Park of the week

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