Since the lockdown started four weeks ago I’ve been getting
my daily exercise by going for a walk around Brent Reservoir which I thought I’d
share with you today. The reservoir is locally known at the Welsh Harp but it
was first named Kingsbury Reservoir when it was constructed in 1835 to supply
water for the Grand Union Canal. It gets its name Welsh Harp from a pub which
used to stand on the Edgware Road and there was even a Welsh Harp railway
station nearby. The area has a fascinating history (read Geoffrey Hewlett's book 'Welsh Harp Reservoir through time' for more info).
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| Canal feeder from the bridge in Harp Island Close |
My walk starts in Neasden, just behind the dam along the
entrance to Harp Island Close at the bridge over the canal feeder. Although the
reservoir no longer supplies water to the canal on a regular basis the feeder still
connects to the Grand Union Canal and water is occasionally taken from the
reservoir. Most years I see a pair of Kingfishers along the canal feeder but I’ve
not seen them at all this year.
From here I walked around the loop of Braemar Avenue and up
a alleyway between two houses which takes me to the entrance to Neasden
Recreation Ground. There are various paths that cross this bit of parkland but
I chose the central grass path. It was a wise decision as one of the first
birds I heard was a Yellow Wagtail. This is a summer visitor to the UK and just
passes through Brent on its way to its breeding grounds. Typically, I see
Yellow Wagtails flying over but this one was feeding in the areas of cut grass
that Brent Council have mown to plant bee-friendly strips of native flowers.
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| Yellow Wagtail |
The path leads along the southern edge of the dam wall up to
the edge of the reservoir where there is a lookout. From here you can see the
sailing base and there’s often ducks and geese milling around waiting to be
fed. Across the water I could even hear a Cetti’s Warbler singing from the
North Bank. This lookout connects with the lottery-funded made up path that
continues the length of Neasden Rec so I followed this path to the end.
Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, more summer migrants fresh in from Africa, were
singing from the hedge alongside the path, both of these are common warblers
which stay to breed here.
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| Looking back towards Wembley Stadium |
The air was thick with pollen so not such a good walk if you
suffer badly from hayfever. The bank on the southern side of the path was full
of cowslips, these were planted when the bank was created about ten years ago to
help prevent flooding. It’s a pleasant walk and if you haven’t got a lot of
time or energy you can just do a loop of this area as there’s a path just
inside of the North Circular Road. It used to be possible to walk through the
woodland to complete a loop of the reservoir but it’s too overgrown now so I
exited Neasden Rec at the end and walked along the path adjacent to the North
Circular.
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| Cowslips |
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| Eastern end of Neasden Rec |
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| The streetlights of the North Circ are visible behind the hedge |
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| Blossom on a fruit tree |
This is a very industrialised area with factories and
warehouses both sides of the road. Some of them are clearly derelict, one of
these premises, Atlantic House, was gutted by fire last year. It’s only about a
ten minute walk along this stretch so it’s not too much of an ordeal. It is
served by the 112 bus but as that’s not exercise it’s not permissible under
lockdown rules. There is also wildlife to be seen along this stretch of
concrete jungle – Pied Wagtails breed in the factories and Herring and Lesser
Black-backed Gulls are often seen on the larger warehouse rooves and may breed
there.
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| Exiting onto the North Circular Road |
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| Looking back to the entrance to Neasden Rec |
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| Ornate metal work |
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| Derelict showroom |
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| A well known company across the North Circ |
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| The charred remains of Atlantic House |
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| Pied Wagtail in the factories |
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| North Circ looking East towards Staples Corner |
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| Another factory that has seen better days |
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| Dunnock feeding beside rubbish next to a factory |
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| The empty former JVC building |
At the end of this section is Staples Corner, the
intersection of the North Circular and Edgware Road as well as the start of the
M1. There are two levels of flyovers above the roundabout and a series of
pedestrian walkways. In 1992 the IRA detonated a bomb here which destroyed a
warehouse and caused damage to the roads but failed to bring down the flyover.
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| Flyover at Staples Corner |
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| A McVities truck probably full of biscuits made nearby in Park Royal; the 112 bus stop in the foreground |
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| Flyover over a flyover with pedestrian walkways |
My route is up the side of the slip road which loads onto
the Edgware Road. It crosses over the River Brent which is the border between
the London Boroughs of Brent and Barnet. This stretch of the river is canalised
and fairly polluted so has little to offer wildlife. Crossing over Priestly
Way, the road that leads into the industrial estate, I then re-entered the
reservoir open space by taking the path behind the poster hoardings; it’s also
possible to access the path further up the Edgware Road past the bus stop.
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| Bridges over River Brent and mainline railway into Euston |
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| The River Brent flowing into the reservoir |
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| Priestly Way with the slip road onto the Edgware Rd to the right |
This goes up a steep
slope and then levels out onto a small scrubby area which was originally silt
that was pumped out of the reservoir and has now dried up and is covered with
vegetation. The dominant tree here is Sycamore which is quick to colonise areas
like this. The path drops down the other side where I turned right to join up
with a narrow path that loops around the back of East Marsh. On both sides of
this path there are large Crack Willow trees that are susceptible to high winds
and most years one will come down in one of the autumn storms and may block the
path. There were two trees that came down last year but fortunately both of
these have now been cleared by the council.
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| Sycamores and Cow Parsley |
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| Reeds at the back of East Marsh |
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| Ramsoms (Wild Garlic) |
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| I wonder what insect did this? |
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| Cut tree |
The path winds its way past the flats of Verulam Court then
emerges out of the trees between the houses and the reservoir and it’s now
possible to view Wembley Stadium at the far end. Since the redevelopment of
Wembley Park started a few years ago, much of the stadium has disappeared
behind large blocks of flats but the arch is clearly visible.
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| Old railings that used to border a long gone boatyard |
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| Verulam Court behind the trees |
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| Improvised path created by Welsh Harp Conservation Group |
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| New growth of the invasive Himalayan Balsam which needs destroying |
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| Path by side of houses |
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| View towards the dam and Wembley Stadium |
This is the best area to hear the loud and explosive song of
the Cetti’s Warbler, a recent colonist of the area, first breeding in 2019,
there are now eight territories around the reservoir including three in East
Marsh. Continuing along the path a pair of Mute Swans have a nest in a small
reed bed and other pairs nest elsewhere. The path borders a car park and
storage area for the housing development in West Hendon before finishing at
Cool Oak Lane.
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| Path opens out |
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| Swan on nest |
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| View of main reservoir |
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| Builder's car park |
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| Observation platform on opposite bank |
Crossing the bridge you can see the new pedestrian bridge
that is being built on the right. It should have been completed by now but the
lockdown has delayed the opening; fortunately Cool Oak Lane is a lot quieter at
the moment so it’s easy to walk across the Victorian road bridge. At the other
side there’s a choice of routes, the quickest is to follow the path along the
north bank of the main reservoir which heads back towards the dam but today I’m
turning right and walking along the northern arm of the reservoir.
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| Cool Oak Lane bridge |
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| Male Tufted Ducks |
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| Looking towards North Marsh from Cool Oak Lane |
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| Cool Oak Lane bridge and new pedestrian bridge |
There’s a small triangular shaped patch of rank grassland on
the left which is good for butterflies but it’s too early in the day for any to
be flying now so I carry on. There are a few places on the right to look over
the water and the monstrosity of a tower block in the West Hendon estate. The
path takes you past an open public hide which I’m avoiding during this time and
instead I pause on a raised wooden observation platform instead. The lack of
rain over the last month is clearly evident in North Marsh as the water level
is very low and has exposed a lot of silt which has come down the Silk Stream.
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| Path heading towards North Marsh |
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| Bluebells in disused allotments |
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| The public hide |
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| Viewing platform overlooking North Marsh |
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| North Marsh from viewing platform |
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| Silt build up in North Marsh |
Carrying on, the path climbs up a short section to an area
known as the dump as it’s an old landfill site that was used in the 1960s. It’s
now a good area of scrub with mature trees and rank grassland. There are
various paths that cut across it towards the playing fields but I want a longer
walk today so I continue along the grassy path with the reservoir still on my
right. This passes some mounds that are now covered in trees but if you look
closely you can see pipes emerging at one end. These are old bunds that silt
from the reservoir was pumped into. The path drops down to another wooded area
that used to be a concrete oval cycle track, again if you look carefully you
can just see the edge of the track in places.
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| Path heading up to the old dump |
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| Left path to playing fields |
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| Isolated Oak tree in front of bunds |
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| The bunds have now grown over |
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| Path leading down to the cycle track |
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| Pipes leading into the bunds |
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| Remnants of old cycle track |
The path emerges onto an open area opposite a bowling green
and behind that is another area of parkland with mown grass and scattered
trees. I turn left before the bowling green and head across the football pitches
that make up West Hendon Playing Fields. It’s one of the best places to find
migrant Wheatears but there’s none around today so I keep left and walk towards
the wooded hillside (known simply as 'the slope').
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| Bowling green behind trees |
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| Path heading left towards parkland |
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| Parkland behind bowling club |
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| West Hendon Playing Fields |
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| Wembley Stadium's arch |
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| Towers of Hindu temple on Kingsbury Road |
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| Large numbers of Carrion Crows feed on the playing fields |
There are paths at both ends of the slope but I went up
the left hand side today. At the top is an area that was planted with gorse
bushes. There’s another football pitch on the top and a choice of paths, you
can either diagonally across the pitch or keep to the left which takes you
through a stand of trees back to Cool Oak Lane. Here you can really see how
this road still retains the look of a country lane which it was when the
reservoir was first built.
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| Path heading up the slope |
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| Patch of Bluebells by the slope |
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| Gorse patch |
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| Top football pitch with planted conifers behind; the rounded one on the right is a Stone Pine |
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| Looking eastwards towards Hampstead Heath |
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| Path to Cool Oak Lane |
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| Cool Oak Lane looking westwards |
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| Cool Oak Lane heading East towards Woodfield Park |
Walking back towards the bridge with the old greenhouses on
your right you arrive at the entrance to Woodfield Park. It’s currently locked
for cars but you can walk in. I followed the tarmac path down the hill towards
the reservoir and through the gateway at the end onto the main path. Turning
right, this goes all the way back to the dam but there’s plenty to look at
along the way.
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| Entrance to Woodfield Park |
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| Greenhouses at top of Woodfield Park |
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| Looking towards Dollis Hill |
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| Football pitches with Woodfield hedge in the background; a natural spring flows under it |
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| Magpie in Woodfield Park |
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| Gateway at bottom of Woodfield Park |
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| Main path looking west towards the dam |
First up is the Phoenix Canoe Base, a ramshackle collection
of huts that they hope to replace with a super-duper two storey building next
year. As it doesn’t even have planning permission yet that seems rather optimistic.
Opposite that you can see the concrete slope that they use to launch boats from
and a large floating plastic jetty that is used by various birds to rest on
when there’s no boating activity, as at present.
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| The spring now flows over the path |
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| Field in front of the rifle range |
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| A Grey Heron flying over the rifle range back to its nest |
Several mature Horse Chestnuts (conker trees) are growing
their new leaves and their flowers, known as candles. However, the dominant
tree along this stretch of woodland that borders the reservoir is the mighty
Oak. Ahead on the right is the borough boundary between Barnet and Brent and
this goes through another Oak woodland. At this point I turn off the main path
and go left to the reservoir edge where there’s a lookout point across the water.
Almost hidden by the trees is an ancient pond, known as the bomb crater pond.
It’s one of the few ponds in the area and is a breeding site for the local
frogs and toads but is prone to drying up in the summer.
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| Bridge over River Brent |
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| Looking along the river back towards the reservoir |
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| Random rubbish left on Coombe Road, a regular occurrence |
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| Path leading to river |
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| Riverside path behind Roger Stone Court |
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| River Brent behind Harp Island Close |
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| Back to Harp Island Close |
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