Colney Hatch

Long Lane Pasture

Church End · 1.2 miles

A small green space of roughly 1.1 hectares lies within Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet, and is recorded on maps as a nature reserve. The site, known as Long Lane Pasture, falls under the ownership of Barnet Council while day-to-day stewardship is provided by the Long Lane Pasture Trust, a body that receives no direct funding from the council. The nearest settlement identified on OpenStreetMap is Church End, and visitors reach the reserve via a footpath that joins Long Lane just north of the North Circular Road. The pasture’s origins date back to 1912 when the Municipal Borough of Finchley purchased the land for public recreation. In the 1920s, the construction of the North Circular Road removed about half of the original area. Administrative control shifted in 1965 when Finchley merged into the larger London Borough of Barnet. For many years the ground remained open to the public and served as grazing for horses until roadworks in the 1980s prompted a temporary closure. A proposal to sell the land for housing emerged in 1999, but a local campaign succeeded in overturning the decision in 2006. A 25-year lease was granted to the Trust in 2009, and a management plan now guides efforts to protect the site’s wildlife and to enhance its biodiversity. The reserve offers a quiet setting for walking and observing local flora and fauna, with no admission charge mentioned. Apart from the footpath entry, no additional visitor facilities are recorded, making the pasture a straightforward, low-key destination for nature-focused outings.

Swan Lane Open Space

Woodside Park · 1.2 miles

The park offers a compact green space within Whetstone, part of the London Borough of Barnet, and is listed as the smallest of the borough’s sixteen Premier Parks. It combines open, mown lawns with a collection of mature trees, notably giant redwoods and a Cedar of Lebanon, alongside more natural zones that are actively managed for wildlife. Visitors can use the children’s playground, stop at the on-site café, or follow the pond’s edge, where reeds and water plants now fringe a spring-fed water body that once hosted model boating. Laid out around the 1930s, the site was reclaimed from former gravel pits that bordered a nineteenth-century estate. Locally dubbed “The Pits” from at least the 1960s, the area bears a somber memory of a 1925 tragedy in which three schoolchildren drowned while exploring the disused workings. The park’s upper section appeared in the early 1970s during filming of a Monty Python “Hells Grannies” sketch, with the period Wendy House visible in the background. Rose beds beside the café have been planted to commemorate two local residents, adding a personal touch to the landscape. Access points are provided from Swan Lane, Whetstone High Road and Woodside Lane, situating the open space close to the Woodside Park neighbourhood. As a public amenity, the park does not charge admission and offers basic facilities such as the playground and café for casual visits.

Darland's Lake Nature Reserve

Totteridge · 1.9 miles

I've mapped the Nature Reserve to cover the whole area based on previous visits there, and the attached map

Oak Hill Park

East Barnet · 2.5 miles

Oak Hill Park occupies a sizeable stretch of green space in East Barnet, within the London Borough of Barnet, and is maintained by Barnet Council. The site carries a Green Flag Award for the 2009–10 period, reflecting its quality as a public amenity. Visitors can make use of an outdoor gym, a dedicated bowls green, several football pitches, a golf course, three tennis courts, a multi-sports court and a toddler-friendly play area, offering a variety of activities for different ages and interests. A portion of the grounds was designated Oak Hill Wood as a Local Nature Reserve in 1997, and the watercourse Pymme’s Brook, together with the Pymmes Brook Trail, run through the park, providing opportunities for walking and wildlife observation. Since August 2011 the park has hosted a weekly Parkrun, adding a regular community fitness element. Access points are situated on Church Hill Road, Parkside Gardens, Daneland and Vernon Crescent, allowing entry from several surrounding streets. The area traces its origins back to at least the 11th century as part of the Monkenfrith estate held by the church. Following the dissolution of the monasteries the land was sold in the 1530s and stayed in private hands until the late 1920s, when the death of Charles Edward Baring Young led to the council’s purchase in 1930. Oak Hill House subsequently became the home of Oak Hill College, while the remaining estate was laid out as a public park in 1933. A monument to early-18th-century owner Sir Simon Haughton Clarke can be seen in the cemetery of St Mary’s Church opposite the park.

Hampstead Heath Extension

Brent Cross · 2.5 miles

A stretch of green land adjoining the historic Hampstead Heath lies to the north-east of the main area, close to Brent Cross. Designated as a park, the Hampstead Heath Extension forms part of the wider open-space network that includes the original heath, Golders Hill Park and the surrounding woodlands and ponds. The site falls within the London Borough of Barnet, while the larger heath complex is primarily administered by the City of London Corporation and largely situated in the London Borough of Camden. The extension shares the character of the adjoining heath, which is recognised as a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. Although specific facilities on the Extension are not listed, the broader heath area offers a mixture of open grassland, woodland, and water features, together with a lido, playgrounds and a training track on the main site. Access is public and free of charge, with the nearest urban reference point being Brent Cross. Management responsibilities rest with the City of London Corporation, the same body that looks after the adjoining Hampstead Heath. Visitors can therefore enjoy the same unrestricted entry and natural setting that the larger heath provides, while remaining within the Barnet boundary.

Brent Park

Temple Fortune · 2.5 miles

A strip of woodland bordering the River Brent offers a quiet natural corridor within Hendon, situated between the North Circular Road, Brent Street and Bell Lane. The 2.24-hectare site forms part of the Lower Dollis Brook Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II, and is characterised by a narrow, tree-lined passage that runs west of the main road. Apart from a modestly mown grass area at the northern end, the park is managed primarily for wildlife, with three ponds lining the river. These water bodies are the remnants of a medieval lake that may have been created by Westminster abbots as a duck decoy, and they continue to support breeding tufted ducks, mallards, coots and moorhens, notably on a small wooded island in one of the ponds. Historical mapping from 1875 records the area as Decoy Wood within the grounds of Brent Bridge House, surrounded by Decoy Farm. The park opened to the public in 1934, and the associated house was demolished the following year. A section of the Capital Ring walking route traverses the park, providing a link for longer walks. Barnet Council operates the site, and visitors can reach it directly from the North Circular Road, Brent Street or Bell Lane. No admission fee is mentioned, and the park’s facilities consist mainly of the natural landscape and the maintained footpaths.