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Hadley Wood Walks

6.21 miles (10 km)

Ordnance Survey Map Open Streetmap This pleasant area of North London is located close to the Hertfordshire border. It's a good place to start a walk with a local common, a nearby country park and waterside trails along two signifcant waterways. It is also easilty accessible with a large train station with regular trains into London or out to Welwyn Garden City.
This walk from Hadley Wood visits some of the local highlights including Trent Country Park, Pymmes Brook Trail and Monken Hadley Common.
The walk starts from the train station and heads south through the town to the Covert Way Nature Reserve, Sewits Hill, Newman's Hill and Monken Hadley Common. There's some nice trails here with good views from the elevated position of the common. At the western end you'll find Bournwell Hill while the pretty Beech Hill Lake and the Pymmes Brook sits at the eastern end.
On the common you can pick up the London Loop and follow the waymarked trail east to visit the nearby Trent Country Park at Enfield Chase. The park is a great place for a walk with lovely Japanese Gardens and a picturesque lake.
The route then retraces its steps back to the train station but you could take a detour along the Pymmes Brook Trail which heads south to Cockfosters and East Barnet.

Postcode

EN4 0EL - Please note: Postcode may be approximate for some rural locations

Hadley Wood OS Map Ordnance survey map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Hadley Wood Open Street Map Open Streetmap - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Pubs/Cafes

On the western side of Monken Hadley common there's Ye Olde Monken Holt to visit for some refreshment. The pub dates back to 1863 and includes a patio garden for warmer days. You can find them on Hadley High Street at postcode EN5 5SU for your sat navs.

Dog Walking

The woodland and parkland trails on the common are ideal for dog walking. You're bound to bump into other owners on your visit. Ye Olde Monken Holt mentioned above is also dog friendly.

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

Just to the north east you can enjoy a walk around Enfield and visit the lovely Whitewebbs Park and the historic Forty Hall.
The Scratchwood and Moat Mount Open Space can be reached by following the London Loop west.
Just to the north west is Shenley where you can visit the splendid de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Ridge and the Old Guinea pub is another place worthy of investigation. The early 19th century inn has a particularly large open garden with stunning views across the surrounding countryside. In London Colney there's the wildlife rich Broad Colney Lakes Nature Reserve to explore.
For more walking ideas in the area see the London Walks page.

Photos

Pond, West Lodge Park, Hadley Wood, Hertfordshire - geograph.org.uk - 1161237

Pond, West Lodge Park, Hadley Wood, Hertfordshire

Monken Hadley Common - geograph.org.uk - 367700

Monken Hadley Common Pond with reeds at the west end of the common. This is the highest point. The grass area beyond the pond is used for cricket matches in the summer.

Bakers Hill - geograph.org.uk - 367742

Bakers Hill Looking up Bakers Hill on Monken Hadley Common. To the left is a car park which can be very icy in winter. The area is very popular with people walking their dogs.

Monken Hadley Common, Hadley Wood, Hertfordshire - geograph.org.uk - 708632

Signpost and information signs at Monken Hadley Common, near Pymms Brook.

Beech Hill Lake April 2017 05

Beech Hill Lake

Pymmes brook immediately south of Folly Bridge

Pymmes brook immediately south of Folly Bridge

Lake in Japanese Garden, Trent Park, N14 - geograph.org.uk - 316817

Lake in Japanese Garden, Trent Park, N14

Fallen tree on Newmans hill - geograph.org.uk - 367754

Fallen tree on Newmans hill. Just visible through the fence beyond is a GNER train on the Kings Cross main line.

Video

GPS Files

GPX File

Hadley Wood.gpx (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold>Download Linked File)

Memory Map Route

Hadley Wood.mmo (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold >Download Linked File)