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Pymmes Brook Trail

9.9 miles (16 km)

Ordnance Survey Map Open Streetmap Follow the Pymmes Brook Trail through North London on this pleasant walk.
The walk starts on Monken Hadley Common in Hadley Wood and takes you through various Barnet parks including Oak Hill Park, Arnos Park, Broomfield Park and Pymmes Park. The route follows the Pymmes Brook - one of the tributaries of the River Lea where the route finishes at Picket's Lock in Enfield.
It runs for about 9 miles on a fairly flat easy path so its suitable for most abilities.

Pymmes Brook Trail OS Map Ordnance survey map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Pymmes Brook Trail Open Street Map Open Streetmap - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Pubs/Cafes

At the end of the route there's The Old Hall Tavern next to the William Girling Reservoir in Chingford. There's a great menu and a lovely big garden area to sit out in if the weather is fine. You can find them at 200 Hall Lane with a postcode of E4 8EY for your sat navs.

Dog Walking

The trail is a nice one to do with your dog and the Old Hall Tavern mentioned above is also dog friendly.

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

At the eastern end of the route you can link up with the Lea Valley Walk and follow a path along the Walthamstow Reservoirs and Tottenham Marshes nature reserve. You could follow the trail north to Enfield or head south to Hackney Marshes and the Hackney Canal Walk.
Near the western end of the trail you can link up with another brookside trail in the shape of the Dollis Valley Green Walk. This waterside trail runs along the pretty Dollis Brook to the nearby Hampstead Heath. It also passes close to Totteridge which is well worth a visit. The village has a lovely rural feel with a pretty village green, a cricket pitch, a fine local pub and some pleasant countryside. There's also the Darland's Lake Nature Reserve where there are some lovely waterside trails and lots of wildlife to see.
For more walking ideas in the area see the London Walks page.

Photos

Pymmes Brook Trail DSC00555

Picture of Monty the metal horse is located in Chad Crescent close to Montagu Road, Edmonton which forms part of the Pymmes Brook Trail. The sculpture was created by Iain Nutting in the early years of the 21st century.

Pymmes Brook Trail, Broomfield Park lake

Pymmes Brook Trail, Broomfield Park lake

Arnos Park

A photo of Arnos Park. Taken from just west of the centre of the park, looking east. A 'Pymmes Brook trail' post can be seen in the bottom-right corner of the picture, and the Pymmes Brook does indeed run, just out of view, to the right of the picture.

Pymmes Brook - geograph.org.uk - 1512144

Pymmes Brook. Seen as it passes through Arnos Park. The bright sun creates a good reflection of the viaduct and trees on the surface of the water.

Bridge over River Lea and Pymme's Brook - geograph.org.uk - 385753

 Bridge over River Lea and Pymme's Brook. The road is the A503 Ferry Lane, the main route from Tottenham Marshes to Walthamstow. The tall blueish object on the right is a street light

Pymme's Brook and Willows - geograph.org.uk - 1730174

Pymme's Brook and Weeping Willows. The brook is fast flowing and carrying a lot of sediment through Oak Hill Park at the end of a very wet February. The boughs of the Weeping Willow look quite golden in the sunlight. Through the boughs, the Oak Hill Park pavilion is visible.
Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica) is native to China. Most planted in UK parks and gardens are of a golden cultivated variety

Pymme's Brook looking towards Osidge Lane - geograph.org.uk - 46426

Looking towards Osidge Lane. The brook flows through Oakhill Park then down Brookside, before passing under Osidge Lane then on through Brunswick Park and Arnos Park.

The confluence of Pymme's Brook and Bounds Green Brook

The confluence of Pymme's Brook and Bounds Green Brook

Elevation Profile

Video

GPS Files

GPX File

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

Memory Map Route

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