7. Cross the road, and take the track opposite, but slightly to the right, past another vehicle barrier. You follow this track for more than 3 km, all the way to Chingford, initially following the yellow and orange waymark arrows. After 800m the path follows a dog-leg right and left.  After another 500m, it continues ahead across a junction with other tracks. Later, ignore a yellow arrow pointing to the right and continue to follow the orange arrow pointing straight ahead. When you eventually reach a point where the main track swings left, take the broad grassy path straight ahead. At a clearing where a path comes in from the left, go straight on and slightly uphill towards the white weatherboarded building just visible ahead. This is Butler’s Retreat café.

8. Just before an impressive restored drinking fountain, follow the fingerpost sign right towards Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge. Turn right when you reach the hedge enclosing the Lodge car park and go down the grassy slope on a waymarked path towards a small bridge. Do not cross the bridge but turn left along a clear path, which leads you straight to Chingford. When you reach the main road,  cross at the traffic island and turn right. Chingford Overground Station, with trains to Liverpool Street, is on your left, just beyond the bus station. You can change to  the Victoria Line at Walthamstow Central. 

High Beach was the first British venue for motorcycle speedway and opened in February 1928. The track, which was behind The Kings Oak public house, drew large crowds. It was closed when a swimming pool was added to the pub's grounds after the Second World War. The remains of the track are still visible, in the grounds of the Epping Forest Field Centre behind the King's Oak.

What to Expect from This Walk

This interesting walk starts and finishes with some road walking, but it is otherwise entirely green with a long section along the Dollis Valley Greenwalk. Another section, near Totteridge, passes through open countryside with fields on all sides. In order to reach the starting point you will need to  change trains at Finchley Central for the shuttle service to Mill Hill East.  

Route Directions

1. When you come out of Mill Hill East Station,  turn right under a bridge. Continue straight ahead, ignoring Langstone Way on your right and Frith Lane on your left. Just after a mini-roundabout, cross over to the opposite side and walk to the left of Holders Hill Circus to enter Dollis Road. As the road swings left, the left-hand footway ceases, so to stay safe you should cross to use the pavement on the other side. Cross back before the road goes under the railway viaduct. Where the road makes a sharp right turn under the viaduct, turn left at a signpost and information board to join the Dollis Valley Greenwalk.

2. Follow the path along the Dollis Brook. Wherever there is a choice of paths, the correct route is shown by a waymark. About 1 km from the start of the Greenwalk, you arrive at Fursby Avenue. Cross over and continue ahead through a park. The brook is on your right.

3.  Pass a children’s play area and come to Argyle Road. At this point there is the opportunity for refreshments by turning left for 100m to reach a junction where there are a number of shops, including a café and a patisserie. Otherwise, cross Argyle Road and continue along the Greenwalk. After 250m the path joins a road (Southover), on which you turn right. 300m later, turn right again into Tillingham Way. After another 150m go through a gate on the left, signposted Moat Mount. Continue on the path. Cross over another road (Laurel View) and continue ahead. The path crosses a bridge and the brook is now on your left.

4. Continue ahead until you reach Totteridge Lane, a busy main road. You have now walked 5 km. Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and turn right along the opposite footpath, past some shops. You reach a signpost which indicates the continuation of the Greenwalk to the left. At this point you can shorten the walk by going straight ahead in order to reach Totteridge & Whetstone Station. To continue the main walk, turn left and follow the Greenwalk through a broad section of parkland, with the brook on your left. After 1.5 km you reach a fork near Western Way. Go left here and enter some playing fields, staying close to the brook. After 400m go ahead through a gap in a hedge and pass a brick building to reach a road (Barnet Lane).

5.  Cross the road, going slightly to the right, and continue along the path, which starts to rise after 400m. After another 200m it descends again to reach a sunken path which crosses the Greenwalk. At this point leave the Greenwalk to take the path to the left over a bridge. You come to another junction of paths, where you go straight on between hedges. After 500m cross the end of a residential cul-de-sac. Continue ahead on the path and cross another road, still following the same path, until you emerge on Totteridge Lane, where you turn left towards a junction with a war memorial.

6.  Before reaching the junction, cross to the pavement on the right-hand side of the road. Continue until you are opposite St Andrew’s Church on your left. Then take a footpath on your right going downhill signposted Mill Hill 1.5 miles. At the bottom go ahead, with fields on your right and a wooden fence on your left. At the end of this long path, go through a gate into a large field. Cross the field, which may be muddy, maintaining your direction, towards a prominent building on the skyline.

7.  At the far side, go through a gate and continue in the same direction on a footpath, with a fence on your right, to reach Burtonhole Lane. Turn left on this lane and walk uphill past Mill Hill Village Cricket Club. Continue on the lane as it swings left by the entrance to Mill Hill Country Club. At the next junction turn right steeply uphill for a short distance. Turn left into Eleanor Crescent but then immediately right through a gate onto a path leading into the woods. Follow this footpath and after 250m reach a main road (Bittacy Hill) on which you turn left. To reach Mill Hill East Underground Station, you have one kilometre of downhill walking ahead of you, with good views across London.  Alternatively, you can catch a bus from here to the station.

Information on Things You Will See

Mill Hill East Stationwas opened in 1867 as part of the Great Northern Railway.  It became part of the tube network in 1941 when  Mill Hill East was home to the Middlesex Regiment.  The 1941 reopening under war-time conditions, was to allow easy access to the barracks. Mill Hill East Station is served by a shuttle service from Finchley Central and is the terminus of the only single track branch on the Northern Line. It is also the least used station on the Northern Line with approximately 1.3 million passengers per year.

The Dollis Valley Greenwalk is a footpath in the London Borough of Barnet between Moat Mount Nature Reserve and Hampstead Heath.  The walks connects a series of green spaces and wildlife corridors. It is 16Km (10miles) long and mainly follows the Dollis Brook. It was developed with the help of the Countryside Commission and in 2009 received a £400k grant from the Mayor of London as part of his “Help a London Park” scheme to improve cycle paths, lighting and general accessibility.  Care has been taken to improve natural habitats such as wetland, woodland, reedbeds, hay meadows and landscaping.  Information boards are provided to uncrease enjoyability and awareness.

What To Expect From This Walk  

This is an easy walk following a ribbon of green parkland along the River Wandle through South London. The Wandle rises in the North Downs but is hidden underground until it emerges at Wandle Park in Croydon. From there, it is 14 km (9 miles) long and runs through London to join the Thames at Wandsworth.  In its industrial heyday, it was one of Britain’s hardest working rivers, with over 90 mills along its banks. Today, the trail allows local people to enjoy the flora and fauna of this typical chalk stream in the heart of South London. This walk follows the river south-west towards Croydon from Morden. The Wandle Trail Partnership has published a brochure of the trail.which you can download from www.sustrans.org.uk.

Route Directions

1. Turn left from the station onto London Road (the A24). Cross to the other side and walk to the roundabout at the junction with Morden Hall Road. Turn right and cross at the lights. Continue for 200m to reach Morden Hall Park entrance. On entering the park, keep ahead, with a waterwheel to your right and the stable block to your left. Cross a bridge and walk to a junction of paths, where you turn right onto a broad path. 150m further on, ignore a left turn signposted to Phipps Bridge and continue straight on, following the signs for Hackbridge and Carshalton. At the point where the path leaves the park, turn right onto Morden Road.

2. Cross over and after 200m turn left at a signpost into Ravensbury Park. Cross over an unusual-looking bridge and walk through the park, keeping the river on your right. Leave the park by crossing one last bridge and swinging right to reach Bishopsford Road. Cross at the pedestrian crossing and continue ahead along a track to the right of the park gates, with a ditch and a stadium on your right and a metal fence on your 

3. In 300m the path becomes fenced in on both sides. Where the fence on the right ends, turn right to rejoin the riverside path, with the river now on your left. Continue to Watermead Lane, which leads out to a larger road. Go right for a few metres to cross at the lights to an information board, which shows the onward route. Go ahead on the footpath,  then turn left onto a track signposted Buckhurst Avenue. The river disappears temporarily here. When you meet it again, cross a bridge on the left and follow the path through Watercress Park

4. Follow the path as it swings right at a junction and later rejoins the river bank. Cross a small road and keep the river on your right until you reach Hackbridge Road. Go right across a bridge and then turn left to continue walking along the Wandle Trail, with the river now on your left. Come out on a road (River Gardens, which becomes Mill Lane). Follow it under a railway bridge. Turn left into Butter Hill (signposted as a Wandle Trail shortcut) and continue for 750m until you meet London Road (the A237). Turn left, cross the road and continue to Derek Avenue, where you take a path going diagonally right which leads into Beddington Park.

Information On The Things You Will See

Morden Hall Park is a National Trust property with 125 acres of parkland with the River Wandle meandering through it spanned by numerous foot bridges. The estate contains Morden Hall, Morden Cottage, an old Snuff Mill, and many old farm buildings, some of which are now a garden centre and a city farm. The rose garden has over 2000 roses.

Ravensbury Park The park was part of the medieval Ravensbury Manor, which dated back to the thirteenth century. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the site was the location of a calico mill and pleasure gardens. In 1929 the local authorities purchased the site and opened Ravensbury Park in May 1930. Some of the trees date back two hundred years.

Beddington Park was the former manor house of the Carew family lost to money lenders and bad debts in the 1950s. The park is one of the most rich, historical and archaeological sites in south west London with evidence of settlements dating back to the late Bronze Age. The discovery of a Roman Stone Coffin in 1930 lends weight to the idea that a grand Roman villa and bath-house once stood to the north side of the park