East Finchley to Finsbury Park, A surprisingly green walk.

This is the Fiftieth post to Rambling On..., the Hampstead Ramblers' Blog. It is total coincidence, but it happens to be about a walk that I led this morning, (with kind assistance from my wife, Angela).

Angela and me, photo courtesy of the Legal Eagle.

The walk was a short one, some four miles long and taken at an easy pace. I am pleased to say that the party comprised a very creditable 18 Humans and one dog, Molly, owned by Hampstead stalwart June Craig. It goes to show that there is a demand for walks of all lengths, and that Saturdays can be as popular as Sundays.

We started the walk from East Finchley Tube Station, crossing the road to enter Cherry Tree Wood. The archer at the top of the tube was setting his aim eastwards, and so did we.



As you can see the sky was blue and the weather was warm and sunny. I'm sure this was a factor in making so many people decide to come along.

The route proceeded into Highgate Wood, where we stopped off for a browse in the visitor centre. After we left, we passed the children's play area, where we noticed a stunning totem pole depicting the wildlife to be found in the wood.

I suspect you have to be Very quiet to see the bears!


Crossing over into the Ancient Forest and Nature Reserve that is Queen's Wood, we called in at the Cafe. This is a little gem hidden in North London. There is always elegant music playing, the coffee is good and the blueberry and polenta cake is scrumptious. We took a look round the organic garden at the back. They have a selection of fruit and vegetables growing there, they make their own compost and plant feed, and they even have a bee hive! (perhaps for the bears?).

Some of the other wildlife spotted included a wild cat...



And a warning notice about a dangerous new species, the Lesser Spotted Jogger, (Latin name Lycra trainus).



(Click the photo to enlarge, as you can with all the pictures above).



The party going through Queen's Wood.

At Highgate we joined the Parkland Walk, the old disused railway line which is now a Nature Reserve. It runs for over two miles down to Finsbury Park.

At the end of the walk ten of us enjoyed a coffee at the park cafe. A big thank you to everyone who attended, including members from Richmond and South Bank Ramblers.

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