__NOTOC__ Mutton Brook is a stream which runs between

East Finchley East Finchley is an area in North London, immediately north of Hampstead Heath. Like neighbouring Muswell Hill it straddles the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It ha ...

and Hendon in the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest London borough ...

. It is a tributary of the

River Brent The River Brent is a river in west and northwest London, England, and a tributary of the River Thames. in length, it rises in the Borough of Barnet and flows in a generally south-west direction before joining the Tideway stretch of the Thame ...

, which is itself a tributary of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. The brook rises in Cherry Tree Wood and flows underground to emerge at the back of Belvedere Court, Lyttleton Road. It then passes under Lyttleton Road and flows along the south side of the road and Falloden Way through Lyttleton Playing Fields, Fletchers Gardens and Northway Gardens. Near Brookland Rise, it crosses briefly to the north side of Falloden Way before crossing back to Brookside Walk. It passes under Finchley Road at Henlys Corner and then under the North Circular Road to meet

Dollis Brook Dollis Brook runs through the London Borough of Barnet in north London. It is a tributary of the River Brent, which is itself a tributary of the River Thames. The Dollis Valley Greenwalk follows almost all of Dollis Brook, apart from a short sec ...

close to Bridge Lane. The two brooks then become the River Brent. The brook is confined in a concrete or wood channel along the whole of its length, and the water quality is often poor. However, from Lyttleton Playing Fields to the junction with Dollis Brook its route is almost all through local parks. The downstream section is lined by

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

, ash and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

trees, providing a good habitat for birds, and

grey wagtail The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted to ...

s often forage at its edge. The brook is a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation. Until 1965, Mutton Brook was the southern boundary of the

Municipal Borough of Finchley Finchley, which is now in north London, was a local government district in Middlesex, England, from 1878 to 1965. Finchley Local Board first met in 1878. It became Finchley District Council in 1895 and the Municipal Borough of Finchley in 1933. I ...

. The Capital Ring and Dollis Valley Greenwalk follow Mutton Brook.

References

External links

Mutton Brook, Middlesex County Council

Capital Ring, Hendon Park to Highgate

See also

References

External links

Further reading