River Colne, Hertfordshire

About

The Colne ( ) is a river and a tributary of the River Thames in England. Just over half its course is in south Hertfordshire. Downstream, it forms the boundary between Buckinghamshire and the London Borough of Hillingdon. The confluence with the River Thames is on the Staines reach (above Penton Hook Lock) at Staines-upon-Thames.

Two of its distributaries, constructed in the 1600 – 1750 period largely for aesthetic reasons for Hampton Court and for Syon Park, have been maintained. Their main purpose was not drinking water but these can be likened to the New River in scale and in date. Crossing its route, many viaducts and a canal, the intersecting Grand Union Canal, have been recognised for pioneering engineering during the Industrial Revolution.