Totteridge Circular
Meadows, woods and villages on the Northern Heights
Book3* Walk 228
* Online onlyLength: 14 Km or 9 miles
Toughness: 2/3 out of 10
Getting there: Catch a Northbound Northern Line Tube to High Barnet ( Journey time from Bank about 35 minutes) alight at Totteridge & Whetstone Underground Station (one stop before High Barnet)
Meeting point Totteridge & Whetstone Underground Station at 11:00am ( I'd suggest you plan to get there 10-15 minutes before 11:00am)
Tickets: Buy a suitable Travel or Oyster Card - I would suggest up to Zone 5 should you wish to return from Cockfosters ( Totteridge & Whetstone is in Zone 4 ).
You may find ticket details and prices here
Brief Description:
With the possibility of Industrial Action on the railways, our Transport Aficionado has suggested we take to the Northern Line Tube and give the Totteridge Circular Walk an airing.This Walk explores an area of greenbelt that would have been engulfed by the 1930s expansion of London's suburbia but for the resistance of local residents. The result is a large chunk of countryside that intrudes into London on the so-called Northern Heights - the hills above and behind the more famous ones of Hampstead and Highgate. At one point on this walk you can actually look down on Alexandra Palace and Highgate Hill, and have the illusion that everything in between is still countryside.
Suggested Lunch stops
The Three Hammers, Hammers Lane, NW7 4EA tel:020 8959 2173 in Mill Hill. 7.1km (4.4 miles) into the walk (5.8km/3.6 miles by the short cut) is the recommended lunch stop - an efficient chain pub run by Ember Inns, which serves food all afternoon. It has a variety of seating areas, including a small glassed-in patio and an even smaller garden, and should be large enough to accommodate a group.
Another lunch option, just off the main walk route is the Rising Sun tel: 020 8959 1357 offers "rustic Italian food" in a slightly upmarket table service restaurant with a small outside patio. It is closed on Monday and Tuesday lunchtimes, but does lunch 12-2.30pm on Wednesdays to Saturday, and all day on Sundays. This is not a large place, however, so it is a good idea to phone and make sure they have space.
For picnics, the park just beyond the Three Hammers in Mill Hill has a view over the north west of London and several well-placed benches. When the ground is dry in spring and summer, the greenbelt fields throughout the walk also have numerous pleasant places to stop.
On option e) Short walk from Totteridge to Cockfosters The Monk Pub on the edge of Hadley Green is a possible lunch stop.
Suggested Tea stops
In Totteridge village the Orange Tree is a popular village pub which had an upmarket makeover some years ago. Late in the afternoon it is usually quiet enough, however. It has some outside tables by a duck pond, but also next to a rather busy road.
Tea options by Totteridge & Whetstone station include The Waiting Room tea room 020 6445 0424, 50 metres up the hill from the station on the lefty, which is open Tuesday to Saturday to 5pm.
Alternatively if you carry up the hill from the station for 250 metres to the high road there is a Costa Coffee, open till 7pm Monday to Saturday, with Coffee Culture just beyond it, open until 7pm Monday to Friday.
On option c) Longer walk to Barnet, The Monk pub (not yet checked out) looks promising and advertises a garden at the rear.There the inevitable Starbucks (open to 6.30pm Monday to Friday) and Costa Coffee (open to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday) but a better option if you can get there in time is The Coffee Bean (open to 5.30pm), which has nice cakes and open air seating in a courtyard, or Harris and Hoole A modern Café which is open till 6pm Monday to Saturday.
On option d) Longer walk to Cockfosters, the Cock & Dragon pub is a possible tea stop, but in summer, if you are finishing the walk not too late, it is worth making a small extra effort to go to the Trent Park Café a popular local haunt which has an excellent selection of cakes and other food. It is open till 7pm "if it is busy".
Explorer Map 173
Return tubes should be frequent and regular, there's also a plethora of bus options.
2 comments:
Can I point out that this walk has two longer options, one to Cockfosters extending it to 19km (11.8 miles). It involves a brief dip back into suburbia but otherwise is a pleasant enough walk across common and woodland. There is a nice tea option at the end.
n=9 w=sunny-with-passing-clouds
9 Walkers took a punt on this walk, trusting the 'hype' of the normally reliable walk author. We were not to be disappointed, not one bit.
It explores a lovely part of suburbia, without it feeling like suburbia at all for most of the walk. The negatives of the walk are few and quick to list: about 10 minutes of residential streets near the start (and they were actually quite nice), and about 10 minutes along a busy road mid-morning. That's it, as we didn't walk the 'normal' ending through Totteridge, but rather the alternative around it, along the Dollis Valley.
The Positives are numerous, as the route negotiates the large unbuilt-upon green area between Totteridge, Mill Hill and Barnet, much of which is benefiting from benign neglect by the councils: the start and ending through the meadows and woods of the Dollis Valley, various bits of interesting woodland, full of tiny streams, ponds, reservoirs, a huge number of wildflower meadows, plenty of cows and sheep, stately (footballer's) mansions on ridges, a splendid (if a little understaffed on the day) lunch pub, frequent far views back to Canary Wharf, the City or - later on - Wembley stadium.
All this enhanced by the presence of the walk author, who is so familiar with the area, he practically knows every grass halm by name... He naturally had to field numerous questions on flora, fauna and local history and was patient enough to answer them all.
A couple of walkers only had time for part of the walk, others did the Circular walk back to Totteridge & Whetstone station, but 5 walked the alternative ending to Cockfosters. This has one 'bad' bit, about 10 minutes through the centre of Barnet (but at least it passes the legendary 'sloping pitch' of Barnet FC - The Bees - in the process), but then leads rather gloriously through Monken Hadley and Hadley Common. On this stretch it is impossible not to feel away from it all, although the map tells you that houses are practically within shouting distance.
Tea at Trent Park Cafe, and then - for 4 of us and all in the interest of walk research - back to the nearby Cow Inn, which is under new Mgmt and has just had a complete refurb. We stayed for quite a few hours, incl. a sumptious meal and the odd bottle of fermented grape juice. A rather splendid place it is.
Piccadilly Line train at about 22.00 hours. One of my longest Wednesday Walk Outings. Very Good Indeed.
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