Park of the week

105. Pinner Village Gardens

This large, popular community park is the second park in Pinner that we’ve visited, and it was worth getting my ear bent by Jack for turning right at the end of the road, to go there. 

The name Pinner apparently comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Pinnora. There seem to be different translations: it might mean a hill surrounded by oaks, a hill shaped like a pin, or a bank at the edge of the River Pinn, a tributary of the River Colne, that runs through the middle of the area.

Pinner Memorial Garden was laid out in the 1920s at the same time as the suburb Pinner. It comprises a variety of different spaces – there is open grassland but also winding paths across the lawns, shrubs and specimen trees around the perimeter, floral displays in raised beds and a rose garden. There are also a 1930s drinking fountain, and a wildlife pond which is home to frogs and newts. There’s a Narrow ‘rig ridge’ and furrow in the south part of the park. This is a reminder of the previous use of the land for farming, from medieval times. The Friends of Pinner Village Gardens look after the gardens, organising bulb planting and other events, such as a picnic to celebrate the Coronation. 

There are tennis and basketball courts, table tennis tables, basketball, exercise equipment, skateboard area and a playground. The park is also home to a 2 km junior parkrun for children between 4 and 14, every Sunday morning.
    
There are a number of small wooden totem poles around the park, carved by a local wood sculptor, including a fairy tower with staircases, windows, and a turret at the top. There isn’t a café or toilet, for the wee folk of any size.

There is access from Hereford Gardens, Marsh Road, Rayners Lane, and Whittington Way, all in Harrow. There isn’t a car park, but we found space to park on a nearby street.

Judith Field

Pinner Village Gardens, Marsh Road, Pinner, HA5 5JR