Longford River

Longford River
The Longford River as it enters Bushy Park, viewed from Hampton Hill High Street. The artificial bank of this otherwise natural looking waterway can be seen in the opposite direction.
Country	England
Basin features
Main source	River Colne, Longford
River mouth	River Thames, Hampton Court
Physical characteristics
Length	12 mi (19 km)

The Longford River is an English artificial waterway, a distributary designed to embellish a park, that diverts water 12 miles (19 km) from the River Colne at Longford near Colnbrook to Bushy Park and Hampton Court Palace where, at both, it has outlets to the Thames, on the reaches above Teddington Lock and Molesey Lock respectively. It was built for King Charles I in 1638/39 as a water supply for Hampton Court, and water features in Bushy Park were added in 1710. Its course has been diverted (north of the A30) more than once as London Heathrow Airport has grown. Its cascades, grassed banks and fountains in Bushy Park were restored and reopened to the public in 2009 to close to their original state.

In its northern course, it runs side by side with its older "twin", the Duke of Northumberland's River, both of which have historically been re-dug nearby to accommodate the development of Heathrow Airport. Most recently they were diverted as part of the Twin Rivers Diversion Scheme to allow the construction of Terminal 5. The two rivers emerge to flow along the Airport's southern perimeter, separating at 'Two Bridges' just east of Terminal 4.

The Longford River then flows south east, through Bedfont, Feltham and Hanworth, where it flows through two culverts, one under a school to the west of Hanworth Park, and another from the centre of the park to its eastern boundary. The river then forms the boundary between Hampton and Hampton Hill before crossing over the Shepperton Branch Line on an aqueduct and running through Bushy Park to Hampton Court. Three main outlets exist into the Thames, near to Hampton Gate of Bushy Park, under the Water Gallery at Hampton Court Palace Gardens opposite the confluence of the River Mole, and one in the east of that land, which is a mixture of golf course and farm, opposite Raven's Ait.