Walk 3 - A Circular Walk from Cockfosters, at the Northern End of the Piccadilly Line,  in Trent Country Park

 

 

Distance

6.5 km (4 miles)

Underfoot

Woodland paths and paved surfaces

Outward Journey

Piccadilly Line to Cockfoster (about 50 minutes from Central London)

Return Journey

By outward route

Refreshments

Café in Trent Park, The Cock Inn

Public Toilets

At Cockfosters Station and near the café in Trent Park

Points of Interest

Sassoon Obelisk, Water Gardens, Trent Park House

Shortening the Walk

Omit the detour to the Water Gardens


 

 

 

 

 

What To Expect From This Walk    This is an easy but pleasant walk through woodlands and meadows in Trent Country Park, a remnant of the ancient royal hunting ground of Enfield Chase. You can examine the Sassoon Obelisk, explore the  Water Garden and catch glimpses of Trent House. The hubbub of London life seems a million miles away. After the walk you can visit The Cock Inn, not far from the gates of Trent Park

 

 

 

Route Directions

1. Leave Cockfosters Station by climbing the steps to the road. Turn right and right again to enter the access road to the car park. Go through a gate which is set in the railings on your left, signposted for the London Loop. Continue between fences for about 200m, then turn left at the end. Go through a gap in a hedge and across the top of a small field to enter woodland. Continue to follow the London Loop signs to reach a grassy open space, which you cross to reach the main drive to Trent Country Park.

2. Turn right here towards the public toilets, the café and the children’s playground. Pass to the right of the café. Turn left and then right into the woods, guided by more 

London Loop signs. Follow the path for about 250m as it descends through the trees. Where the trees end, continue along the left edge of a field to reach a junction of paths. Turn left here on a broad path which curves right through a large meadow, with a lake on your right and rising ground on your left. 

3.  At the end of the path, reach a multi-armed signpost. Turn left uphill towards Camlet Moat, with the meadow on your left. Enter woods, still on the London Loop, and follow the path as it swings left to continue through the trees. After 400m, you will see the end of the woods ahead of you. Do not follow the London Loop, which turns right here to leave the park. Instead, you turn left and continue within the boundary fence of Trent Country Park. In 100m, you reach the Sassoon Obelisk. Pass to the left of the obelisk and walk to the corner of the woods. Turn left downhill, still within the woods. You now come to the meadow again from the opposite side. Descend diagonally across the grass to arrive back at the multi-armed signpost.

4. To make a short detour to the Water Garden, follow the direction indicated on the signpost. This sunken patchwork of paths and pools was originally laid out by Sir Philip Sassoon in the late 1920s. Trent Park House can be seen beyond the lake on your right. Retrace your steps to return to the signpost. 

5.  From the signpost, walk back along your outward route with the lake now on your left. At the next junction of paths, go straight ahead uphill on a rough track, which takes you up to a paved drive. Turn right along the drive and follow it until you pass the café on your right. From here, follow the drive out to Cockfosters Road (the A111) and turn left at the entrance gates to return to Cockfosters Underground Station. However, if you wish to visit The Cock Inn, turn right at the gates, cross the road and take the first left into Chalk Lane.

 

Information on Things You Will See - 

 

Cockfosters, according to the Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names, refers to the “house of the chief forester” and the name was first mentioned in 1524. 

Trent Country Park was originally part of Enfield Wood, later known as Enfield Chase, where local villagers put their cattle out to pasture and went foraging. For over 350 years Enfield Chase also served as a royal hunting forest, enjoyed by Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I. Nowadays, the park covers 413 acres and forms part of London’s Green Belt. It is open every day of the year from 8.00 a.m.

Muntjac deer inhabit the park. They are a small, stocky breed, russet brown in colour in summer and grey/brown in winter. The Bucks have short (10 cm) antlers. They were introduced to Britain from China in the early 20th century. Through escape and deliberate release, they are now widespread and increasing in number and range. 

Trent Park House was originally built in the 18th century, but it has undergone many changes since then. In the early 20th century, the house was bought by the Sassoon family. During the Second World War, it played a critical role in the ‘secret war’ against Nazi Germany when it housed captured German officers. They were allowed to live in relative luxury, little realising their secretly recorded conversations were providing invaluable information to MI9, the British intelligence agency.  After the war, the Trent Park estate became part of London’s Green Belt and in 1973 the Greater London Council officially opened Trent Country Park to the public. Trent House became a teacher training college in 1950, and later formed part of the Middlesex University campus. In 2012 the university vacated the site and it was acquired for development as a private housing estate. As a feature of the redevelopment, proposals have been agreed for a museum.