Darland's Lake Nature Reserve

Darland's Lake

Darland's Lake Nature Reserve is a nature reserve south of Totteridge Village in Barnet, England. It is owned by the London Borough of Barnet and was managed from 1971 by the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, and more recently by the borough council. In 2007 the council spent £215,000 on repairing the dam and other works, and then proposed leasing the reserve to the Wildlife Trust.^[1]

Folly Brook in Darland's Lake Nature Reserve

Darland's Lake dam and footbridge

The site was once part of Copped Hall, an estate dating from the sixteenth century. From 1780 it was occupied by William Manning MP,^[2] and his son Cardinal Manning was born there.^[3] Darland's Lake was created as an ornamental lake by damming Folly Brook, probably planned by William Manning's wife, Mary, with advice from Humphry Repton.^[2]

The lake is very shallow, with extensive reed beds, and the reserve also includes woodland. It has a diverse range of breeding birds and eighteen species of mammal, including stoat and weasel. It is also of value for grass snakes, amphibians, fungi and invertebrates.

Folly Brook and Darland's Lake Nature Reserve are together designated a Local Nature Reserve, Borough Grade 1. Darland's Lake was formerly designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, but the designation was withdrawn when it was discovered that the rarest plants had been introduced.^[4]

Access is by a path from The Close, Totteridge Village. A footpath, which starts close to the reserve noticeboard, follows Folly Brook to its junction with Dollis Brook.

Coordinates: 51°37′31″N 0°12′17″W / 51.6254°N 0.2047°W / 51.6254; -0.2047

See also

• Barnet parks and open spaces
• Nature reserves in Barnet

Footnotes

1. ^ Totteridge Residents Association, The Future of Darlands, 2008 Yearbook. An old noticeboard on the reserve states that it has been managed by the Trust since 1971, and its 2009-09 Annual Review lists among its objectives to "secure tenure of Darlands". Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust Annual Review 2008-09
2. ^ ^{a b} Darland's Lake Nature Reserve, London Gardens Online
3. ^ Henry Edward Manning, Catholic Encyclopedia
4. ^ Folly Brook and Darland's Lake Nature Reserve, London Wildweb