The Parkland Walk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Parkland Walk is a former railway line in north London, England that runs from Finsbury Park to Highgate and on to Muswell Hill and Alexandra Palace.
It is a statutory local nature reserve and a walk and cycleway. The path passes through both Islington and Haringey following the bridges and cuttings of the line and often providing excellent views of London. The route of the railway passed through tunnels on each side of the closed surface section of Highgate station, but this section is closed to walkers for safety reasons. The route can be rejoined at Highgate Wood from where it can be followed without too much difficulty through Muswell Hill to the end of the railway at Alexandra Palace.
[edit] History
This path was once the route of the London and North Eastern Railway's (LNER's) line from Finsbury Park to Edgware constructed in the 1860s by the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway. Plans were published by London Underground in the 1930s for its incorporation as part of the Northern Line (The Northern Heights Plan) but the outbreak of World War II stopped the work at an advanced stage.
After the war the work was never finished and the line was eventually closed to passenger trains in 1954. Goods trains continued to use line until the 1960s and it was not completely closed until 1970. Tracks and infrastructure have been removed and most of the platforms and station buildings have been demolished.
