17/03/2021 08:59:45 PM
10. Welsh Harp Open Space
Of the 100 parks/open spaces that we’ve now visited, this is one of my favourites. Space, greenery, and peace in the middle of Neasden. Unlike many of the places we’ve visited, Brent Reservoir, also known as the Welsh Harp, was not originally part of the grounds of a grand house. Some people have said it’s so named because it’s shaped like a harp, but in my opinion, it isn’t, Welsh or otherwise. Others say it’s named after The Old Welsh Harp pub that stood nearby until 1971. The reservoir lies next to the benighted North Circular Road, between Neasden and West Hendon. The reservoir itself has been there since 1838, and the Welsh Harp Open Space that surrounds it came into existence as a nature reserve in 1965, to the north west side of the reservoir. It received a Green Flag Award in 2011.
The reservoir has been designated as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, mainly because of the range of breeding waterbirds, and the reservoir and its surroundings have been designated as a Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. You can walk to the edge of the reservoir (wellies recommended), but you can’t swim or fish in it. There is a sailing centre, closed at the moment, which is home to a number of clubs. I had planned to join one, before the pandemic, so it’s now on the list of places to go once we’re allowed.
There is a lot of space to lose yourself in: scrub and hedgerows, many of which are ancient and were cut from the original forest. There are paths for walking, jogging, and dog-walking, plenty of benches to rest on and look at the water. There are woodland trails – when we went, that lockdown staple, wild garlic, was just starting to sprout. Although there were other people there, it didn’t feel crowded, and we only had to step off the path to let others past once or twice.
There is a car park in Birchen Grove, NW9, or you may be able to park on the road.
Judith Field
Welsh Harp Open Space, Birchen Grove, London NW9 8SA
12/03/2021 02:36:59 PM
9. Grovelands Park
This large park, in Southgate, dates from the late 18th century and was landscaped by Humphry Repton. It opened to the public in 1913 and won a Green Flag award in 2010. Like many that we’ve visited, it was originally the grounds of a house. This, now Grade 1 listed, was adapted as a military hospital in World War I and is now a private psychiatric hospital.
Within its boundaries are open grassland, ancient woodland, and a large lake where fishing is allowed. There are also natural meadows and reed beds: all supporting a wide variety of birds, insects and bats. We saw a swan and her cygnets in their nest on the bank of the lake. There’s a café, which may not be open now and which used to sell bird food – better for the wildfowl than bread. There’s also a playground and outdoor gym. The park is home to a weekly timed five-kilometre park run.
We visited in the middle of June, just as the first lockdown started to lift, and the park was very crowded. We tried without success to park on The Bourne and nearby side roads, but there is a car park with about six spaces right outside the main entrance, Inverforth Gate on The Bourne, and we managed to grab one of those. There are also entrances on Queen Elizabeth’s Drive, Broadwalk and Church Hill.
Judith Field
Grovelands Park, The Bourne, Southgate, London N14 6RA
05/03/2021 12:47:15 PM
8. Old Court House Recreation Ground
This park, off Wood Street in Barnet, is another lesser-known gem, named after a county court adjacent to the site which was used until the First World War. It’s one of Barnet’s Premier Parks and received a Green Flag Award in 2009. There is a car park off Wood Street, next to Barnet Museum (closed at the moment). You can also park in nearby streets: there are entrances in Manor Close and Mays Lane.
It is formally laid out with an ornamental pond, rockery, shrub and flower beds, grassed areas, and a variety of trees, some from California, planted in the nineteenth century. The park has a bowling green with a pavilion, a children's playground, a café, and six free tennis courts.
A seventh tennis court was dug up and left to develop its own wildlife, as the Old Disused Tennis Court Conservation Area. Buddleia, wildflowers, and brambles grow there. It’s an interesting example of how quickly a brownfield area can revert to nature and develop wildlife: birds, insects, and small mammals. We picked our way in, between the plants, until we reached the middle and stood in the July sunshine looking at the butterflies and the ladybirds.
A good thing about the park, should Jack ever allow us to visit the same place twice, is that we could get there by turning left at the end of our road. Jack has decided that turning right at the end of the road is boring and makes his feelings known in a way that isn’t conducive to concentrating on driving. It does rules out any more Harrow parks for the moment, but luckily, we’ve already visited plenty of those, so I’ve got lots more to write about. Alternatively, I can always turn the radio up loud and just go for it.
Judith Field
Old Court House Recreation Ground, 2 Manor Cl, Barnet EN5 4BP
25/02/2021 10:18:05 AM
7. Oakmere Park and Parkfield Open Space
I’m writing about both places at the same time, because although we visited them separately it turns out that they’re on opposite sides of the High Street in Potters Bar. Together, the two parks have over a thousand trees. Oakmere has more introduced species, and Parkfield has more native ones.
Oakmere Park
Oakmere Park was once the grounds to Oakmere House, and it keeps some of the original layout. There are two lakes, two children’s playgrounds and a green gym. There are paths, and October 1916, a ‘Super Zeppelin’ (these could fly too high to be heard from the ground) was shot down over the park by Second Lieutenant WJ Tempest. The Zeppelin crashed onto an oak tree to the east of the park the pilot and all his crew were killed. The road that borders the park was named Tempest Avenue in his honour.
In 2015 three sculptures, hand-carved by a local sculptor were installed, representing key features within the park: an acorn symbolising the trees that make up ‘Oak’ mere (see photo), a swan - as found on the two lakes and a fish. We didn’t see the swan. The fish was stolen in 2016 and I’ve been unable to find out whether the police were able to reel in the thief (don’t blame me – I got this from the Welwyn Hatfield Times).
There’s a car park in Salisbury Close, opposite the main entrance, but you have to pay to park. There are also pay and display parking bays on the High Street by the main entrance. The satnav led us straight to free spaces on the other side of the park, on the Grove (off Tempest Avenue).
Parkfield Open Space
This Green Flag Award-winning park was acquired in 1934, having previously been part of a larger estate containing a house. That had been used as a convent, then a school, before being demolished in 1935.
It contains a range of attractions including (so it’s much older than you might think), traditional meadows, a Japanese Garden, holly walk, remains of a Roman tile kiln (discovered in the nineteen-fifties), tree trail, Potters Bar Tennis Club, a lake, a pond with linking water channel, tree sculpture and a World War Two air raid shelter. A local artist carved the Parkfield Statue from a complete oak trunk in 1999, representing the people of Potters Bar, and that all life depends on trees.
There are parking bays along Billy Lows Lane which are free outside of restrictions (2-3pm), but you could also park in the Salisbury Close car park or on the High Street.
Judith Field
Oakmere Park: Highview Gardens, Potters Bar EN6 5PJ
Parkfield Open Space: Billy Lows Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1UY
18/02/2021 11:51:13 AM
5. Pinner Memorial Park
As of last week, we’ve visited ninety-one parks and open spaces so there’s still lots for me to recommend. Pinner Memorial Park is one of Harrow’s Green Flag Parks – this Award recognises the best green and open spaces in the country. The park is close to the centre of Pinner and you can get there by bus or Tube. If you don’t fancy public transport, there are several car parks nearby – we used the one in Chapel Lane. There are also entrances in Marsh Road, West End Lane, and West End Avenue.
It’s on land that was part of the West House estate, where Lord Nelson's daughter Horatia lived. More land was acquired in 1949 after a public campaign for a memorial to those who died in both world wars and the park opened as Pinner Memorial Park in 1950. It’s not just people who are remembered – there is also the remains of a Victorian dog cemetery.
The remains of West House are still there, the upper floor is a gallery, and the lower is Daisy on the Park, a cafe serving lovely ice creams (I bought one for Jack) and all sorts of other dishes: people were ordering roast dinners, with vodka and tonic on the side. As the same person taking our order and payment was also the person making the hot drinks, we had to wait in the queue for some time – but it gave me the chance to people-watch and wonder, yet again, why parents don’t teach their kids not to charge about without looking to see who else might be in the same space – especially now.
There are lot
s of paths so it’s not a place where you have to squelch through a quagmire to walk around - I may not write about them. It has bushes, mature trees including larch, weeping willow, blue cedar, magnolia and copper beech, open and shaded areas with a lot of different features: a green gym, bowling green (closed when we visited, and now), a lake with a fountain, ducks, and geese. It has a quiet, ornamental peace garden with rose beds, heathers, weeping ash and wisteria.
There’s also a small aviary. Jack spends what feels like many hours showing me photos of budgies on his iPad, while I not only have to give them all names but remember which is which, so it was good to see some of them in real life (the photo shows Bilbo and Peppy).
Next to the café and aviary is the Heath Robinson Museum, closed at the time. This is another place I’d like to go back to on my own, to get a look at the contraptions and illustrations.
Judith Field
Pinner Memorial Park, West End Lane, Pinner HA5 1AE
12/02/2021 12:46:20 PM
4. Highlands Gardens
This small, little-known park is a hidden gem in New Barnet. You can park on the street itself or any nearby side-roads. At the main entrance, at the junction of Abbotts Road and Leicester Road, New Barnet, is a wooden lych-gate, and once you go through there’s a sense of intimacy – because it used to be a private garden.
The grounds belonged to Highlands House, built in the late nineteenth century. The owner installed a lot of “rock works” in the garden. Most have gone, but you can see an example as you come in: an archway and rocky path. The garden was opened to the public in 1931 when the house was demolished and replaced with flats (rebuilt in 1972). During the Second World War, it was used for vegetable plots.
We visited at the end of August, so of course it was pouring with rain. It was well worth walking round with umbrellas. We usually like to sit on a bench and there were plenty, but we had to give that a miss. There are lots of mature trees, including palms, yucca, monkey puzzle and yew. It has a fishpond with a stream and a waterfall. Fortunately, I keep a tub of goldfish food in the car in case we find ourselves in such a place and the fish came up to feed despite the rain plopping onto the water. There are flower beds and lawns, with tree-lined paths meandering through – quite secluded where they wind their way round the water features.
It’s a shame that Jack makes a fuss if we go to a park more than once, because I’d like to visit Highlands Gardens again. Perhaps when there’s less work and I can go where I like when I like I’ll go on my own, everything else permitting. I hope that day comes soon, because it’s one of the forty-five “low-quality low-value” where Barnet Council propose to install solar panels and/or storage units for renewable electricity.
Judith Field
Highlands Gardens, Leicester Road, New Barnet EN5 5EB
04/02/2021 06:20:08 PM
3. Hill House Pergola and Golders Hill Park
I have a confession. I have a rotten sense of direction, and often when we visit parks that aren’t completely open spaces, to be able to find the way out again, I have to remember landmarks. For example, we came in with the playground on our right - I hope that there’s only one playground.
I only realised this when we visited Golders Hill Park on Mother’s Day, last March. Jack had been there before with his school, but I hadn’t for many years. We were lucky enough to find a space to park on North End Way, NW11, and used the entrance there opposite the end of Hampstead Way. I should have taken a warning from the sign that read, in this order:
Hampstead Heath
Golders Hill Park.
However, Jack strode off to the left and I followed him.
Soon we were alone in a wood, but Jack seemed to know where he was going. We came out on the other side by a footpath leading to a garden with a raised, paved pergola covered with flowers. This was Hill House Garden, part of Hampstead Heath, part of the grounds of the former Hill House, created for the soap baron Lord Leverhulme at the turn of the 20th century.
I followed Jack through the pergola, down a spiral staircase at the other side and back into the deserted wood. Jack stopped. I asked him where to go next. He said he didn’t know, in the tone I’d adopt if someone asked me to explain the maths behind General Relativity – or the Special Sort, come to that. My heart thumped. I was in no doubt that there was a story idea or two there (Hampstead hamadryads, anyone?) but all I could manage was to stop myself from thinking we are lost. We wandered in the general direction of anywhere until I heard voices in the distance. We moved towards them and we blundered out through the trees into Golders Hill Park.
There are many different sections to the park including a cycling route, a wide expanse of grass with trees and bushes, and formal flower gardens. There’s a pond crossed by a small bridge – we stood on it and watched the swans and ducks. We sat outside the café and ate home-made ice cream. I’ve noticed that some park cafés are open at the moment, so it’s worth taking a look. It was too early in the year to go into the butterfly house. It’s usually open from late March to the end of October, but I haven’t been able to find out what’s happening this year.
The part Jack most liked was the small (free to enter) zoo. It’s worth considering, as London Zoo is closed at the moment. It has deer, donkeys, lemurs, emus, pheasants, kookaburras and other birds. I made sure people socially distanced from us by singing “kookaburra sits in the old gum tree-ee” (but only quietly) until Jack made me stop. I reckoned people were going to stare at us anyway, so they may as well have something to listen to as well. The address for the park is given below, but if you want to enter close to the mini zoo, use the entrances on West Heath Avenue or West Heath Road (both NW11), there’s room to park there and in nearby streets.
Judith Field
Hill Garden Pergola, Inverforth Close, London NW3 7EX
Golders Hill Park, North End Way, London NW3 7HE
28/01/2021 06:05:47 PM
2. Stoneyfields Park
This medium-sized park is in Fairmead Crescent, Edgware. You can park on the street itself or in surrounding side roads.
We visited this peaceful place at the end of May, during the first lockdown. The park has open grasslands and mowed lawns to walk in, and small woodlands. There’s a playground, multi-sports court and a basketball hoop.
It’s one of the few places where you can get access to Deans Brook. This rises on Mill Hill Gold course and runs to Edgware, where it joins the Silk Stream, which then joins the Brent, which eventually joins the Thames at Brentford. Where Deans Brook crosses the park, it has been dammed to create a lovely ornamental lake, one of the biggest in Barnet. Jack likes to stroll round a pond and look at the wildfowl, so this was his favourite part. We saw swans and mandarin ducks. The Brook flows out of the lake into a cascade, then into a small wooded area. The mature oak and hazel trees growing in the park were once part of an ancient woodland. Stoneyfields Park and Deans Brook are a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II.
We walked all around the park and the lake, then sat down opposite the locked playground, watching the same people riding their bikes round…and round…and round…and walkers jumping out of the way. A man and a woman, looking like they were aged in their twenties, climbed over the railings. A few passers-by complained, but I applauded, and then had to explain to Jack why I was, starting with “well, I think it’s a funny thing to do” and ending with “but of course you shouldn’t do it, the playground is really for little children”. Talk about digging a hole for yourself with your mouth. Meanwhile the couple, looking a bit sheepish, sat at the top of one of the slides and shared a picnic.
Judith Field
Stoneyfields Park, Fairmead Crescent, Edgware HA8 9TB
19/01/2021 03:19:05 PM
1. Coldfall Wood
I’m finding the pandemic tough to deal with, as I’m sure everyone is. I find getting out of the house makes all the difference, particularly if I’m in an open space, and close to the natural world. I can forget work and what’s going on at home for a while, let my eyes focus on the distance and inhale the fresh north-west London air.
At the start of the first lockdown, my son Jack’s college closed without warning, he was left with nothing to do, and I had a 24-year-old autistic young man to fit into the at-home-all-day mix. Since mid-March, he and I have visited parks and open spaces once or twice a week. There were rumours at the start about parks having to close, but that didn’t happen, thank goodness. During the first lockdown all the playgrounds were locked. Jack likes outdoor gyms, and they were open. Now it’s the other way round, and the gyms are closed.
Jack wants us to go to a new place each time so, with our sometimes managing more than one in a day, we’ve visited eighty-seven as of the time of writing this. Some have been very crowded, which wouldn’t have registered with me before the pandemic. One or two have been disappointing, such as the park that no longer existed, having been devoured by Brent Cross Shopping Centre. I’ve taken photos at each one, and many of them look remarkably similar. I think that this is the point, in a way: there are so many open spaces not that far away.
I’ll start with Coldfall Wood, Creighton Avenue, London N10 – between Muswell Hill and East Finchley. You can park on the road itself. It’s probably best to wear wellies because there aren’t any paved paths, for that reason it’s not the best place to go with a baby buggy. It’s an ancient woodland, the direct descendant of the original ‘wildwood’, which covered most of Britain until about five thousand years ago. There are bridges across a stream. We saw squirrels, jays, crows and we heard parakeets. Apparently, it’s also host to bats although we didn’t see any as we went during the daytime. We hardly saw anyone else, so it was good from the social distancing point of view, but someone had stuck a rainbow picture on a tree. It was fascinating to see what the area was like before the land was farmed, and later covered in houses.
Judith Field
Coldfall Wood, Creighton Avenue, London N2 9BJ
