This has to be one of North London's best kept secrets! I can't believe I had never heard of this…read moregarden (even my dad had not heard of it and he grew up near here.) I assume the lucky locals would like to keep this as a secret treasure, but it is too good not to share with yelpers!! The Pergola and Hill Gardens are hidden between Hampstead Heath and Golders Hill Park. The Pergola half of the garden is essentially a long raised walkway, under a long pergola made from wood and stone, covered in gorgeous smelling roses and other climbing plants. The other half of the garden has a large square pond full of lilies, sculptured hills and nice soft grass to sit on and have a picnic. I have a feeling it could be very busy on nice days...but when we visited it all seemed far quieter than Golders Hill Park - even though it is so, so much nicer. Practicalities: - If you don't want to walk, just take the 210 bus and get off at Inverforth House, you can see the signs to the garden. - It's free (!)

This place is beyond beautiful. I'm always surprised when I find places like this in London that is…read moreopen for the general public with no fee. Tucked away on the smaller side of Hampstead Heath, in between Hampstead Heath and Golders Hill Park is this little Gem. Because it's hidden away it's less busy than both the known green spaces. The pergola goes on and on with hidden entrances to the gardens. The gardens all have walk ways for you to meander through them. I can imagine that this place will get used for many photoshoots. You have to be careful you're not walking into someone else's shot. None of the photos or reviews will EVER do this place justice. Trust me and go see for yourself.

This is such a great park with so many corners and areas tucked away for you to discover…read more There are three lakes on which you have geese, ducks and coots nesting (and the odd visiting Egyptian Goose popping in to say hello) as well as a very well tended walled garden tucked out of the way with its own conservatory that is open for a few hours to the public every Sunday. The big open green spaces give way to tennis courts and basketball courts that are all open and (seem) free to use by the general public. These are right next to the much slower paced bowls pitch and just across the pond you have a new and well frequented outdoor gym. Behind the gym there is crazy golf course (could do with a little spruce up but still a good laugh and very reasonably priced) which then leads out into 2 big football pitches. This big area often welcomes fair grounds and summer fetes. Very easily accessed, is just opposite the Palmers Green train station. There is also a burned out stately home on the grounds that has planning permission to be turned into a cafe and a few other 'visitor centre' type things. I for one am looking forward to this going ahead and getting completed to bring more people into this particular part of the park as it feels a little abandoned and neglected. A fantastic place to go running and exercise, or simply to grab a picnic basket and do something much less energetic on the beautifully tended grass.

This is my absolutely favorite park in London. Mostly because I live right by it so its the one I…read morego to the most! It has a large field type area, with a few benches, and a few trees, but the highlight is a fallen tree, that is a great place to sit on/lean against and read a book. It also has crazy golf, and large pond complete with permanent little boys with boats, and an adventure playground. It is deceptively massive, and even has a house, that is now very run down, that I am reliably informed used to James I hunting lodge!

Love this park. Not with standing that it has a pitch and putt, or that it was the first place to…read morebroadcast TV wit the BBC, or that it had an ice rink, or that it has a pub on top, or that it holds beer and food events, specialised farmers markets, good runnings paths, is part of running events, as well as international tournaments like the Darts or the Snooker...it has for me one of the best views of London! With it being perched so high you can see all of London. The North's version of Crystal Palace. It's a good walk around for a Sunday too. I really like going there to unwind and chill. Summer it is busier of course and that's when it comes into its own. Lovely. We are lucky in London to have such great green spaces.

Lovely space. There is a nice cafe in the Grove (close to Muswell Hill entrance), a playground…read more(close to entrance at the end of Dukes Avenue and near to Alexandra Road). On Sunday there is usually a Farmer's Market (entrance on Muswell Hill and Priory Road). Behind the palace there is also a boating lake and another café. We go there every week and the kids love it!

This park rocks. I used to bike over here over the summer from Whetstone…read more Oak Hill is lush and large with a bike path and a mote. There is also a neighbouring golf course. There was nothing like riding through this park with the summer sun streaming down. There aren't many places to bike but the park is large with flower beds and benches. This park is a hidden treasure, not a treasure of the deep, just a treasure of East Barnet.

This used to be one of my local parks and now sadly I live too far away to visit. It's a great huge…read moreexpanse of greenery with childrens playgrounds, golf course and a cute little tea shop. At the northern end there is a woodland area which is a beautiful contrast to the manicured greenery of the rest of the park. It's not to be missed if you're already in the area.

I met my idol, Kanye West and Iron man in this park. I love their film, victoria and abdul.read more

Lovely little park. Has new tennis courts which I use frequently. It's is a mainly family park with…read morenice flowers on one side with a park that I often see kids playing football, a cafe with little pool and a clubhouse (bowls?) on the other and it is used for crouch end events more often than not like the fun run.

One of the joys of living in London is that fact that we're blessed with a lot of green space in…read morethe middle of our capital city Some of it, like Hyde Park for example, is there because the monarchs of the time wanted to continue to hunt from Buckingham Palace and therefore kept that area of forest intact At the weekend, I visited Muswell Hill for the Chicken 2.0 UYE and spotted Highgate Wood on the way over from Highgate Tube station and as I was early, decided to take a little detour on that sunny day HIghgate Wood has been bequeathed to the people and is now maintained by the Corporation of London. They're doing a good job with clearly marked paths and with the first tentative shoots of spring coming through, it was a most agreeable walk I spied a board advrtising a series of free events and walks in the park The local citizens are lucky to have this park to enjoy

I love, love, love this park...and Momo, my dog, likes it even more…read more Highgate Wood is what I'd call the perfect urban park: a combination of almost jungle-like areas and a sporting green with an adjacent café (I've been told that the café is run by a Brazilian chef and the food is supposed to be quite tasty.). What else do I like about this park? - Being able to escape the hectic activities of our modern lives for a short while. It allows me to tune out the noises and concentrate on my inner self...for lack of a better word. In fact, when I was writing on my dissertation, this is where I'd find the tranquility and energy needed to sort-of pre-formulate and re-arrange my ideas. A note for dog walkers like myself: what I like about this park is that it's almost impossible for your dog to run away as the park is completely fenced in. This brings down my worry-scale a lot when my dog once again has disappeared in the bushes for a couple minutes...

What a lovely park to host a 5k race. It features hundreds of acres of maintained woodland…read moreinterspersed with fields and streams, making for a great trail run experience. It's easy to get lost even with a well-marked race route! A little-known bit of history about the park is that the Georgian hunting lodge was used as a POW camp for German officers and was heavily bugged. The British were able to learn all the Nazi plans, but were unable to act on many of them due to the various levels of military intelligence involved, and subsequently the Cold War. It was as important as Bletchley but receives none of the prestige as it was all ordinary translation and not high-tech codebreaking. I'd really love to go go back and try the Go Ape high ropes course - looks a blast but we were exhausted from the race!

Had a wicked time at 51st State festival here. Real close to Cockfosters station too.read more

This is London's version of Central Park only much grander and more natural and rustic feeling…read more Think wild blackberries along the trail's edge, three ponds, dogs galore, picnics around every corner, tennis courts, fenced in kids areas and more. The 300+ hectares (looks up conversion ) Also features woodlands, meadows, grassy lawns and paved trails. It's a London treasure and certainly worth a stroll and picnic. The surrounding neighborhood is filled with beautiful homes and fun shops.

Given my slight fetish for nature and all things fantasy, Hampstead Heath was my very first…read moreexperience in a real London park where I realized I felt more at-home here than in any tropical beach. As such, this ginormous park/ part-forest holds a special place in my heart. The best times of the year to roam its rolling landscape- which isn't always the easiest to walk through given its steep hills- is between late Spring and the Fall months, as the leaf-laden trees add a lush and secluded feel to its denser areas; it's kind of like stepping into a fairy tail. If you've never been, make sure you keep track of where you came in, as it can be pretty easy to get lost here the first few times, and all that walking can get pretty exhausting if you're not used to it. I do love me a little adventure, though; and there are uglier places to be lost in. Once it stops raining for a few weeks and the mud becomes hard enough to sit on, this spacious park becomes a hot-spot for picnicking and sunbathing; especially during the weekends. So, bring a blanket, some food, and maybe a dog, and you have yourself the perfect Sunday. A huge plus is the restaurants and pubs near the Parliament Hill Fields entrance to the park, where you can get everything from food and booze, to gelato and coffee (the good stuff); so even if you're too lazy to cook- like me- your wallet's got you covered. Keep in mind, driving and parking in London sucks, and this place is no different. The number 88 bus takes you right to one entrance of the park, and I'm sure there are others on the other side that can get you close enough to walk the rest of the way. It doesn't get much easier.