Moat Mount Open Space and Mote End Farm

Moat Mount Open Space is a Local Nature Reserve, Borough Grade II, in Mill Hill in the London Borough of Barnet. The site is an extensive area bounded by Barnet Way, Barnet Road and Hendon Wood Lane. It includes Barnet Gate Wood and Scratchwood Countryside Park, but is separate from Scratchwood itself, which is a neighbouring reserve. Most of the site is open to the public, but Mote End Farm and some other areas are private.

Dollis Brook rises in Moat Mount, which is a large, hilly open space with a good range of habitats, and magnificent views from the top of the hill. Much of the Countryside Park is grassland, including fine examples of unimproved London clay grassland, which have an excellent diversity of wild flowers. The Park also has Leg of Mutton pond and several small woods, such as Target Wood and Nut Wood.^[1]

Moat Mount has a tree trail and picnic area,^[2] and also includes Moat Mount Outdoor Centre and Campsite, which has a range of activities for local schools and youth organisations.^[3]

Moat Mount was previously owned by Irwin Cox, the Conservative MP for Harrow from 1899 to 1906.^[4]

The main entrance to the reserve is the permanently closed Moat Mount car park on the southbound lane of Barnet Way, a dual carriageway section of the A1, between Stirling Corner and Apex Corner. The Dollis Valley Greenwalk starts at the car park, and the London Loop^[5] goes through the reserve. Scratchwood is on the other side of Barnet Way, with access by an underpass at Courtland Avenue.

There are also entrances to the reserve from Barnet Road (near Stirling Corner), from Hendon Wood Lane along the route of the Greenwalk and the Loop, and from Bedford Road.

Gallery

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  Noticeboard at Moat Mount car park

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  Leg of Mutton Pond

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  Moat Mount near Barnet Road

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  View from footpath to Barnet Road

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  Nut Wood near Leg of Mutton Pond

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  Fields on Mote End Farm are used to keep horses for its livery stables

See also

• Barnet parks and open spaces
• Nature reserves in Barnet

External links

• Moat Mount on the VisitWoods website

Notes

1. ^ Moat Mount Open Space and Moat End Farm, London Wildweb
2. ^ Scratchwood and Moat Mount Local Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire Community & Living
3. ^ Moat Mount Outdoor Centre and Campsite website
4. ^ Cambridge University Alumni, Irwin Cox
5. ^ London Loop Map

Coordinates: 51°38′02″N 0°15′09″W / 51.6338°N 0.2526°W / 51.6338; -0.2526