Hounslow Heath is a nature reserve in Hounslow, England. The current 200-acre public space is what remains from the original 4,000 acres. The northern boundary is marked by Staines Road, which was the Roman Road. The area has also been used by military forces due to its proximity to London, including by Oliver Cromwell's forces in the English Civil War and by James II. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was a notorious haunt for highwaymen.