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The Great Britain Guide

Historic bridges · London

Colne Valley Viaduct

Free admission

Colne Valley Viaduct is a historic bridge in the United Kingdom.

Colne Valley Viaduct, historic bridges in London

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
15 min–30 min
Nearest railway station
Denham · 1.2 km
  • Free entry
  • Dog-friendly

About

Colne Valley Viaduct is a named historic bridge in the United Kingdom. Coordinates: 51.5883°, -0.4900°. This entry is part of The Great Britain Guide, a free, ad-free, open-data tourist directory.

Photo gallery

Protected designations

  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Mid Colne Valley SSSI
  • Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Chilterns

Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

The Colne Valley Viaduct is a railway bridge that will carry High Speed 2 over the Colne Valley Regional Park and the Grand Union Canal. It runs between Harefield in Hillingdon, Greater London and Denham in Buckinghamshire. At a length of 3.38 km (2.10 miles) and a weight of 116,000 tonnes, it is the longest railway bridge in the UK. It is one of the largest single civil engineering works of High Speed 2. Trains will travel at about 320 km/h (200 miles per hour) on the bridge. A contract for the section of the railway pertaining to the viaduct was awarded during 2017 and the design concept was shown in January 2018. Preparatory work commenced shortly thereafter, including a compulsory land purchase and the establishment of temporary facilities, including a factory, onsite. Construction of the viaduct began in March 2021, with the main deck completed in September 2024 and full completion of the bridge in September 2025. Protestors occasionally occupied the site, and allegations over the viaduct's aesthetic and environmental impact upon the area have been made.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

Architecture

The Colne Valley Viaduct was intended to be a major civil engineering work of High Speed 2, being amongst the largest and perhaps the most prominent single feature to be constructed on the project. Its basic configuration is a gently-curved structure along a horizontal radius of , supported by 57 spans, with 11 V-shaped piers in water, and weighing roughly 116,000tonnes in total. The viaduct crosses over both the River Colne and the Grand Union Canal, at which points its spans are spaced at intervals of ; the majority of over-land spans cover shorter lengths of either . Considerable attention has been directed to the viaduct's aesthetic design and to avoid unnecessarily impacting the…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
51.5883, -0.4900
District
Hillingdon
Parish
Hillingdon, unparished area
Postcode
UB9 6FP
Parliamentary constituency
Uxbridge and South Ruislip
Nearest railway station
Denham1.2 km
Opening
| opening =

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Colne Valley Viaduct?
Colne Valley Viaduct is in London, United Kingdom (postcode UB9 6FP), in the parish of Hillingdon, unparished area.
Who owns Colne Valley Viaduct?
Colne Valley Viaduct is owned by | traffic = High speed passenger trains.
Is Colne Valley Viaduct a protected site?
Yes — Colne Valley Viaduct is part of the Mid Colne Valley SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Chilterns National Landscape (AONB).
Is Colne Valley Viaduct free to visit?
Yes, Colne Valley Viaduct is free to enter.
How do I get to Colne Valley Viaduct?
The nearest railway station is Denham, about 1.2 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode UB9 6FP.