This neighbourhood encompasses the areas of West Ruislip and Ruislip Common, in a green, leafy corner of outer-west London. The area itself is very popular with locals, due to the excellent amenities available to residents, not only in terms of open space and the natural environment, but also the bustling hub towards the south of the area around Ruislip Underground station. Here, a broad range of essential shops and services can be found, in addition to a good selection of restaurants and pubs! In the middle of the neighbourhood, where the urban fabric is intersected by the river Pinn, the local theatre provides an array of social and entertainment events, with the local Manor Farm Library not too far away either. The area is especially popular with families with young children - not only because most of the housing stock is semi and detached houses – but for the broad range of outdoor activities available for children in the nearby area. Not only is Ruislip Lido a fantastic day out, but Ruislip Woods, which backs on to the lido, is a national nature reserve and a wonderful step into the wilderness within the M25.

The Ruislip area has an ancient history dating back to the Bronze Age, but more relevant to its present-day formation is the decision of the Regent’s Canal Company in 1811 to create a reservoir. It was hoped the reservoir would feed into the Grand Junction’s Canal, but this plan didn’t quite work out. Instead, the open water that remained eventually became the hub around which housing development sprung up in the 1930’s – developers had initially wanted to bring housing almost up to the water’s edge, but this was fortunately negotiated down so that much of the land remained available for the public to enjoy. Since then, the water has been used as a Lido, and bar a short period of time when the old Lido building fell into disrepair, has continued to be loved by locals. Whilst officially people are not advised to swim (the water has not been treated) many still do, or at least enjoy the sandy banks of the water!

A number of famous people have visited Ruislip Common at one point or another – the lido is a very popular place to record for television and films! Cliff Richard - the nation’s beloved pop star and celebrity – filmed multiple scenes on the banks of the Lido for the popular musical film ‘The Young Ones – in the 1960’s.

Ruislip Woods is home to many ancient secrets, one of which is that it’s the largest single area of woodland in Greater London. Not only this, but Park Wood, one of the constituent parts of Ruislip Woods, is actually one of the last-remaining ancient woods in England that’s in a semi-natural state!

Large parts of West London are currently being affected by the arrival of major transport changes in the coming years – namely HS2 (High Speed Rail Two). Interestingly, engineers working on excavations for the new high speed line recently discovered an ancient, sub-tropical coastline which dates back 56 million years! The discovery of ancient black clay indicated to the investigation team that Ruislip was once the edge of the British Isles - not only this, but they named the layer of clay the ‘Ruislip Bed’! The investigations in the ground were part of an exploration being undertaken prior to the construction of the Northolt Tunnel, which will be 14 km long, and will run from West Ruislip to Old Oak Common.

As was mentioned earlier, the Lido is a cherished local facility. Unfortunately, even though Hillingdon Council unveiled plans as long ago as 2010 to test and improve the water quality to permit swimming, this is still yet to be achieved. To the south of this neighbourhood the opening of nearby RAF Northolt to commercial flights in 2019 has been the biggest in terms of its impact on noise and traffic. As the number of yearly flights has risen over 10,000 many locals have complained, arguing that they were unaware of these changes despite the council promising in 2017 to “ensure that no changes occur at RAF Northolt without the consent of local communities”. Closer to home, the The Quadrate development at 106 Pembroke Road was recently completed. The apartment block comprises 23 affordable homes with outdoor space as well as a large ground floor commercial unit.