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About 1922, the land between the River Colne and the canal was taken over by Rickmansworth Gravel Company. Building in the capital was booming and gravel was in demand. Extraction at the site began and the resulting pit became Stocker's Lake. The original Wembley stadium was built at around this time and many have since speculated on the possibility of a Wembley Connection? Dredging and gravel extraction continued until the 1940s. In 1947 Rickmansworth and Uxbridge Valley Water Company purchased Stocker's Lake (an area of 93.7 acres) for £5000 as the dredging agreement had expired. This was to protect the aquifer and pumping sources at Stocker's and Springwell. The company became Rickmansworth Water Company in 1985 and later part of Three Valleys Water Company, eventually Affinity Water, the present owners. In the 1970s Stocker’s Lake became a nature reserve and day to day management was assigned by the water company to Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.

The land on which Stocker's Lake now stands was once part of Stocker's Farm which is still there today. Records from 1427 show that the farm already existed and was owned by John Stockere or Stocker. In 1861, Stocker's House was built for the Corporation of London to house the Collector of Coal Dues on the Grand Union Canal. Stocker's House cost £850 to build and the first tenant was Mr. Charles Browton. The dues he collected were, for example, 4 shillings per ton of wine and 12 pence a ton of coal. However with the railways becoming increasingly popular it was decided to sell the house and in 1869 Lord Ebury offered £300

The Ebury Way is a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) rail trail in Hertfordshire between Watford and Rickmansworth. The route crosses the Grand Union Canal and three rivers: the River Colne, the River Chess and the River Gade. Its origin as the Watford and Rickmansworth Railway means that it is wide and largely flat. It forms part of National Cycle Route 61

nice and quiet, good views

Good surface for anybody to ride but a deceptive false flat when cycling North away from the M25 before it becomes a proper low percent gradient climb nearer Hill Farm and Stag Lane... or if heading towards the M25, nice low effort fun non technical Bridleway for gravel riding.

Very nice for cycling, except the very last bit towards the Chalfont road end, as it was quite muddy with big potholes that you can see as it is a very shaded section

Chesham Lane climbs from 492 feet (150m) at the A413 London Road to Kingsash at 735 feet (224m). It's quite steep near the top and watch out for the hairpins on the way down.

This path overlooking a valley was rideable on a gravel bike in peak-summer, even while it had been drizzling for the last hour.