Grim's Ditch (Harrow)
Attributes
Paths
A high path, Old Redding, an old highway, passes through the centre of the ridge and includes a map-marked viewpoint. Other extensive views through breaks in trees are a few hundred yards further up the "high road".
North Basin high point
The immediate London basin resembles London's present county: the three most southerly boroughs reach into the North Downs broad escarpment; those opposing take as their northern edge a broken ridge, low in the north-east, high in the north-west, along which is the Grim's Ditch earthwork. The two highest ridges in Greater London run along its southern edge (bordering Westerham, Kent and Woodmansterne, Surrey). The next highest point is Stanmore Hill, along the Grim's Ditch, where London adjoins Bushey, Hertfordshire.
Views
- Many parts of Central London can be seen, including the Shard London Bridge, which exceeds the height of all hills in London and the Home Counties.
- Beyond Harrow on the Hill to the south, Leith Hill can be seen (and its 20-metre-high tower through binoculars).
To the north and west are the Chilterns, and in particular Coombe Hill, Buckinghamshire can be seen.
The highest point of the earthwork is close to the county top of the historic county of Middlesex, above Grim's Dyke Golf Club on the 'Bushey Heath Walk' footpath. There, a stone marker placed by the Harrow Heritage Trust reads:
This ancient earthwork once stretched through Harrow for six miles from Cuckoo Hill, Pinner to Pear Wood, Stanmore, but now only parts remain. Named after Grim (another name for the English King (also the god of death), Woden).