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.