28/10/2021 06:42:41 PM
30. Newton Park West
This park is in Rayners Lane, Harrow. It was about a half hour drive from God’s Own Mill Hill, but I’m glad we visited because of the wildlife. It’s a large, open space with bordered with birch, hawthorn, cherry and willow and other trees. One side of the park borders a stream, leading to the River Roxbourne. This flows into the River Crane (I hadn’t heard of it), which eventually joins the Thames at Isleworth. It’s a site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation.
We walked along a path towards the playground, with clover growing along either side. Would I find a four-leafed one? After looking for about ten seconds, I did. There is a playground and outdoor gym (but no toilets or café).
Among the trees growing around the edge are what I now know to be sweet chestnuts, after discussing ‘very spiky conkers’ with my husband (aka Mother Nature’s Son, which makes me Mother Nature’s daughter in law) when we got home. We do have a chestnut roaster for the fire so perhaps I should have picked some up, but they were too sharp, and I didn’t have anywhere to put them (my pockets were full of clover), so I decided to leave them for the squirrels.
The stream is part of a formed wetland area with ponds planted with willows alongside. As we walked along it, we noticed a large flock of ducks on the bank feeding on birdseed. I wished we’d brought some and will add a little pack to the fish food in my car’s glove box. As we came closer, a glossy brown four-legged creature darted out too closely to photograph, towards the stream where it disappeared with splash. Jack thought it was a mouse. I thought it was a rat at first, but the glimpse I caught of its flatter face and short furry tail told me it was a water vole – Ratty from Wind in the Willows. My husband looked at a photo of the stream and reckoned it was the sort of habitat voles like. They are quite rare, so it made the trip worthwhile for me.
There is no car park but parking on nearby streets is fairly easy. There are entrances from Alexandra Avenue, Drake Road, Malvern Avenue and Ravenswood Crescent.
Judith Field
Newton Park West, Ravenswood Crescent, Harrow HA2 9JL
14/10/2021 03:46:26 PM
29. Barham Park
Barham Park is on the western border of Brent, just west of Wembley. It is a mature park, with landscaped gardens and less formal open areas. The park is a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation and has several historic features, including a formal walled garden and many fine old trees. It also has three ponds, a conifer plantation, a children's play area and an outdoor gym. I liked that there were so many different pathways to walk along and different environments to sit in. Outdoor space is a good thing, but sometimes I like to have different landscape features to look at rather than be in an open field. It can be good to visit a park where there’s a risk of someone like me, with little sense of direction, getting lost so that I have to make a note of landmarks so that we can find our way out again.
The park was once grounds of the 18th-century Crabb’s House. By 1895, the estate was owned by Sir George Barham, who built Sudbury Lodge in the grounds. He was the founder of Express Dairies. It was the first British dairy to use glass milk bottles – before that, milkmen would have to fill jugs the customers provided. Sudbury Lodge was inherited by his son who, when he died in 1937, left the house and grounds to the citizens of Wembley. The house was demolished in 1956 but its foundations still stand in the walled garden. Also in the park is Crabb’s House, which survived and is now used as a library.
The Chiltern Line railway embankment runs along the northern edge of the park and the dense vegetation alongside it provides a habitat for plants and animals.
There’s no café in the park and, as far as I can tell, there are no toilets. As for many of the parks we visit, there was an ice cream van parked outside which Jack spotted before we got out of the car. There’s a small car park, but we found a space on Harrow Road.
Judith Field
Barham Park, 660 Harrow Road, HA0 2HB
08/10/2021 12:53:46 PM
28. Markfield Park
This park is on the southeast boundary of London Borough of Haringey. I found it by looking for large patches of green on a map. This is something I do quite often, particularly when petrol is easy to come by. It doesn’t always give the best results, but in this case it did and I’m glad we came.
The area the park now covers was a field in the Middle Ages. Markfield House was built on it in 1798, in what was then the fashionable rural village of Tottenham. The house was demolished when Tottenham was developed into a London suburb. In 1849, a corner of the park was given over to the Tottenham Sewage Works. In 1936 Markfield Recreation ground was established as one of the national ‘King George’s Field’ memorials to King George V, and it was opened to the public in 1938. The eastern boundary of the park is the River Lee, where we walked along the bank.
An old pumping station from the former sewage works, located in the park, is now the Markfield Beam Engine and Museum, containing original Victorian pumping engines. It’s open on the second Sunday of each month all year round, which is this coming Sunday! We visited during the week so now my challenge is to get Jack to agree to go back so that I, I mean we, can see the engines in all their steampunk splendour.
There’s a café with an outdoor seating area, beneath a pergola trained with vines by the café owner. There are also toilets. Cycling is permitted, as are dogs on leads. There’s a range of deciduous and coniferous tree species, a large grassland area, rose garden, community garden, football and netball pitches, an outside gym and a children’s playground. There is also a skate park/BMX track, where art graffiti (an oxymoronic term) has been tolerated since the 1990s. The park is home to a sculpture called ‘Bull’, a gift to the Friends of Markfield Park from the sculptor Jack Gardner.
There are entrances to the park in Crowland Road, Gladesmore Road, Markfield Road (where there’s a car park) and from the towpath along the river.
Markfield Park, Crowland Road, London N15 4RB
01/10/2021 12:17:50 PM
27. Brent Park, Hendon
This small park is in Hendon (there’s another Brent Park in Wembley). It’s a narrow, wooded strip of land west of the Benighted North Circular Road, between Brent Street and Bell Lane. It’s almost entirely managed for nature conservation apart from a small area of mown grass at the northern end. The River Brent runs along the western edge.
We went there last May, and I chose it because it had a lake (and there are also two smaller ponds) where we could look at the water birds. This was in the days before Jack nearly always demanded there be a playground wherever we went.
The park, opened in 1934, used to be part of Decoy Wood, which was the grounds of Brent Bridge House (demolished in 1935). The park itself was surrounded by Decoy Farm. I suppose this is the reason why there’s a street in Temple Fortune called Decoy Avenue, and there’s a small stream nearby called Decoy Brook, which joins the River Brent. I do wonder why they didn’t call it Decoy Park.
The reason for all this is that the lake was built as part of a duck decoy, a device to lure wildfowl onto a body of water – a water dog is then sent in to put them up so that they can be shot, then the dog retrieves them. Eat them if you must, but go out and find them – this seems like cheating to me, in the same way as breeding birds just for people to come and shoot, and even the non-vegetarians in my household agree. Jack gets very upset at the idea of death, so I haven’t asked him – he’s a staunch carnivore but I’ve no idea how he thinks what he eats gets from farm to plate.
Anyway – ducks, mallards, coots, and moorhens now nest on a wooded island in the lake. There’s a bridge over the lake at one end and a tarmac path running all the way round, with benches. There are small areas of grass and trees have been planted throughout the park.
There isn’t a café or, as far as I could tell, toilets. There is access from the Benighted North Circular Road, Brent Street and Bell Lane. There isn’t a carpark, but parking is available on the surrounding streets.
Judith Field
Brent Park, London NW4 2LT
09/07/2021 01:28:50 PM
26. Queen’s Wood
This is one of four ancient woodlands in Haringey. The others are Highgate Wood (on the other side of Muswell Hill Road) which, as we visited before the pandemic I won’t write about here, Coldfall Wood, the subject of my very first post, and Bluebell Wood, which we haven’t visited yet. All four are descendants of the original wildwood that covered Britain until about five thousand years ago.
The ancient hornbeam and oak woodland used to be known as Churchyard Bottom Wood, but in 1898 the Local Authority bought it from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and renamed it in honour of Queen Victoria. It was declared a statutory local nature reserve in 1990 and is listed by the London Ecology Unit as a Site of Metropolitan Importance. It first won a Green Flag Award in 2015 and has kept it ever since.
It contains plants that are most often found in ancient woodland, such as wood anemone and orchids, and a wide variety of birds. There are solid paths throughout the wood, which is quite hilly. Dog walking is allowed but cycling is not.
A small disused paddling pool has been converted into a frog pond with wild aquatic plants, home to amphibians. Water birds are “not encouraged”, because they eat the other inhabitants. I don’t know how you’d discourage them other than not chucking bread in the water. The pond is also used by birds and mammals such as bats and foxes to drink, bathe and feed. Two more ponds have been created in the wood, edged with ancient-looking dead hedging created recently from wood cut as part of coppicing. The wood is also the source of the Moselle, a stream that runs across parts of North London on its way (via Pymmes Brook) to the River Lea in Tottenham. It’s a quiet place to walk, given its location.
There’s a café using organic vegetables grown in their own garden at the back. The items on the menu looked delicious, nearly all vegetarian which suited me, but I only bought an ice cream tub for Jack (thank goodness they had strawberry – and points to me for restraint). The café has toilets.
The main entrance is in Muswell Hill Road, N10, but there are also entrances in Summersby Road, Connaught Gardens, Wood Vale, Priory Gardens and Queens Wood Road. We used the main entrance and managed to find a space to park in a nearby road, which is often not easy.
Judith Field
Queen’s Wood, Muswell Hill Road, London N10
01/07/2021 10:11:15 AM
25. Oxhey Park
This large Green Flag Award Park is on the edge of Watford. It was formed in 1924. It is a peaceful and quiet place, despite being next to a main road.
It includes a skate park and two large children’s playgrounds, one of which has the giant swings Jack likes. A boy aged about ten, waiting for his turn, asked me whether Jack was in his thirties (I’m guessing because of signs saying the equipment was for children under 14). I told him Jack was twenty-four and explained that, even so, he likes to go on swings (and that he wouldn’t take long). This was a refreshing change from the teasing and staring I am always on guard for. Most of the equipment looks to be ideal for those with disabilities of any age.
There are toilets, and a large, airy café which has a drinking fountain and bowl outside just for dogs, which are welcome on leads. There are tarmac footpaths throughout. The river Colne meanders through the park, and we walked along it. There are also woodland walks with mature horse chestnut trees providing shade. I like to tell Jack about plants and birds that we see, such as trying to get him to learn words like “convolvulus” (constant repetition seems to work) and explaining the difference between “petal”, “pebble” and “pedal”. I pointed out the “baby conkers” growing and we found one that a squirrel had opened and discarded, so you could see the inside. Sometimes we bring things home and put 
them on the living room mantelpiece.
There are steep slopes, apparently popular for tobogganing in the snow, and the footpaths above and below the slopes are linked by a set of steps in the middle of the park. At the top of the steps is a conker that’s anything but a baby – it’s a two-metre-high wooden sculpture, the “Oxhey Conker”, placed there for the park’s centenary in 2014.
There's a car park next to the Eastbury Road entrance and you can also park on the main road and nearby side streets.
Judith Field
Oxhey Park, Eastbury Road, Watford WD19 4RD
24/06/2021 04:19:08 PM
24. Long Lane Pasture
The trust that manages Long Lane Pasture calls it “The Wild Heart of Finchley”. It’s another hidden gem, meadowland bounded by the Benighted North Circular Road, the Northern Line, Pointalls Allotments and Long Lane. You can access it by a pedestrian gate off a footpath at the end of a short access road (opposite Finchley Fire Station), just by the bridge over Long Lane. The Pasture is open every day, from 10am to dusk.
It’s a small remnant of Finchley Common, and is looked after by volunteers, on a lease from Barnet Council who don’t fund it – it’s supported by donations and grants from funding organisations. Under a management plan agreed with the Council, the site is managed to protect its wildlife value and maintain and enhance its biodiversity.
It was once used to grow feed for horses, but the Council purchased it in 1912 “for public enjoyment and recreation”. It has never been built on and has been a public green space for centuries, apart from a small area that was cultivated during World War 2. In the early 1980s it was closed to the public because of proposed road works and in 1999, after years of neglect, the Council decided that the land was surplus to requirements and to sell it for housing development. After a public campaign to keep the Pasture as green space, this decision was overturned and in 2006 the land was designated for community use. In 2012 Long Lane Pasture was awarded a Green Flag Award
It’s a bit rough in places and can be very wet after rain. It took us about three quarters of an hour to walk round, including time spent sitting in th
e gazebo overlooking the pond. There’s a short hard surfaced footpath that could be used for wheelchairs and buggies, but the rest of the paths are grassy. There are benches to rest on to try to spot birds, butterflies and wild flowers. Some areas are closed off, being kept as undisturbed areas for wildlife. Dogs are not allowed and there are no toilets.
The Pasture provides a home for bees – the hives belong to one of the plot holders from the allotments next door. You can see the bee enclosure, but you can’t go in.
Judith Field
Long Lane Pasture, Long Lane, London N3 2RN
17/06/2021 10:46:36 AM
23. Studio Way Woodland and Potterswood Park
This park and woodland, to the north of Borehamwood, used to be part of the backlot of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios, used to save having to film on location. The site was used to create huge standing sets for major films, including a medieval castle for Ivanhoe (1952), a Chinese village in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958), and a French château in The Dirty Dozen (1967). Many other films, as well as television productions including The Prisoner (presumably not the Portmeirion scenes) and UFO, were shot in and around the area. After the studio closed in 1968, much of the backlot was redeveloped for housing, but a 14-acre space was kept as parkland.
There’s a reminder of the former studios in the local street names; for example Grace Close (Grace Kelly), Balcon Way (Sir Michael Balcon), and Lion Court (the symbol of MGM Studios). There are a few actual remnants, including a mound in one of the children’s play areas.
Around the woodland are areas of cut grassland with benches scattered around the site, and two play areas – including Jack’s favourite “big lying down swing” (the one like a giant round net).
The woodlands are a mix of mature oak trees (some of which made cameo appearances in films) with the remains of old hedgerows running through them. There are small patches of bluebells, and the undergrowth of hawthorn, blackthorn and bramble provides a home for small mammals and birds. Flowering plants provide a source of nectar for bees and butterflies.
The entrance gate features different films at the top: The Prisoner, Ivanhoe, 633 Squadron, MGM Clock Tower, Inn of the Sixth Happiness, 2001 - A Space Odyssey, Where Eagles Dare, the symbol from the end of a film reel. Animal and plant species are featured at the bottom: an oak leaf, great spotted woodpecker, bramble with blackberries, speckled wood butterfly, hawthorn leaf and haw, squirrel, acorn.
This gate leads to a small car park, but it was locked when we visited. Parking is available on the nearby streets.
Judith Field
Studio Way Woodland and Potterswood Park, Denham Way, Borehamwood WD6 5DA
10/06/2021 06:39:27 PM
22. Pymmes Park
This large park is in Edmonton and, although my satnav kept calling it “Pimes Park”, it’s pronounced Pimms (l’chaim). I know that because a website called Pronounce London told me so.
The park is next to the Silver Street part of the Benighted North Circular Road but there’s no traffic noise once you’re inside. The area is a site of Local Importance of Nature Conservation, and of Archaeological Importance because it’s the site of a medieval house, and apparently a Roman road. Maybe this is one of the straight paths – there are many to follow. We visited in April this year. There are plenty of benches and this was the first time we could sit and relax while out on a park trip, without freezing or being blown by the wind.
The area of the park dates from 1327 when William Pymme built Pymmes House there. The estate changed hands several times until 1906, when the Council purchased it to provide public open space following an increase in the population. During World War II parts of the park were converted to allotments.
There are many mature trees round the edges of the park and the planting of the park has been chosen to encourage wildlife such as butterflies and bees. Jack likes to stroll around lakes looking at the birds, and Pymmes Park has a large lake supporting a wide range of waterfowl -we saw swans, ducks, coots, and Canada geese. This photo shows the way that in any gaggle of geese, one will always keep watch while the others eat (they get their turn later). It seems this happens even when there are only two of them.
There’s also a bowls club, tennis courts, games areas and football pitches, a small pond. There’s a walled garden open on “summer afternoons” (not defined), so we didn’t see it. There are two children’s playgrounds, and toilets. It’s suitable for walking (with or without a dog), and a weekly park run is held there. There’s no car park but it’s possible to park on the surrounding streets.
Pymmes Park, Victoria Road, London, N18 2UG
03/06/2021 12:01:11 PM
21. Windsor Open Space
This informal open space used to be Groats Farm, where sheep grazed. In 1907, part of the land was bequeathed as a play area for poor children. The Council acquired more land in 1922 for public enjoyment and recreation. In 1938 more land was donated.
It’s a hilly site and quite varied, rather than just an open field. Some parts are wooded, and these are home to woodpeckers, jays, and tawny owls. There are also large, grassed areas, some mown and others left uncut for the benefit of wildlife, especially butterflies.
There are lots of benches to sit on and dog walking is allowed. While we were there, the local branch of the Small White Dog Club (I can just about tell a chihuahua from a poodle) appeared to be having a get-together.
Dollis Brook runs through the space, where we saw ducks and moorhens. On sunny days you can sometimes see dragonflies, although we didn’t. The brook provides a habitat for sticklebacks, which kingfishers feed on.
Himalayan Balsam grows on the banks of the brook. Apparently, it’s also called Nuns and Jumping Jack, as well as Policeman's Helmet, Bobby Tops and Gnome's Hatstand. It was introduced to this country in the mid-nineteenth century and it’s attractive, but it’s now an invasive weed of riverbanks and ditches and it’s an offence to plant or grow it in the wild. The plant shoots its seeds over an area of up to twelve feet and if these fall into a stream, it spreads further. Bees like it and the flowers are meant to be good in a salad (I don’t think I’ll try it). The stems are hollow, so I might sneak back to Windsor Open Space and get a few for my attempts to create wind instruments from natural products.
Jack sometimes complains if we visit an open space that isn’t a park, and he trudges along behind me grumbling that we’ve come to the wrong place because “there’s no slide or swing”. Windsor Open Space has both, so he didn’t complain, even though he never goes on slides and the swings were all for young children.
We used the entrance at the end of Windsor Road, N3, having parked further up the road.
Windsor Open Space, Windsor Road, London N3 3SS
