You’ll walk 4km through secret woods and tunnels – 7 reasons Londoners swear by Parkland Walk

Slip off the noisy streets and the city thins to leaf-filtered light, fox tracks and old platforms. The route feels ancient yet strangely new, stitched together by rail history and careful conservation.

Where the path came from

Parkland Walk follows the former Great Northern Railway alignment between Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace. Engineers planned to fold the line into the Northern line before the Second World War halted the project. Passenger trains stopped in the 1950s. The last through service ran in 1970. Tracks went up soon after, and nature began to reclaim the cutting, bridges and platforms.

London’s longest linear nature reserve runs for roughly 4 kilometres, linking Finsbury Park, Crouch End, Highgate and Muswell Hill.

The corridor gained official protection in 1984 as Parkland Walk. Today, it joins two green ridges, carries cool air across neighbourhoods, and shelters an unusually rich mix of species for inner London.

What you’ll see on the way

Remnants of the railway

Brick tunnels, iron bridges and mossy platforms surface as you turn corners. Most sit half-submerged under ivy and bramble. Painted tags ripple across archways. At Crouch End, a Spriggan sculpture appears to wriggle from the brickwork, a playful echo of the railway’s ghost.

Habitats that change every few minutes

The walk shifts from sun-dappled woodland to open glades and embankment edges. Hedgerows harbour songbirds. Fallen trunks host fungi after rain. Insects flicker over nettle patches. Conservation work protects Islington’s only acidic grassland along the route, a scarce habitat holding specialist plants and invertebrates.

More than 200 recorded species thrive here, from butterflies and beetles to hedgehogs, bats and urban foxes.

How to do the full route

Most walkers start at Oxford Road by Finsbury Park or near Muswell Hill close to Alexandra Palace. Pace varies, yet a relaxed end‑to‑end amble with photo stops takes around 75–90 minutes. Trains and buses serve either end, so you can finish with a warm café or a hilltop view.

Why people love it

• 4 kilometres without traffic lights or junctions, right in the city.
• Shade in summer, leaf colour in autumn, frost-etched branches in winter.
• Railway heritage you can touch, from parapets to platforms.
• Frequent access points for short sections or family strolls.
• Habitats that support scarce plants and pollinators.
• Benches and clearings for picnics and prams.
• Quick exits to cafés in Stroud Green, Crouch End and Muswell Hill.

Navigation and access

Wayfinding is straightforward once you reach the path. Gates appear at side streets, with steps or ramps depending on the entrance. Surfaces range from compacted stone to earth. After heavy rain, some patches turn muddy. Sturdy footwear helps, even for short sections.

The route suits most ages. Cyclists use it too, so keep to the left, signal early and give space at pinch points. Dog walkers frequent the trail; leads protect wildlife near the grassland and at dusk when bats emerge.

Season by season

Spring

Birch and hawthorn burst into leaf. Primroses and cow parsley light the verges. Birdsong peaks at dawn, so an early start pays off.

Summer

Tree canopies cast long pools of shade. Butterflies work the thistles. The cutting channels cool air along the line on hot days.

Autumn

Oak and hornbeam turn bronze and gold. Tunnels frame leaf-carpeted curves. Low sun makes the brick arches glow for photographs.

Winter

Views open through the branches. Sidings and platforms stand out in crisp detail. Ice clings to rails embedded in the path margins.

Safety, etiquette and simple kit

Carry water and a light layer even for short visits. Phone signal holds on most of the route. Evening walkers may want a small torch for the shadier cuttings.

• Share the path: runners keep right on narrow bends; cyclists slow at bridges.
• Protect habitats: stick to main paths near the acidic grassland.
• Mind your footing: wet leaves and clay turn slick after rain.
• Respect neighbours: many gates back onto homes; keep noise down late.

A short history you can trace underfoot

Look for old mileposts set into walls and drainage channels along the ballast bed. The line once shuttled local commuters between Finsbury Park and the hilltop palace. When the plan to integrate the route into the Underground froze, maintenance dwindled. Closure cleared space that later became a green artery, now stitched into community life across several boroughs.

The Spriggan at Crouch End hides in plain sight on the old bridge – a wink from the past as the city rushes by above.

Getting there without fuss

For the full 4‑kilometre run, start near Oxford Road at Finsbury Park and finish around Muswell Hill by Alexandra Palace. If time is tight, Crouch Hill station sits about one third along, perfect for a shorter sample. Highgate tube offers quick access to the middle, so you can walk north to Muswell Hill for views, or south to Finsbury Park for a train connection.

Extra ideas to make a day of it

Combine the walk with a picnic on the slopes by Alexandra Palace, or fold in a loop through Finsbury Park’s boating lake and rose beds. Families can turn it into a scavenger trail: count bridges, list birds heard, and spot the oldest brick arch. Photographers will enjoy the contrast between graffiti colour and winter bokeh in the trees.

For a broader green corridor day, pair Parkland Walk with a Thames Path stretch or a circuit at Walthamstow Wetlands. The mix adds water habitats to the railway flora, and you’ll rack up 10,000 steps without leaving Zones 2–3. If you’re training for a 10k, two end‑to‑end laps at an even pace deliver a gentle, traffic‑free session with mild gradients and soft surfaces that go easy on knees and ankles.