A few weeks ago I joined my friends for a walk in Waterlow Park with their dalmatian whippet mix…read morepup, MoMo. Fall was quickly turning to winter and autumn hued leaves were all around. While it was too cold for a picnic on this visit, I definitely want to come back for one in the spring. Located near on a hillside near the posh Highgate Village, views of London from this park are very pretty. An ideal place to bring a kid, a dog or a person you fancy.

As a passionate and dutiful dog owner, a trip to Waterlow Park is on my daily to-do list. It's such…read morea lovely park, with loads of old trees, spacious meadows...and best of all, it's all so well-maintained. In fact, the other day we had visitors from South London and they were in awe by how luscious and well-kept this park was...apparently quite a difference to some of the more plain commons. What's also nice about this park is the fact that you have amazing views over the City (on clear days, that is). A good time to come here is around lunch-time, sit on one if the many benches and soak in the beauties surrounding you... The only thing that I would like to change, is the rubbish bins. The thing with them is...they don't have a lid or a cover, which invites the non-human inhabitants of this lovely park (aka squirrels, foxes & crows) to rummage through the bins in the search for edible left-overs. While doing that, they have no shame in littering the floor with tissues, coffee cups and wrapping paper. My concern is not so much the appeal of this, but I'm more concerned about my dog, who namely thinks that this rubbish is the most tasty thing in the world!

The Parkland Walk is a hidden gem of North London, running from Highgate, where you can see the…read moretunnels under the station that are he to bats who use the Walk as a fly-way at night, to the open spaces of Finsbury Park, where people gather for picnics exercise and dog walking (there's also another stretch that runs from the other side of Highgate station to Alexandra Palace, which has a delightful view). The walk is an excellent way to get away from the busy streets and immerse yourself in the tree-lined pathways, as well as take in sights like the famous Spriggan sculpture and the ever-changing graffiti on the bridges. There are Nature conservations spots as well, with a new garden at the Highgate end, acid grasses which are home to slow worms, and sites of burrowing bees along the way. If you want to see another side of London, hop on to the Parkland Walk, and you'll be amazed where it can take you.

I love the Parkland Walk...let me refer to Wikipedia to give you a quick overview: "The Parkland…read moreWalk is a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) linear green walkway, in the London Boroughs of Haringey and Islington, which follows the course of the railway line which used to run between Finsbury Park through Stroud Green, Crouch End, Highgate and Muswell Hill to Alexandra Palace." This local reserve is great for walking your dog, riding your bicycle, jogging or simply going for a stroll. Living in Archway, I oftentimes use it as a means to get to Crouch End in a more "natural" fashion...really, it's beautiful to walk along and you always run into smiling, chatting people...there's something about it that makes people happy! If you wanted to experience the entire walk, I suggest you start at Finsbury Park. It will take you approximately 40-45 minutes until you get to the backside of Highgate. You will emerge by a pub called the Boogalo. Right across from it is a café called "The Quarters Café" and I recommend you stop here for a nice cup of coffee, warm soup or a home-made piece of cake. The next part is a little tricky, but eventually you will reach Queens Wood, then Highgate Wood. Afterwards, you're back on the old railway track and you're circumventing Muswell Hill and you will be able to enjoy the stunning views over London. Eventually, you'll reach Alexandra Palace and the entire London will stretch in front of you. I recommend doing this walk on a Sunday, as you can then finish off with a visit to Ally Pally Farmers Market...

lovely!read more

It's a big hill in a park area facing London downtown giving you a nicish skyline view. My problem…read moreis there are very tall and wide bushy trees blocking the viewpoint. I get the importance of trees and all that flower stuff. But this is supposed to be a viewpoint and there is a limited space between groups of trees where a crowd is peaking through to see the Gherkin and the Shard buildings. Let the trees branch out somewhere else.

This park is a hit with the locals and with its extensive playground, tennis and ball court and…read morejungly pond, you can see why. When i was younger i loved nothing better than scrambling down the pond's 'waterfall', running riot in the playground's fort and spinning around and around in what seemed to be the BIGGEST swing ever. Good times.

This park is wonderful as it has brilliant kids areas (separated for different age groups), tennis…read morecourts and then also the lovely tranquil area with a river, weeping willow, waterfall. Really well kept.

I like Whittington Park a lot. I especially like it for its non poshness. I like it for the fact…read morethat it's a place where you can observe a slice of every societal stratosphere that London has to offer: you can see sketchy characters lurking around; senior citizen working out on the free exercise machines; hipsters riding their fancy bikes through it; lads playing football on the turf and you can see mummies playing with their kids hide and seek on the big lawn. Whittington Park is definitely not as well-manicured and pretty as its bigger brother Waterlow Park up in Highgate. But there's something honest about this park, that makes me appreciate its very existence. There's a community café on the western end of the park that is very kids-friendly.

Lovely place to sit and relax in. Love the free outdoor gym equipment, and the fact that there's…read moreplenty of green spaces to while away the day. It's well-used by famillies, sports groups, and dog walkers so there's always a bunch of people around.