On a bright cold Sunday morning, seventeen ramblers assembled at Manor House station for a pre-Xmas 5 mile walk through a part of London’s Northern Heights.

We first crossed Finsbury Park, a green Victorian-era haven, created on the remnants of old Hornsey Wood to offer the poor population of North London some breathing and recreation space. Leaving the park by a footbridge over the train tracks out of Kings Cross, we joined the Parkland Walk, created on the route of a disused railway closed to passengers in the 1950s. Declared a local nature reserve in the 1990s, it has become a crucial car-free corridor for both humans and animals. Much artwork adorns the structures en-route including the sculpture of a ghostly goat-man said to haunt the footpath.

Closed tunnels by Highgate station signal the end of this section of the path so we joined the adjacent road up to Highgate Wood to continue our journey. Unfortunately the wood was closed to the public because of the predicted high winds being a threat to safety. We continued on the road to Cranley Gardens where we rejoined the disused track bed for fine views over London and thence our lunch stop at a pub in Muswell Hill.

A few of our number left at this point whilst the remainder climbed up to Alexandra Palace for more fine views. These included many people in fancy dress taking a break from watching the World Darts Championship in the Palace! A downhill stroll then took us to the nearby station for our journey home.

Danny

Photos courtesy of Hilary