Park of the week

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