Park of the week

57. Mill Hill Park

This park, close to where we live, is one of Barnet’s premier parks (see 51) and holds the Green Flag Award. The designated green belt land the park occupies was once part of Daws Farm, believed to have been named after Thomas Daws, who lived in the area in the fourteenth century. In 1923 the local authority purchased the farmland, and it was opened as a park in 1924.

The park divided into two by the A1. The main section to the east is linked by an underpass to a smaller, mainly grassed area, to the west. The bifurcated nature of the park means that I’ve managed to get away with taking Jack here twice – once to each part. I tried a third time last week, but he remembered, and I got my ear bent, despite there being a playground with two “big lying down swings.”

The eastern part has formal flowerbeds, large areas of mown grassland, a cricket pitch, football pitches, three tennis courts, a basketball court, two bowling greens, crazy golf, playground (see above), a cafe, car parks and toilets. There are many mature trees and a Community Forest Nature Reserve, planted in 1993-94 to commemorate the Queen’s 40th Jubilee. I got lost coming out of the nature reserve while trying to find the car park I’d left my car in. As I stood trying to get my bearings, I realised that it had been some time since I was in such a large, open space, and paused for a moment or two to drink it all in. 

The western part was planted with trees to commemorate the coronation of King George VI in 1937 and to celebrate the Millennium. In November 2021 Barnet Council, helped by local organisations and primary schools, planted five hundred new trees in the western section, as a memorial to those affected by Covid-19 and ill health. It also honours those who have been affected by the loss or sickness of a loved one. The tribute is made up of native tree species: field maple, crab apple, wild cherry, hawthorn, alder, and goat willow. It’s open year-round.

There are entrances to Mill Hill Park on Wise Lane, Daws Lane, Flower Lane, and Watford Way, NW7.

Judith Field

Mill Hill Park, Daws Lane, London, NW7 2BD