Waterford

Myddelton House Gardens

Carterhatch · 9.9 miles

Myddelton House is a Regency villa in Bulls Cross, Enfield, London, England. Dating from 1819, the building is enclosed by an 8-acre garden that was developed in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. In the late 19th century, the house came into the possession of Edward Augustus Bowles, the "Crocus King", a notable horticulturalist, plantsman and garden writer. Over the next 50 years he created an important garden on the site. After his death in 1954, the house and some of the estate, including the major parts of the garden, was acquired by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority for use as their headquarters. The house continues to serve that purpose and the gardens are regularly open to the public. Myddelton House is a Grade II listed building and the gardens are listed, also at Grade II, on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.

Trent Park

Oakwood · 11 miles

The expanse of Trent Park stretches across roughly 320 hectares of green within the Metropolitan Green Belt, positioned near the Oakwood district of north London. The landscape forms part of a conservation area and holds a Grade II entry on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. Central to the grounds stands the former country house, itself a Grade II listed building together with several statues, an orangery and other ancillary structures that survive from the original estate. Historically the site originated in the fourteenth-century hunting grounds of Enfield Chase and later hosted a succession of private owners before becoming a secret World War II prisoner-of-war centre where covert recordings of German officers were made. After the war the house formed the Trent Park campus of Middlesex University until the campus was vacated in October 2012. The surrounding parkland has been known as Trent Country Park since 1973 and currently accommodates the Southgate Hockey Centre, a sports ground, and a building that formerly housed an indoor tennis court for royalty before being converted into a sports hall. A developer’s 2017 permission allows 262 new homes to be built on the former university site, with plans to retain the historic house and to house a museum on its lower floors. Visitors to the park can observe the listed mansion, its ornamental gardens and the Orangery, while the open fields support organised sport at the hockey centre. The nearest settlement is Oakwood, and the park’s status within the green belt and conservation area ensures its landscape remains largely unchanged despite recent redevelopment proposals.

Covert Way LNR

Hadley Wood · 11 miles

The reserve represents the sole Local Nature Reserve officially recognised within the London Borough of Enfield, covering roughly 7 hectares (about 17 acres). It forms a component of the Hadley Wood Golf Course and the Covert Way Field, a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation graded at the highest level (Grade I). Positioned on Enfield’s southern fringe, the site lies between the road called Covert Way and the adjoining Monken Hadley Common in the neighbouring borough of Barnet, with Hadley Wood being the closest town. Access is available from Covert Way road, which runs along the reserve’s edge. The habitat is a mix of semi-deciduous woodland and open grassland. The woodland supports birds such as woodpeckers and mammals like muntjac deer, while butterfly species recorded include the white-letter and the purple hairstreak. The grassland areas host the uncommon adder’s-tongue fern and the four-spot orb-weaver spider, noted as locally scarce. No specific visitor facilities or admission charges are mentioned in the source material, so the reserve is presented primarily as a natural space for observation of its woodland and grassland wildlife.

Monken Hadley War Memorial

Hadley · 11 miles

The Monken Hadley War Memorial is located immediately to the north of Monken Hadley at the western end of Camlet Way in Monken Hadley Common. It commemorates the men of the district who died in the First and Second World Wars and is in the form of a tapered decorated column with a celtic cross at the top and the names of the dead shown on the shaft. It was unveiled by Francis Fremantle, Member of Parliament for St Albans, in December 1920. It became a Grade II listed building in April 2017.

Hadley Green

Hadley · 11 miles

Spanning roughly ten hectares, Hadley Green lies on the historic Great North Road, between Hadley Green Road and Fold Lane, in the London Borough of Barnet. The area is recognised as a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, and its open-space character reflects its long use as a village common. Public access is unrestricted and entry is free, with the nearest settlement being the town of Hadley. The reserve consists mainly of acid grassland dotted with trees and several ponds, creating a mosaic of habitats that support regionally rare plant species. The water bodies host a notable invertebrate community, including eleven recorded species of dragonflies and damselflies. A footpath forming part of the London Loop long-distance walk traverses the site, linking it to the adjoining King George’s Fields and offering walkers a quiet stretch of countryside within the urban area. Historically, the green is associated with the Battle of Barnet in 1471, a decisive engagement of the Wars of the Roses, and it remained common grazing land for local villagers until the twentieth century. In 1818 the land was formally secured for the people of Hadley parish as public open space, preserving its natural and historic value for contemporary visitors.

King George's Playing Fields

Arkley · 11 miles

A 28-hectare green space in Monken Hadley, within the London Borough of Barnet, holds the designation of a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II. The area forms part of the nationwide network of King George’s Fields, created as memorials after the death of King George V in 1936; today the charitable body Fields in Trust oversees the legacy. Legal protection for this particular field has been in place since July 1955, ensuring its character remains unchanged. The landscape consists of a mosaic of open fields intersected by overgrown hedgerows, narrow woodland strips and small streams, with the Shirebourne Brook threading north-south through the site. Mature oak trees punctuate the terrain, providing nesting sites for a range of breeding birds such as sparrowhawk, stock dove, bullfinch, willow warbler and chaffinch. Insect life includes common butterflies and the less frequent chimney-sweeper moth. Walkers can follow the London Loop, which traverses the fields, and enjoy the proximity to Hadley Green across Hadley Green Road – the historic ground of the 1471 Battle of Barnet. Public entry is available from three points: Hadley Green Road, Burnside Close and South Close, making the park readily reachable for visitors from Arkley and surrounding districts.