Park of the week

66. One Tree Hill Open Space

This park in Wembley is so named because, when the land it occupies was first bought by the local authority in 1921, it comprised a hill with a single tree. That’s thought to have been an ash tree but since felled. It’s nothing to do with the teen-drama TV series. 

Since then, the park has been landscaped with trees and shrubs, and the local residents’ association holds annual tree planting. The hill itself is steep, with wooded slopes where a variety of flowers grow, including bluebells. Walking to the top, where there’s open grassland, is a good workout for the legs and from the highest point there are impressive views of Harrow on the Hill, Wembley Stadium and towards Central London. People sometimes fly kites from the top, but the air was still when we visited, and we didn’t see any.

A wildlife area has been created in the southern part on a former allotments site and the park was declared a Local Nature Reserve in 2007. A community garden was recently opened in the park, as the result of a collaboration between residents (who will manage the garden) and the Local Authority. 

There are no formal pitches but there’s plenty of room for ball games and for walking. There’s a children’s playground and an outdoor gym, but no café or toilets.

I often look at the British Newspaper Archive when writing these posts, and was intrigued to find that in 1950, a woman was fined ten shillings (fifty pence, but apparently the equivalent of £10 today) for breaking a local by-law by cycling in this park. The police officer who stopped her pointed out the people walking and children playing in the area. Her reply was that she had had very little time and couldn’t see any children nearby. The by-law was repealed in 1921, so bring your bikes along.

Entry is from Norton Road, St James Gardens and Bridgewater Road, HA0. There is no car park but there is room to park on nearby streets.

Judith Field

One Tree Hill Open Space, 108 Norton Rd, Wembley, HA0 4QR