ten minutes from the shops, and the green north of the borough, where Ruislip has a beach, a steam railway and a medieval barn. This page pulls the sixteen most worthwhile together, each one checked against the venue’s own website this week for opening patterns, prices and the small print, because two of the borough’s best-known attractions currently come with catches worth knowing before you set off.

In and around the town

1. Battle of Britain Bunker

The real thing: the underground No.11 Group Operations Room at the former RAF Uxbridge, from which the air battle of 1940 was directed, now run as a museum by Hillingdon Council. Open daily 10am to 4:30pm (last admission 3:30pm). The bunker tour plus exhibition costs £14 adults, £11 over-65s, free for under-16s; the above-ground visitor centre alone is £8. Booking ahead is advised, and the bunker itself is 76 steps down with no lift (battleofbritainbunker.co.uk).

2. Hillingdon’s 50-metre outdoor lido

The Grade II listed open-air pool at the Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex on Gatting Way, run by Better for the council, swims April to the end of October alongside the 50m indoor pool. All lido sessions must be pre-booked through the Better app or site, up to seven days ahead: £11 adults, £5.50 children, dropping to £7.70 and £4.60 with a HillingdonFirst resident card (Better).

3. Fassnidge Park

The town’s Edwardian park, two minutes from the High Street: bandstand, bowling green, tennis courts, skate park, outdoor gym and a playground with water play, plus the Rusty Bike Cafe. Open daily from 9am, closing 4pm in midwinter and up to 8pm in summer (Hillingdon Council).

4. The Grand Union Canal towpath

The canal runs straight past the town, and the towpath walking is free and flat in both directions (Canal & River Trust). The council publishes four downloadable Uxbridge walk routes, canal stretches included, on its Uxbridge walks page.

5. The Chimes

The town-centre shopping centre, back under its original name after the intu years: Monday to Saturday 9am to 6pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm, with the dining and leisure floors open later (The Chimes).

6. Odeon Luxe Uxbridge

Inside The Chimes: nine all-recliner screens including an iSense screen and an IMAX. Tickets are cheaper booked online; parking is on level 2 of the Chimes car park (Odeon).

7. Oasis Play

The town’s soft play centre, at The Pavilions shopping centre a couple of hundred metres from the tube: play frames, a sensory room and a cafe, with sessions booked online at oasisplay.co.uk.

Ruislip and the north of the borough

8. Ruislip Lido

Sixty acres of lake, sandy beach and woodland, free to enter. Two current catches, both from the council’s own page: swimming in the lake is banned, and the children’s splash pad is closed for repairs at the moment. Parking is limited and the car parks close at 7pm in winter; the H13 and 331 buses stop nearby (Hillingdon Council).

9. Ruislip Lido Railway

The volunteer-run miniature railway around the lake shore, Britain’s longest 12¼-inch line, with steam locomotives out on advertised dates this August. Returns £5 adults, £2.50 children (3 to 15), day rover £10, under-3s free, and the carriages take wheelchairs and buggies (ruisliplidorailway.org).

10. Manor Farm, Ruislip

A free 22-acre heritage site in the middle of Ruislip: the Grade II* listed 13th-century Great Barn, a Tudor farmhouse visitor centre with audio guide, craft workshops in the cart sheds and a duck pond that hosts markets on the first and third Sunday of each month, 10am to 3pm. Grounds open daily (Hillingdon Council).

11. Swakeleys Park, Ickenham

Lake, playground, tennis courts and the River Pinn, with a view of the Jacobean Swakeleys House (the house itself is private). Open daily from 9am, closing 4pm in winter and up to 8pm in high summer (Hillingdon Council).

12. Compass Theatre, Ickenham

The council’s 158-seat theatre and arts centre, home of the Hillingdon Music Service and the 360 Youth Theatre, with a full 2026 programme, a bar that opens 45 minutes before shows, wheelchair access and free carer tickets (Hillingdon Council).

The wider borough

13. Colne Valley Regional Park and Denham Country Park

The 43-square-mile regional park starts at Uxbridge’s western edge, with the main visitor base at Denham Country Park (Denham Court Drive, UB9 5PG) and a 2026 events programme on the park trust’s site. One caveat from the trust itself: the visitor centre cafe is closing, so bring your own coffee (colnevalleypark.org.uk).

14. Little Britain Lake, Cowley

A 14-acre lake shaped, genuinely, like the island of Britain, left over from 1930s gravel workings, with a wide accessible tarmac circuit and a spot on the London Loop walking route along the canal from Yiewsley (Hillingdon Council).

15. The Hillingdon Trail

The borough’s own long-distance path: 20 waymarked miles from Cranford Park to Springwell Lock at Harefield, split into six sections through Ickenham Marsh and Ruislip Woods, with free section maps to download (Hillingdon Council).

16. Beck Theatre, Hayes

The 600-seat receiving house on Grange Road, now run by Parkwood Theatres on a 15-year lease, with a 2026 bill running from family summer shows to autumn touring productions. Box office 0203 342 9970 (Parkwood Theatres).

What a day out costs

A family day rarely needs to cost much here: the beach, the barn, the parks and 20 miles of trail are free, and the most expensive adult ticket on this page is the Bunker’s £14 full tour, with under-16s free. Getting around by bus is straightforward too; the routes that link Uxbridge, Ruislip and West Drayton are in our travel guide, and if you are coming from central London the tube takes about 40 minutes.

Frequently asked questions

What is Uxbridge best known for?

The Battle of Britain Bunker, the preserved RAF operations room from which the 1940 air battle was directed. It is open daily and under-16s go free, which makes it one of London’s better-value historical days out.

Can you swim at Ruislip Lido?

No, swimming in the lake is banned, and the splash pad is currently closed for repairs. For an outdoor swim, the borough’s option is the listed 50-metre lido at the Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex, pre-booked through Better, April to October.

What can you do in Uxbridge for free?

Plenty: Ruislip Lido’s beach and woods, Manor Farm and its 13th-century Great Barn, Fassnidge and Swakeleys parks, Little Britain Lake, the Grand Union Canal towpath and the 20-mile Hillingdon Trail all cost nothing.

What is there for young children?

The Lido Railway (£2.50 a child), the beach and playground at Ruislip Lido, water play at Fassnidge Park, the Manor Farm duck pond, and Oasis Play soft play in the town centre for wet days.

Is the Beck Theatre still open?

Yes. Parkwood Theatres took over the Hayes venue on a 15-year lease in 2025 and it is programming a full 2026 season; any closure stories you may remember are out of date.

Sources

Every venue checked against its own site, 8 August 2026: Battle of Britain Bunker, Better: Hillingdon lido, Hillingdon Council: Fassnidge Park, Canal & River Trust, Uxbridge walks, The Chimes, Odeon Luxe Uxbridge, Oasis Play, Ruislip Lido, Ruislip Lido Railway, Manor Farm, Swakeleys Park, Compass Theatre, Colne Valley Regional Park, Little Britain Lake, Hillingdon Trail, Beck Theatre (Parkwood).

Opening times and prices change, especially seasonally; the lido closes for winter and several parks shorten their hours from November. Check the linked venue pages before travelling. Last checked 8 August 2026.