Bridge over Pymmes Brook, south of Parkside Gardens (2)

The Pymmes Brook Trail is located in the London Boroughs of

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

, Enfield and Haringey and is just under long. The brook is named after William Pymme, a local landowner. The trail goes from

Hadley Green Hadley Green is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation in Hadley in the London Borough of Barnet. The reserve straddles the Great North Road between Hadley Green Road and Fold Lane. Environment It is an area of acid grassland ...

Tottenham Hale Tottenham Hale is a district of north London and part of the London Borough of Haringey, bounded by the River Lea and located to the south/south-east of Tottenham proper. From 1850 to 1965, it was part of the Municipal Borough of Tottenham, in Mi ...

, where the trail connects with the Lea Valley Walk. Most of the first half of the trail, as far as

Arnos Park Arnos Grove () is an List of areas of London, area of north London, England, within the London Borough of Enfield. It is centred north of Charing Cross. It is adjacent to New Southgate. The natural grove (nature), grove, larger than today, ...

, runs beside

Pymmes Brook Pymmes Brook is located in North London and named after William Pymme, a local land owner. It is a minor tributary of the River Lea. The brook mostly flows through urban areas and is particularly prone to flooding in its lower reaches. To a ...

, but after that the brook is only encountered intermittently as much of the brook passes through private land which is not open to the public. In its lower reaches sections of the brook have been

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...

ed to alleviate the risk of flooding.

Course

The trail starts on

, where the headwaters of Pymmes Brook rise, with a link from High Barnet tube station. Together with the London Loop, it then drops through

Monken Hadley Common Monken Hadley Common lies within the Monken Hadley Conservation Area, and is listed as a “ Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade I,” by the London Borough of Barnet. It is registered common land, and it is owned by the Tr ...

to Jack's Lake, to meet another link from Cockfosters tube station. Pymmes Brook proper starts here as it flows out from Jack's Lake. The trail detours through

Victoria Recreation Ground Victoria Recreation Ground is a park located on Recreation Ground Road, just off Carisbrooke Road, in Newport, on the Isle of Wight, England. It was opened in 1902. The park comprises a cricket pitch, tennis courts, petanque terrain, pavilio ...

, where Pymmes Brook is joined with

Shirebourne brook The Shirebourne is a brook that rises in King George's Fields (Monken Hadley), King George's Fields, Hadley, and eventually joins the Pymmes Brook. It may have marked the historic county boundary between Hertfordshire and Middlesex. Location The ...

, then follows a short street section to rejoin the brook at East Barnet Village. It then runs beside the brook through Oak Hill Park and

Brunswick Park Brunswick Park is a neighbourhood, public park and electoral ward in the London Borough of Barnet. It is north of New Southgate and to the south of Oakleigh Park. Roads include Brunswick Park Road, Brunswick Avenue and Brunswick Crescent. Amen ...

to the halfway point in

, with a link to Arnos Grove tube station. It is also where Pymmes Brook is joined by Bounds Green Brook. The trail then leaves the brook to pass through

Broomfield Park Broomfield Park was a association football, football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, home of Airdrieonians F.C. (1878), Airdrieonians from 1892 until it was closed after the 1993–94 in Scottish football, 1993–94 football season. Aird ...

and Palmers Green. It crosses over the New River at Oakthorpe Road, then the North Circular Road, to divert through two new public open spaces - Bowes Meadow and Tile Kiln Lane Open Space - where Pymmes Brook can be followed again. The trail recrosses the North Circular Road onto Silver Street,

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, where the path enters the gardens of Millfield House. From here the trail leads to

Pymmes Park Pymmes Park is located in Edmonton, London and is bordered by the North Circular Road. The park is a Metropolitan Open Space, Local Importance of Nature Conservation, and a site of Archaeological Importance. History The area known as Pymmes Park ...

and another brookside section, then to Fore Street, where the brook flows underground to merge with

Salmons Brook Salmons Brook is a minor tributary of the River Lea, located in the London Borough of Enfield. Etymology Salmons Brook is marked thus on Rocque's map of 1754, probably named from the family of John ''Salemon'' of Edmonton mentioned in 1274 ...

to the south of

Angel Road The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a ring road around Central London in England. It runs from Chiswick in the west to Woolwich in the east via suburban North London, connectin ...

. As of 2018, the trail must temporarily follow public throughfares for a short distance, but will eventually take a new route when access to the brook is opened up in the Meridian Water development. Finally, the trail passes through

Tottenham Marshes The Tottenham Marshes are located at Tottenham in the London Borough of Haringey. The marshes cover over and became part of the Lee Valley Park in 1972. The marsh is made up of three main areas: Clendish Marsh, Wild Marsh West and Wild Marsh Ea ...

, beside Pymmes Brook and past

Stonebridge Lock Stonebridge Lock (No16) is a paired lock on the River Lee Navigation in the London Borough of Haringey, England and is located near Tottenham, London. Like other locks as far as Ponder's End Lock it is large enough to take barges of up to 130 ton ...

on the

Lee Navigation The Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating the River Lea (also called the River Lee along the sections that are navigable). It flows from Hertford Castle Weir to the River Thames at Bow Creek; its first lock is Hertford Lock and its ...

, to reach the point where the brook joins the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

. The trail connects with the Lea Valley Walk at

Tottenham Lock Tottenham Lock (No17) is a paired lock on the River Lee Navigation in the London Borough of Haringey, England and is located near Tottenham, London. Like other locks as far as Ponders End it is large enough to take barges of up to 130 tons. The p ...

, with a link to

Tottenham Hale station Tottenham Hale is a National Rail and London Underground interchange station located in Tottenham Hale in north London, England. On the National Rail network it is on the West Anglia Main Line, from London Liverpool Street, and is served by G ...

Gallery

File:Pymmes Brook Trail, Jacks Lake.JPG, Jack's Lake on Monken Hadley Common File:Pymmes Brook in Arnos Park.JPG, Pymmes Brook in Arnos Park File:Pymmes Brook Trail, Broomfield Park lake.JPG, Broomfield Park lake File:Millfield House.jpg, Millfield House File:Stonebridge Lock and River Lea.JPG, Stonebridge Lock on the Lee Navigation

References

External links

Pymmes Brook TrailPymmes Brook Trail official guidePymmes Brook Trail
on the LDWA website {{authority control Footpaths in London River Lea