Mill Hill Park

Some photos of Mill Hill.
Mill Hill Park NW7 is my nearest park & has a well deserved green flag award thanks to the very helpful park keepers & local Friends of Mill Hill park Group . Its split in part by the Main A1 road & runs from Dawes Lane & Wise lane over to Flower Lane with the main part being on the Wise lane side. The main Entrance is actually in Dawes Lane with a large car Park, but unfortunately gets full very quickly with commuters & local workers parking up & walking to the Mill Hill Broadway & BR Station. Now i actually thought this belonged to the garden centre, but found out it is still a council owned parking area. I personally think there should be ticket machine that will let tickets be only available between hours of 10.30am & 1.30pm for the use of the car park between the 1 hour period of 1.30pm till 2.30pm period.
This might help visitors better access to the parks facility's, like the cafe & play area's, visitors need to know that they can turn up & get parked. I was in many area's in Barnet & would of loved to known that i could turn up at the park for a late breakfast or dinner & not have problems of looking for a parking space as with most high street's.

Hendon Park

Hendon park is very similar to most other parks with the usual facility's & meadow area's with much of the park on a slight incline to the south. There is tree lined paths with lots of areas to sit in the shade on a nice summers day. Have had quite a few afternoons here myself with some good company & a bottle of plonk. Its got a perimeter of around 0.8 miles with good wide paths. This also contributes to about 240 yards of the Capital ring section 10-11 running through the south end of the park.

Welsh Harp NW4

Now! I have been looking forward to this one, so it was off to the usual early start & parked up the West Hendon side of the bridge. Now this water was originally put in place as a top up for the canal system back in 1835 & was originally called Kingsbury Reservoir. After being built, it was used over the years for many cycle races & many types of water sport. Many of these events where based at the Welsh harp Pub & this being the reason why the water has always been known locally as the welsh harp. Its now called Brent reservoir & is owned jointly by the boroughs of Brent & Barnet & is mainly used for sailing & as a wild life area.
Now i can’t quite put my finger on it, but i started off the walk to the larger side of water & headed off down a good gravel track & within a few yards there was a viewing platform that's very handy for the twitters. But then the path lead off about 20/30yards away from the water in what felt like a tree lined tunnel. Now i realise that you don't want the path to close to the waters edge because of protecting the wild life. But with much of this walk it was grabbing snippets of the water rather than a view. This was the same on the other side of the bridge in the area that head off to some sports fields. Now if your not expecting a walk along the water in all areas, it a nice enough walk, but will return at a later date to makes sure it wasn't just me on the day expecting to much. It could also do with a well signed single loop for the whole of the 2 area's.
Not sure why there is a fishing ban here. But presumably its to do with the wild life. But one of the areas that i got close to the water near some reads & rushes, there was 4 massive carp cleaning themselves on the reeds near the waters surface.

Hampstead Heath

As with most walks i am doing, I'm usually up at 5am & out by 5.40am. This morning I'm off to what they call the Hampstead Heath Extension that runs off Hampstead Way & Wildwood Road in the Hampstead Garden Suburb area. (Shame Barnet didn't get more of this area when they where handing out the Borough's) Now i have worked in many client's houses in the Hampstead area for many years & like everything when your working, you just don't get time to pop into these green space's to have a look around. Now this was the 1st time i have every felt guilty about walking. But! I started off my mini walk from Thornton way where a path leads right over to the Hampstead way side of this area. The gravel was a bit unusual in that it was noisy to walk on. Now! Noting this was also on a May Bank holiday Monday & about 6am i felt like i was making the noise of a troop of walkers & this particular path runs down the back of some very nice houses. There is also something else very unusual about this area? & it's the lack of traffic & London background noise that is always in the air. (It was their when i came out of this area) Now this made you feel that you could of been anywhere in the UK, except eight mile,s from the centre of London.
I thought the walk would be just under a mile & turned out to be a very pleasurable 1.8 miles. This is one that i will certainly pop back to & well worth a visit.

Copthall Fields

Copthall playing fields is quite a large & flat area to start walking if out of practice. Although more aimed at sports there is still some other walks that can be incorporated to make a nice loop that includes Ashley Lane, the old railway track that has been turned into a walk from Mill Hill East to Page street & sunny Hill park is only about a 75 yards away from the A1 Great North Road road end of this complex.
What is now just called the Copthall playing fields used to be called the Arch fields years ago, but this name seems to just relate to the very nicely kept allotments at the Hendon side of this area.
With this area being sport related there is an area with an old building that used to be the school changing rooms & either side of this are 2 sports fields with a circumference of about 1 mile. Next to the foot path of this walk are several stops for exercises that now make a nice place to stop for rests if needed.
You also have the Copthall swimming complex & the Metro Play Golf Centre 9 hole par 3 golf course & driving rage that used to be the Archfeilds main area. (I here the foods quite good here & very reasonable in the off peak hours)
But for more on the walks for this area, please pop over to the main site for a list.
Barnet Walks

Sunny Hill Park

Sunny Hill Park Hendon NW4

Sunny Hill Park is in the Hendon NW4 area of Barnet & has changed very little over the last 30+ years with the exception of more area is being left to meadow & a wild life pond. (That needs a little TLC)
There is a cafe near one of the Hendon way entrances that serves a variety of foods & would certainly recommend some of the excellent Mediterranean style food although it is a little pricey. But don’t let this put you off & remember the parks are not so busy in the winter months & the cafes need the extra income through spring & summer to survive.
The park is well used by locals & has quite a doggie set using the parks facility’s. (But with no sign of a dog ever being here) Nice!
The perimeter is around 1.4 miles with some very step climbs in places
Good Points: Nice feel & getting well used with some good views towards the North & West London areas.
Bad Points: Could do with some extra parking space & some of the foot paths are getting to the end of there life. (Chair lift would be nice in some areas)

Click on any image for more photos.
They are also Geo/Tagged & linked with Google maps via the map link.
When you click on the map pin on the pop up map, you will also get the opportunity to view via MS/Live, Panoramio, Flickr. I find the MS/live link very good with very clear images.

Edgwarebury Park

I am not sure what made me think of the the old highway men that used to use this area, but after a quick visit to my local dentist it feels like a there is a connection. Still! I am in the Edgeware area & feeling financially lighter. So i thought a walk around Edgwarebury park might make the feeling of being fleeced go away.
This is a park that i have never seen & didn’t realize even existed. (Must of driven past a 1000 times) So i parked up on a service road that runs along the A41 Watford way & made my way to one of the 2 entrances on this road. (There are 2 others in Edgwarebury Lane)
Wasn’t really expecting much from the park, but was very pleasantly surprised. The whole of the park area was very well looked after with some very nice kept rose gardens.
There is a surprisingly large open space of well kept grass going off to the left of the main central area where most of parks facility’s are.
Then looking up to the right from this same area is a very nice wild meadow, this leads up to a wooded area that has a circular path around the woods. You could quite easily have a pleasant hour or two walking the perimeter of about 1.2 miles. There are some slopes, but nothing to steep. Would suggest the 1st entrance in Edgwarebury lane for anyone needing flatter ground & very little in the way of slopes.
Good points. Just about everything & thumbs up to the park keepers.
Bad points. Local traffic noise A41, M1. But don’t let this put you off as many London area parks have this problem, & you can still hear the wildlife is quite happy.

Click on any image for more photos.
They are also Geo/Tagged & linked with Google maps via the map link.
When you click on the map pin on the pop up map, you will also get the opportunity to view via MS/Live, Panoramio, Flickr. I find the MS/live link very good with very clear images.

About the Blog

Hi, my name is Chris & would like to Welcome you to Barnet Walks. This Blog is to help me put together a more detailed website with my views & findings around the greener areas of the London's Borough of Barnet.

Reason For Blog.
Over the last few years i have given up a few of my bad habits, like! working, smoking & drinking. (Apart from the occasional shandy) But! like many things, there was the dreaded downside of putting on a extra few ozs, Ok! pounds (OK then! stone) So! with my new interest of building websites & wanting to find out about some of the history & greener side of Barnet, i thought i would be a good opportunity to combine the two & discover a little more about the area i live in, with the added bonus of loosing a few pounds.
It’s quite surprising the places i have already come across in the Barnet area that i never even new existed. Some have seen some dramatic changes over the last 40+ years. (Some good & some not so good)
As mentioned earlier, I will also be using this Blog area to gather information for a more detailed web site that i am building “Barnetwalks.co.uk“. This will be based on my discoveries when out & about in the Barnet area. The site will have lots of detailed maps & tips on all of the walks. I will also have detailed info on the degree of difficulty on each one of the walks i have personally trekked around. At the moment, this is all work in progress, but if it gets me out there & also encourage's one or two others to have a go, it cant be a bad thing!

New to walking? Here are some good rules & tips .
Now remember that i am writing this as a unfit, overweight guy that in the past was very practised in the art of smoking & drinking & drove or got cabs to most places. So this doesn’t really qualify me in any way as a seasoned walker. But if i can do it! then just about anyone will be able to.
Note: Before starting out on walking as a way to keep fit, or help to loosing a few pounds. Have a check up with you doctor for any advise with any ailments that you have had in the past or present medication that you may be on.
Now! There will be a bit of cheating (sorry! Guides) in some of the tips below. But if it's got you out on your 1st walk & you can back with a bit of a buzz, it cant be bad.
I personally have started out with short flat walks & building up to slight inclines & eventually aim to be running up Barnet hill (OK! maybe not this one).
In the very nature of its name, the area i live in, is called Mill hill, & is possibly not the best area to start off in, being renowned for "guess what!" steep hills. This also applies to a lot of the Barnet area which is one of the reasons for its appeal, with many wanting to live in some of the very exclusive areas, that have some fantastic property’s set on hills with great outlooks over places like the Totteridge valley & many parts of London. Now! With not wanting to use a metaphor, but many ladies & gents that live on top of these hills, have also realise the extra effort needed to get to the top. You will also have to work hard to get to the top of some of these hills with building up some extra stamina. This will just come in time. Now! There is defiantly some great satisfaction with climbing a hill & seeing some of the views across London & the many valleys that much of Barnet has to offer. But! this is a big no, no in attempting big hills if your not fit or are new to walking. At times like this, we would all rather avoid the feeling or the need to be resuscitated at the top of what looked like a lovely hill from the bottom & then realising you wasn’t quite up to the fitness level you thought you were. This should also come with added knowledge that a Barnet ambulance crew is quite likely unable to reach you in a short space of time when out on some of the more rural treks.
So a few tips like starting off in flat areas with good level paths & slowly increase to slight inclines then off to those yonder hills at a later date.
Many of the local sports playing fields are are guaranteed flat area's as it can be a pain playing many of the sports involving a ball on a 45deg slope.
Anyway! Here’s a few tips & ideas for the not so fit walker to save you getting disappointed because you took on to much of a walk for your level of fitness.
Start out with…………………

1. Looking out for flat circular or figure of eight routes in areas like parks & sports grounds. Many of Barnet’s parks offer great facility’s with many having a nice perimeter walk & quite often the facility of a café & rest rooms/wc.
2. Look out for areas with a streams or brooks with a path (Dollis walk) as these can be slight & gentle inclines that can always be started from the top/higher ground. See if you can work a route around the base of a hill or through a valley.
3. Get a London transport pass, like the very handy & cheap'ish way to travel Oyster card so you can use a bus or train to initially get you up those long & larger hills & walk back from them.
   
4. If you are talking a car to certain areas, try & work out a circular route out & back to the car. Or one that you can park up & jump on a bus & walk back to the car for those longer hikes.
   

Some of these may sound a little lazy, but it would be a worse thing to put yourself off walking through trying something that was to difficult to walk because of your fitness level.
On other thing that's nice to avoid is going over the same ground in a single walk.

More to come!

But your comments are always welcome.