Islington U3A Longer Walking Group

Islington U3A Longer Walking Group Walk Totteridge Circular Walk No. 123 Area North London Type Circular Date Wednesday 18th January 2017 Distance 9 - 12 miles (different options available) or can be shortened. Timing Up to 6 hours walking time (for longest option) + refreshment stops. Walk leader Martyn Waring Meeting up Meet at Totteridge and Whetstone underground station at 10 am. and travel This is the penultimate stop on the High Barnet Branch of the Northern Line (in Zone 4). Allow about 35/40 minutes to get there by tube from Highbury or Angel stations, 20 minutes from Archway station. Return will be from Totteridge, High Barnet or Cockfosters (Piccadilly Line) depending on which option we (you) choose. All are covered by Freedom Pass or Oyster card. Route This walk explores areas of a large chunk of countryside (part of the greenbelt) that intrudes into London on the so-called Northern Heights - the hills above and behind the more famous ones of Hampstead and Highgate. From the station we head west, briefly along Dollis Brook (further out than the stretch covered by the pre-Christmas walk) then taking in Darland Lake (once part of a large estate) and Totteridge Common before stopping for lunch close to Mill Hill school. After lunch we continue on a roughly circular route, going north and then turning back east, eventually reaching the edge of Barnet, from where there’s a choice of returning to Totteridge and Whetstone (an easy to navigate 1 km along Dollis Brook) or continuing (on the London Loop) to Monken Hadley and (if you want to do the full 12 miles) via Hadley Common to Cockfosters. The route as a whole, and the views, are surprisingly green for an area within the Greater London boundary, although you cannot entirely escape the distant sound of traffic and the need to cross quite a few suburban roads. Terrain A mixture of woodland, meadows, fields, parkland and a few roadside pavements through suburbia. Some stretches are on firm (tarmac or gravel) surfaces, others on tracks which can get very muddy. The walk undulates at times, but there are no steep climbs or descents. Possible There are a couple of relatively undemanding styles (though you’re obstacles much more likely to remember the large number of kissing gates). You will need to take care at several road crossings (where traffic can be quite heavy and sometimes travelling rather fast). However, the main thing to be aware of is that it will be muddy (and therefore potentially slippery) in some places. Suitability Suitable for any reasonably fit walker. Options We cross roads at regular intervals where there are regular bus services which will take you to nearby underground stations (this includes an option to drop out immediately after lunch). Islington U3A Longer Walking Group Clothing/ Check weather forecast beforehand – you may need warm gear footwear and/or waterproofs. You should certainly wear comfortable and waterproof walking boots, with a good tread. Refreshments There is one male and one female toilet at Totteridge station, but if and toilets everyone arrives at the last minute and decides they need to use these, that could delay the start quite a bit. Both lunchtime options have toilets, as do High Barnet and Cockfosters stations. There are two options for lunch - a pub and a café - very close to each other and just under 5 miles from the start: The Three Hammers, part of the Ember Inns chain, serves a set price lunch (1 course £5, two courses £7) or there’s an extensive main menu including sandwiches, jacket potatoes and typical pub dishes. The café at Belmont Farm (which calls itself the Waffle Café) serves sandwiches, jacket potatoes and a few daily dishes at lunchtimes). It claims to be listed by the Evening Standard as one of the best City Farm cafes in London. You can use it (and the loos) without paying the farm entry fee. Maps and A map and walk description is on the Saturday Walkers Club website: other sources http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/book_3/walk_228/index.shtml Three Hammers: http://www.emberinns.co.uk/nationalsearch/london/the-three-hammers- hammers-lane Belmont Farm (Waffle Café): http://www.belmontfarm.co.uk/ Leader’s Beforehand e-mail: [email protected] contacts On the day mobile: 07588 713 230 Points of This whole area would probably have been engulfed by the 1930s interest expansion of London's suburbia but for the resistance of local inhabitants of Totteridge village during that decade. By buying up manorial rights to the land around their village, they prevented further development until the Second World War, after which greenbelt legislation was passed to protect green spaces around London. The village of Totteridge extends for a mile and a half along a ridge. Historically there was no village centre as such - just a scattering of houses along the Totteridge Green and Totteridge Common, both of which we pass on the walk. Darland's Lake was once the boating lake of a grand house up on the hill - Copped Hall. The walk traverses what was once its formal manicured parkland. The house was demolished in 1929 and its parkland has now gone completely wild. The lake itself, which was twice as big as you see now, has partly silted up, creating a wooded marsh that is now an important habitat for wildlife. If the weather is clear, there will be opportunities on the walk for distant views of Alexandra Palace, Highgate Hill, Canary Wharf, the Shard and Wembley Stadium. .

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