Parkland Walk

Parkland Walk is a convert|4.5|mi|adj=on linear green walkway, in north London, England, which follows the course of the railway which used to run between Finsbury Park through Stroud Green, Crouch End, Highgate and Muswell Hill to Alexandra Palace. Its low incline makes it an easy walk or cycle ride along an otherwise hilly part of London. The Finsbury Park to Highgate section takes about 45 minutes to walk from end to end, and 15 minutes to cycle.

It is one of 3 statutory Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) in Haringey (the others being Queen's Wood and Railway Fields). It was declared a Local Nature Reserve in 1990 and is London's longest LNR.

The path passes through both Islington and Haringey following the bridges and cuttings of the line and often providing excellent views of London. The route of the railway passed through tunnels on each side of the closed surface section of Highgate station, but this section is closed to walkers for safety reasons. The route Between the northern end of the Highgate Tunnels to The Northern line depot at Wellington Junction is used by trains entering the depot, while the rest of the cutting round Highgate Wood - from Wellington Junction to Cranley Gardens is outside the wood’s fence, not officially part of Parkland walk, and so is allowed to stay overgrown, and unwalkable. An alternative footpath to Cranley Gardens via Highgate Wood can be rejoined at Muswell Hill road from where it can be followed without much difficulty to Cranley Gardens and through the Muswell Hill section of the route to Alexandra Palace park, and along an alternative footpath to end of the railway at Alexandra Palace.

History

This path was once the route of part of the London and North Eastern Railway's (LNER's) line from Finsbury Park to Edgware constructed in 1867 by the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway, with the branch to Muswell Hill and Alexandra Palace added in 1874. Plans were published by London Underground in the 1930s for its incorporation as part of the Northern Line (The Northern Heights Plan) but the outbreak of World War II stopped the work at an advanced stage. After the war the development plan was abandoned but passenger trains continued to run on this line until 1954. The service was reduced to freight haulage and tube traffic, until its final closure in 1970.

Tracks and infrastructure were removed and most of the platforms and station buildings demolished. The Parkland Walk was officially opened in 1984 following extensive re-surfacing and improvements to access.

Outline of the route

From the Finsbury Park end the route starts from the western side of the existing East Coast main Line beside a foot overbridge that gives access from the eastern end of Oxford Road to the Finsbury Park open space itself, though it is poorly signposted. The route rises on a substantial embankment overlooking the back gardens of the Victorian suburban houses. The steepness of the rail route is notable. Very shortly the route bridges Upper Tollington Park. After a few minutes walk it then crosses Stapleton Hall Road at a point where the Gospel Oak to Barking rail route also passes beneath the road. Almost immediately the embankment gives way to a cutting as the land rises north-westwards. The route continues beneath overbridges carrying Mount Pleasant Villas, Mount View Road, and Crouch Hill; most but not all of these crossing points provide access to the walk. After Crouch Hill part of the trackbed is impinged on by a community building beyond which is a foot overbridge. At this point the still intact but partly overgrown platforms of Crouch End Station are passed, at the end of which the route passes under the site of the former station building and Crouch End Hill.

From this point the cutting opens out on the northern side side as the route skirts a hill, parallel to Hornsey Lane where some relatively high-rise but prestigious apartment blocks have been built mostly since Word War II. Shortly the route bridges Stanhope Road on a footbridge replacing the original structure. The route continues on an embankment to a brick-built bridge over Northwood Road where traffic below can only pass through it one direction at a time. The surrounding ground rises rapidly and the route becomes a cutting at the end of which the portals of the southern pair of Highgate tunnels loom into view. Vestiges of line-side electrical equipment for the planned 1930s electrification of the line and part of the structure of the old Highgate station are visible through the tunnels. This is the end of the southern part of the route. The official exit is on the western side to Holmesdale Road, but there may be an unofficial exit via Shepherds Close to Shepherds Hill.

A further shorter section of the walk begins some way along Muswell Hill Road, just beyond Cranley Gardens, where the road overbridge crosses the old line. On the left (western) side of the road a primary school completely occupies the site of the former Cranley Gardens station and the old trackbed. The walk continues opposite via steps down to the trackbed towards Alexandra Palace, which skirts a hill. The span of the seventeen-arch viaduct over St James's Lane gives a sudden, spectacular view eastwards and southwards over London. The route effectively ends with a reconstructed overbridge under Muswell Hill itself. At this point another primary school has been built on the trackbed. Further remains of the rail route can be seen in Alexandra Park, but little of this is accessible on foot.

Flora

No trees were permitted to grow close to the track when the railway was operational. The range of trees found today have grown up in the last fifty years. Most arrived naturally (oak, ash, birch, hawthorn, cherry, apple, holly, rowan, sycamore and yew), but a few additional species have been planted (field maple, hazel, black Italian poplar and white poplar).

More than three hundred species of wild flowers have been recorded on the Parkland Walk. They range from commonplace to the exotic. orchids rub shoulders with dandelions, and ivy clambers up fig trees. Michaelmas daisies and golden rods from North America colour the embankments with blue and yellow in the late summer. buddleia (from China) and Guernsey fleabane (from South America) add to the cosmopolitan mix of flora.

Wildlife

The great variety of plantlife sustains a wide range of animals. Twenty two species of butterfly have been recorded. Hedgehogs benefit from the proximity of adjacent homes with sympathetic owners. Foxes are plentiful and muntjac (a small species of deer) are seen occasionally. A colony of slow-worms thrive along the grassy embankment. More than sixty species of bird have been seen along the walk and many breed here. Parkland Walk is known to be an important site for bats in the London context, providing important foraging habitat and an excellent dark commuting route. A significant bat roost is known to exist in the vicinity.

Urban legends

Along the walk just before the disused platforms at Crouch End, a man sized green spriggan sculpture by Marilyn Collins had been placed in one of the alcoves of the wall on the right at the footbridge before the former Crouch End station. This was thought to be a tribute to a ghostly 'goat-man' who haunted that particular area in the mid 1980s. Local kids playing out in the evenings would 'dare' each other to walk the parkland walk from the Crouch End Hill bridge to the Crouch Hill bridge in the darkness. The walk along that stretch is indeed very deathly still, but no more so than any other part of the route at night. The sculpture, and Parkland Walk generally, provided the inspiration for Stephen King's short story "Crouch End".

There is also a myth that trains could still be heard rumbling along the route close to the Highgate tunnels, even after tracks had been lifted. This is unfounded, as is the ghost of a workman who threw himself in front of a train near the tunnels at Highgate station.

Another rumour regarding the failure of the route cited that the whole area had been cursed by gypsies who were evicted from the pre-Alexandra Palace site. They cursed the Palace construction project and "all connected proposals".

Controversy

There are [http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/environment_and_transport/pwconsultation.htm proposals] - to be funded by Transport for London - to improve access to the lower half of the path, improve the drainage and change the surface to make it easier for cyclists to use. However there is an anti-cyclist campaign group which is of opinion that the path would lose its current character and would not serve other users such as walkers and joggers and have enlisted local MP Lynne Featherstone to this campaign. The path is a metre wide at parts, which creates the conflict. The debate is yet to be resolved. At present the path gets very muddy after rainfall which makes it unusable for both cyclists and pedestrians. The worst example of this is the puddle just east of Crouch End station that can linger on for a week after the rain.

External links

* [http://www.parkland-walk.org.uk/ Friends of the Parkland Walk]
* [http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/environment_and_transport/pwconsultation.htm Public consultation documents on new proposals and feedback form]
* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/walkfinder/walkdetails.asp?id=104#walkdetails Transport for London — Parkland Walk]
* [http://www.urban75.org/london/alexandra.html Urban75 — Walking the Northern Heights]
* [http://www.derelictlondon.com/id638.htm Derelict London]
* [http://overground.doeth.net/heights/ A collection of photos of the Northern Heights before it was decommissioned]