Edgware – East Finchley Walk

Our walk was quite spontaneous and therefore the route was quite haphazard, finding that the beginning of our trail was mostly trudging alongside roads. Making our way from Edgware, we took the route alongside the A41, which was quite noisy and not that nice to walk. We kept an eye out for a way off the road and onto a green as soon as we could. We soon found a footpath away from the road, which was to take us into Stoneyfields Park. As we made our way through the entrance, we could feel the tranquility of the park. Following the path around, it was to bring us over a small bridge and it was soon to follow a wonderful lake right in the middle of this delightful green oasis. Whilst meandering around the waters, we were blessed by seeing a Swan nesting in the reeds, how beautiful was that!

From 2015 – 06.04.2015 – Edgware – East Finchley Walk

The oak and hazel trees that grow in this park, were once part of an ancient woodland that once stood here before any houses or roadways were built. The babbling brook, the warm sunshine and the wildlife really gave me a warm glow. We soon discovered that the park was not as large as we had hoped as we found ourselves out on the large road we had left earlier! Despite that we trundled our way along and made our way onto past the Apex Corner. As we walked past, Traffic Jams immediately sprung to my mind as this is what it would have famous for to me. However, this roundabout has been made famous when it appeared in the film “The Italian Job” in 1969. We walked on from the corner and onwards along the Watford Way Roadway for quite sometime until we reached Mill Hill. It was here where we decided to cross the road to see if we could find another open space.

From 2015 – 06.04.2015 – Edgware – East Finchley Walk

It was not long before we were once again blessed with more green open land with “Mill Hill Park”. It was very busy for the afternoon, as the sun was really shining now and families were out in force enjoying the green space! The park in comparison to Stoneyfields was more open and not conducive to the wildlife element I felt, it was more for large play areas and for enjoyment than chilling out and watching the world go by. It was a very popular park and certainly one used by families! As we approached the edge of the park, I spotted unusual dome shaped roof of a building on the other side of the road. The semi-spherical roof belongs to the Observatory of the University of London, were telescopes allow student astronomers study the stars and planets.

From 2015 – 06.04.2015 – Edgware – East Finchley Walk

The building was built in during the late 1920’s and when it was completed it was opened by the then Astronomer Royal, Sir Frank Dyson. The observatory survived the hostilities of World War II unscathed, it has now grown in size and houses 3 telescopes! Who knows this observatory could hold the key to some future astronomical discoveries right next to a humble park! We continued our way on through the park which was eventually to take us out into surburbia, where we found ourselves walking roads once more. As always we were on a look out for another footpath, but it quite some time before we did. We had to walk beyond Mill Hill East before we were able to pick up the “Dollis Valley Green Walk”.

From 2015 – 06.04.2015 – Edgware – East Finchley Walk

This part of the Valley walk, headed towards Hampstead Heath Extension, and was a section of the walk we still needed to complete, perhaps we would today! Trees lined the majority of this part of the trail, which made it quite dark. Despite this the sun was still able to break through, it was so beautiful to see the sunlight dance upon waters of the Dollis brook :). We followed the Valley walk along the stream, which took on through the Windsor Open Space, until we reached a split in the river. We realised that the brook is extremely well looked after as there was a man made waterfall, which seemed to control the ebb and flow of the river.

From 2015 – 06.04.2015 – Edgware – East Finchley Walk

Although we were officially following the “Dollis Valley GreenWalk” we were now walking alongside the much smaller “Mutton Brook”. I am not sure why it is called Mutton Brook, but perhaps something to do with sheep? Who knows! As we continued along this route, we realised we had inadvertently picked up the Capital Ring. It then dawned on me, allbeit very slowly, that I had walked some of this section last year ! The valley walk follows mostly alongside the North Circular Road, which was quite noisy in the background. A bit of shame in my opinion as walking the brook was quite calming otherwise! The path brought out us onto road, and here we took a wrong turn we missed the signs for the Valley walk. We were meant to go to the Big/Little Wood, but unfortunately we did not see the signs so ended up following the Capital ring instead through to Northway Gardens.

From 2015 – 06.04.2015 – Edgware – East Finchley Walk

It was here then we decided to end our walk as it was late in the afternoon. We continued away from the capital ring, to walk onto towards East Finchley Station. Just before we reached the station, a lovely old inn caught my eye the “Old White Lion”. The tavern dates back from C17th, when it was built as an old coaching inn. It was rumoured that the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin frequented this inn as a rest stop between robberies! However, we did not stop to taste there wares we ended our walk at the station to finish our walk for the day!

All the photos from the walk are available by clicking on the photo below –

2015 – 06.04.2015 – Edgware – East Finchley Walk

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Edgware – High Barnet Walk – 08.03.2015

Determined to pick up some of the walk I had left the previous week, I set off with a reasonable stride and at least an idea of where I might be going! However, as I started off on my route, I soon found myself wandering away from my original thoughts. It was not long before I spotted something unusual on the other side of the road, what seemed to be decaying strut of an old bridge. Fascinated, I crossed over to take a closer look. It did not really help and I was unable to get any nearer, it really was a curiosity. Once I was across the road I headed into Edgwarebury Park, where I attempted to see if I could see any more of these remains by walking just beyond the park perimeters, but all I could see was fields, and nothing more. I have now learned that this bridge structure would once have been part of the planned extension of the Northern Line to Bushey Heath from Edgware. If I had been able to walk some of these fields, apparently more structures exists were stations were planned to be built for commuters to rush into London, now abandoned just decaying monuments to something that could have been.

From 2015 – 08.03.2015 – Edgware – High Barnet

I made my way through Edgwarebury Park and onwards to join the Bridleway to take me onto Elstree. The bridleway was pleasant to walk, and having been this way before it lovely to walk once again. I often felt that I was in open countryside, particularly when I passed by Bury Farm. However, the path did cross the M1 Motorway and the countryside feel was lost when it was quite noisy indeed! Just past the motorway bridge, the footpaths atmosphere changed from open landscape, to being enclosed by trees and darkness. The only brightness I could find to enjoy was spotting the “Edgwarebury Hotel” (now known as the Laura Ashley Manor Hotel). It has had famous visitors such as Peter Sellers, Tom Cruise and John Cleese as the manor has been a popular place as a filming location. It’s beautiful wood, however, is said to have come from ships that actually fought in the Spanish Armada in the C16th ! Leaving the path behind, I rejoined pavements, where I found the “London Loop”, which I thought that I would try to follow, which I am never sure is a good idea, but I thought “hey ho! Why not? I never know I might actually get some where this time LOL”. So I duly followed the route and it took me away from the pavements and onto the “Scratchwood Nature Reserve”.

From 2015 – 08.03.2015 – Edgware – High Barnet

The loop took me in and out of woodland and an occasional gap in the trees, gave me a view across the adjoining farmland. As I followed the path around, I came out into a green space, and was a little bemused by the London Loop signs for a moment as they were difficult to spot. Having found my way to the next part of the path, I was a little perturbed as this time the footpath was much muddier and the woodland was much more dense making everything so much darker 😦 . Fighting my way through the mud and trees, it eventually came out onto green and had led me out onto a very large road. To continue following the loop, it was too take me along the roadside and under a large subway, passing by Mill Hill Golf Club. I found I had reached “Moat Mount Open Space”., a name I vaguely recognised from a previous walk that I had carried out. I noticed that this was the end of the “Dollis Valley Greenwalk”, some of which I had tackled before! It was nice to know I was about to join up the rest of the walk 🙂 As for both “Scratchwood” and “Moat Mount Open Space” in ages past they were both part of the ancient Middlesex Forest, hard to imagine in 2015! The woodland became tamed and cultivated over hundreds and hundreds of years, and in much more recent history it was part of the Cox estate. The London Barrister Edwin Cox built a large mansion on the site, and developed the landscape around him with an ornamental lake and plants. Sadly it did not last in his family and the mansion was destroyed by a fire, the lands were passed on Barnet Council and they are now for the public to enjoy 🙂 !

From 2015 – 08.03.2015 – Edgware – High Barnet

As the Dollis Valley Greenwalk and the London Loop collided at this point, as was able I follow both routes. I found myself looking for the Dollis valley markers as these were easier to find amongst the trees. I thought that I had tackled enough mud in Scratchwood, but in some areas it was just as bad! However, the views from the muddy track certainly made up for it 🙂 The signs were quite clear to cross the other side of the road, but it was a little worrying when the “Old Cholmelian Sports Club” opposite! The footpath lay just beside the entrance to the club, so it did not take long to find! The path was about to take me across “Totteridge Fields Nature Reserve”

From 2015 – 08.03.2015 – Edgware – High Barnet

The reserve was quite pleasant to walk across, the whole area is looked after by the London Wildlife Trust. Not surprising really as this is a beautiful open space :). I am sure if I more time, I may have been able to see some wildlife and even had spotted a Kestrel circling in the sky! I continued following the Path through the reserve and followed it round through the playing field. The valley walk and loop was taking me behind urban dwellings and onwards. The area was beginning to look familiar as I realised I was joining a previous walk I had done way back. Following the route around, I walked through the delightful Barnet Playing Fields, and arrived in High Barnet. It was here I found the sign for Section 16 of the London Loop most of which I have walked before! So I decided to end the walk for the morning 🙂 .

Photos for the walk for the whole morning are available by clicking on the photo below –

2015 – 08.03.2015 – Edgware – High Barnet

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Mill Hill East – Totteridge and Whetstone Walk 09.03.2014

Finally it seemed Spring had finally sprung, so we felt that would would take the opportunity to take a Sunday afternoon walk. We thought we start our journey at Mill Hill East, somewhere we had visited previously. This time we thought we would head in a different direction :-), turning away from Mill Hill East and down “Frith Lane”, to see where it may take us. As we started to stroll along, I noticed “Frith Grange Scout Camp” beside the road. I did think that this was an odd place to have a scout camp, but, from the little I can find out, this site was probably built in the early C20th. This was when the area would have been more of a Garden Suburb than the urban sprawl of today. This is the second scout camp I have come across, the other was “Lord Hyde Memorial Campsite” near Whippendell Woods. We carried on past the camp and decided to cross the road when I spotted the sign for a “Public Footpath” on the other side. After we had crossed, we glanced back and noticed a huge new development of houses, and did ponder if these had been built on an old hospital or perhaps it was something else? Particularly as there were tell tales signs of large old walls around….

These houses have been built on what is known as “Millbrook Park”. In the C18th this was agricultural land which was part of the Bittacy Farm, but by the early C19th it was absconded by Army and the Middlesex Regiment made its home here in the “Inglis Barracks”. The Barracks were named after Lieutenant General Sir William Inglis, hero of the Napoleonic Wars who was famous for rallying his troops with the refrain “Die hard!”. The Royal Engineers remained on site until the late 80’s, the site was decommissioned and when it was planned too be redeveloped into housing, school and public parks. The Officers’ Mess gardens have now been redeveloped as a public park and extended, with a new main entrance which opens out into a woodland garden and picnic area. The original metal gates have been retained.

From 2014 – 09.03.2014 – Mill Hill East – Totteridge and Whetstone walk

We headed down the lane, contrastingly lined with houses on one side and trees on the other. At the end of the road it met with a very muddy path and on our right was a large car park and a huge looking house and golf course! This was the “Finchley Golf Club House”. It was very ominous indeed and extremely large for a club house, I would not like to approach it place on a dark night that’s for sure! Nether Court as it was known, was constructed by the Victorian Businessman, Henry Thomas Tubbs between 1880 and 1883. It was once described as “the largest Victorian house built in Hendon Parish”. The house still retains some of its original features, including its stained glass windows which portray portray cartoons known as “Morning”, “Noon” and “Night”. We joined up with the path, which was gently sloping downhill, making it easy to walk. The golf course runs all alongside the rest of the path so if you wanted to watch a spot of golf, through trees of course, probably a good place to do it!

The path is well maintained and nice to walk, although it is quite dark in places as quite a number of trees and vegetation overhang it. All of a sudden, the path seemed to be like Piccadilly station, as lots of people came from different directions! The path had joined up with the “Dollis Valley Greenwalk” which runs alongside the “Dollis Valley Brook”. Obviously the bright sunshine had brought everyone out for a Sunday Afternoon Stroll. After debating which direction which to go, we found ourselves politely making our way past quite a number of people. The walk took us past people dipping for pondlife in the brook, trying to light a barbeque, the allotments and others just taking a lovely stroll along the stream.

From 2014 – 09.03.2014 – Mill Hill East – Totteridge and Whetstone walk

The valley walk took us out of the wilderness and into a suburban Park. It was bustling with everyone enjoying the sunshine, we just carried on meandering our way forward following the Valley way. I spotted a beautiful old art deco bridge, sadly it had some graffiti on it, it was shame as the architecture was quite lovely. The route was to take us once again into another park and this time it gave us a choice, either continue through the park or via the road, but we choose to continue on. However, little did we realise that would be lead out on the road anyway! It lead us past the “Old Finchleans” Memorial Ground. A small football ground established in 1898, originally it was a Rubgy ground but switched to Football by the School.

We found ourselves a little lost for a while along the road as we could not locate any signs for the “Dollis Valley Walk” for some reason. Using our instincts, followed what we both thought would be the line of the brook. Eventually we both spotted what we felt might the the entrance to the way once more, we were both right, we had reached the “Whestone Stray” open space. The “Stray”, was once part of Joseph Baxendale Estate. The area was eventually taken over by the Pickford Brothers who used as grazing ground for the 1000 or so horses used in their carrying business. The lush grass, was due horses dung which enriched the grass It was very pleasant to walk and as the sun was shining so brightly through the trees it made our walk even more lovely. It would have been a very quiet area but we did notice that a underground train thundered past on the far side, it was a pity that the Northern line runs parallel to this really nice green! We finally reached Totteridge and Whetstone where we had encountered this very entrance to the “Dollis Valleywalk” in a previous walk, it was nice feeling that we were tieing up loose ends!

We decided before we ended our walk for the day to walk up to the high street, where I spotted the “Griffin Pub”. Although the actual building dates from the early C19th, there has been an public house on this site for centuries, as this would have been a coaching inn. Buildings either side of the “Griffin” are C15th. There is even a stone outside the pub known as the Whetstone, question is was it for sharpen tools or a mounting block for climbing onto horses?! We ended our walk here by running for a bus home! Please feel free to browse through all the photos –

2014 – 09.03.2014 – Mill Hill East – Totteridge and Whetstone walk

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Edgware – Chipping Barnet Walk – 07.10.2012

This walk to was to make the most of the Autumn sunshine and we planned to make most of it. We started out along Deans Lane in Edgware, which was just further along from Deansbrook where we had completed our walk in September 2011!

If we had been walking Deans lane many autumns ago, we would have been kicking autumn leaves beneath our feet and enjoying the country fields that would have been surrounding us. This road was once a country lane but during C20th things changed, particularly in 1932, when the “John Keble” Church was built here. The idea for the name for the John Keble Church originated from Dr. Milner-White (later Dean of York). The Bishop of London who had acted on this idea and decided to dedicate the Church to this 19th century Anglican clergyman, the poet and reformer. John Keble’s poetry was captured in the book called “The Christian Year” which was published in 1827.

We walked on past the church, along Hale Lane and on into Mill Hill town Centre. The town centre is not that large to walk along and seems to be a singular high street, rather than a sprawling development. As we left the high street we soon came across the large north circular road which does not seem to help Mill Hill having a sense of togetherness. The reason I would say this is because as we reached the other side of the road, we came across Mill Hill’s Village Green “Simmonds Mead”. The Green sits nearer the residential area of Mill Hill and is very lush against the background of the large roads that surround it! The residents in the area have been using the ground for many years but it was not officially recognised as a Village Green until 2007.

From 2012 – 07.10.2012 – Edgware – Chipping Barnet Walk

As I turned to look behind me I could see in the distance an unusual looking building. The structure that I could see is “St Josephs College”. We were able to see this a lot closer as we walked up Lawrence Street. St Joseph College was founded in 1869 by the Catholic missionary Herbert Vaughan. He had been teaching his students “Holcombe House” since 1866, sadly the house became too small for him and his students. Vaughn decided to found St Josephs College which was opened in 1871. Incidentally, Holcombe House was used by the first Warden of John Keble Church. I have discovered since writing this blog, that the college is now abandoned and has been used for a filming location, particularly the BBC TV Series “Call the Midwife”.

We continued up Lawrence Street to Highwood Hill. As we passed by the Junction, we saw “The Old Forge”, I presume that this was an old blacksmiths, however, I am unsure about much of its history, anyone with any ideas? Our walk took us up into Mill Hill Village. This is distinctly different from Mill Hill Town Centre. It is quieter, smaller and seems much more quaint! The best way to tell we had reached a village was the presence of a village pub, in this instance the “Rising Sun”, which had been in the area since the C17th. We did not pop in for a drink, may be next time 🙂 .

Passing through the village, I was surprised to be faced with some very large houses. I couldn’t help myself to take a sneak peek as they looked very impressive and as I did I spotted a blue plaque. It seems that in one of these lovely houses, Sir Stamford Raffles, who was known as the founder of “Singapore” briefly lived here during his lifetime. Just as we turned away from Sir Raffles residence, we also discovered that William Wilberforce an MP and abolitionist of the slave trade in C19th also lived in the area.

From 2012 – 07.10.2012 – Edgware – Chipping Barnet Walk

Our route took us along Highwood Hill, which indeed was very woody, as there was quite a number of trees lining the hill preventing us from enjoying the views across Mill Hill. We did think about taking a different route away from the road, at one point, when we saw a footpath away from the road, but that would have taken us back to Mill Hill. The path would have taken us via “Belmont Farm” near Sheepwash pond, which decided not to walk too it on this occasion, however, we did find it on our next walk in the area! . We therefore decided to continue our journey onwards, where it was to lead us to “Totteridge Common”.

“Tatarige” as the area became known in the C13th when the settlement was probably named after a founder or farmer named “Tata”. The whole of the common sits on a ridge which is on high ground between the valleys of the Dollis Brook and Folly Brook. Walking along the common was not really a problem as the path was set back from the road and the area was quite green. However, I did find the road rather noisy, which was quite surprising for a Sunday walk! I did need to cross the road at one point as spotted something I wanted to see, but I found it quite difficult to do so as their was lots of traffic!

From the opposite side of the road, I could see a picturesque looking pond, which is known as “Long Pond”. It was lovely to walk along and in fact a couple of anglers were busy using it! I can see why it is named the Long Pond, as it very “long” indeed but not worthy of the title lake. It was definitely worth crossing the road to enjoy the ponds beauty. However, it was shame the road was nearby as it could have been really peaceful to enjoy.

From 2012 – 07.10.2012 – Edgware – Chipping Barnet Walk

Across the road from the pond, I spotted another interesting house“Old Manor House”, which was built in C18th, for Sir William Lee, Chief Justice of the Kings Bench. The Manor changed hands and design throughout the years but of particular note was the redesign by Sir Charles Allom in the early C20th. Sir Charles Allom was a celebrated interior designer and was knighted for his work in Buckingham Palace during King George V reign. Apparently the curtains hanging in the Victorian room are the same as the ones in the Throne room as Buckingham Palace! I would love to see all of this, but hasten to point out to you all this is private property!

As we ambled onwards, we came across the local parish church, St Andrews. The C18th church was built on the site of the earliest church that was recorded in the area of Totteridge which was in 1250AD. It was nice to see an old Yew tree in the Churchyard, the tree is reckoned to be between 1000 and 2000 years old. The Yew tree with its evergreen leaves was a traditional symbol of immortality. We continued to saunter along Totteridge lane where we found a great path to follow “Dollis Valley Greenwalk”. The walk is 10 miles in total and goes from Barnet to Hampstead Heath, on this Sunday afternoon we decided to walk towards Barnet. At this point we actually decided to sit down and finally eat lunch.

This lovely Greenway provided a nice escape away from the roadway and feels quite countrified particularly with the brook running by. However, I will issue a word of warning, that the Barnet Branch of the Northern Line runs near this part of the walk so it is quite noisy when a train goes past! Despite that, this part of our walk was very enjoyable. The route took us through Barnet playing fields and it was here we decided to leave the greenway and leave the rest for another time. We decided to walk up towards Barnet Hill and into Chipping Barnet, which is also known as “High Barnet”. We did not really mind walking through the town as the high street as it seemed quite pleasant. The parish Church seemed to be the central feature, but what struck me more was a red brick building that was opposite to the church. It is the “Tudor Hall” which was built was the free Boys grammar School which was founded by Queen Elizabeth 1 in 1573.

Unfortunately, we did not spend a huge amount of time here, which was a great shame as we came across the Barnet museum as we were about to leave and finish our walk. We will need to come back and explore more of Barnet 🙂 as I felt I was on the brink of discovering so much more!

For all the photos from the walks, please click on the photo below –

2012 – 07.10.2012 – Edgware – Chipping Barnet Walk