High Barnet: I visited the leafy North London village where the only thing ‘London’ about it was the red buses – Jacob Phillips

Excessive Barnet is simply six miles from the place I dwell however I do know barely something about it.

As a Northern Line common rising up, the realm was all the time simply to be assumed to be the tip of the world, some unusual gateway the place London fades into the remainder of the nation.

Earlier than scripting this piece I had by no means visited the outer London city however since it’s such a brief distance away, I lastly determined to discover what has been on my doorstep for greater than 20 years.

Earlier than doing so although I had a fast Google of Excessive Barnet and located there’s fairly a restricted quantity of knowledge on the market.

However after a little bit of shopping I used to be capable of get a way of what the realm is like.

Excessive Barnet has some superb views over North London, together with from King George’s Area

Trying to find earlier opinions of Excessive Barnet, I found a variety of Mumsnet posts explaining that it’s fashionable amongst North Londoners initially from Islington and Crouch Finish who’re pulled in the direction of the broader inexperienced areas it gives.

A second evaluation piece from college information web site The Tab, defined that one key perk to residing in Excessive Barnet was you might get as drunk as you need and all the time find yourself at your cease because it’s the tip of the Northern Line and a number of other most important bus routes.

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Armed with my new discovered data, I received on the 263 bus. Upon arrival in Excessive Barnet, it took me a short time to understand I used to be nonetheless in London.

Scanning the view from the highest deck of the bus, I used to be shocked how totally different it regarded to many of the capital.

Although I’d solely travelled round half-an-hour by bus, the realm had turn into a lot greener and rolling hills appeared on all sides.

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In line with property web site OneDome, the borough of Barnet has a formidable 32,000 bushes in complete.

Apart from the greenery, the outdated village centre of Excessive Barnet made it really feel like I used to be deep within the Hertfordshire or Cambridgeshire countryside.

Many buildings had outdated pink brick fronts and the quaint structure of Barnet Museum made me really feel like I’d stepped again in time.

0 High Barnet Church

St John the Baptist Church in Excessive Barnet

A favorite landmark of mine was St John the Baptist Church, which regarded prefer it belonged someplace like York or Oxford versus a London suburb.

The church, with its engaging checked wall patterns and gothic spire, actually stood out in the midst of a busy junction.

Solely the occasional passing of a pink bus gave away that I used to be nonetheless within the capital.

0 Red Lion Barnet

The Purple Lion pub is a centre piece of Excessive Barnet

Although the vast majority of retailers had been closed due to lockdown, there was nonetheless a bustling really feel to the centre of Excessive Barnet.

Many eating places had been promoting meals over-the-counter and households had been queuing to go to the Submit Workplace.

The Spire purchasing centre was additionally energetic, with many individuals strolling by means of or grabbing a espresso from exterior distributors.

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I’m trying ahead to patronising Excessive Barnet’s outdated pubs after they reopen

I used to be impressed by how pleasant the realm felt and with Overground trains taking simply quarter-hour to succeed in Finsbury Park, Excessive Barnet is properly related.

With extensive inexperienced areas close by comparable to King George’s Fields, Brook Farm Open area and Moat Mount Outdoor Centre, you may by no means really feel overwhelmed in Excessive Barnet like you are able to do within the many extra closely urbanised components of London.

I’d positively go to exterior of lockdown to benefit from the space’s historic pubs and inexperienced areas to the fullest.

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