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Alexandra Palace to Tottenham Hale Walk

Alexandra Palace, the Parkland Walk (a former railway line) and two restored Wetlands in north London.

London

History

This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.

Date Option Post # Weather
Sun, 22-Sep-24 Alexandra Palace to Tottenham Hale 2 dry warm if mainly overcast day
Sun, 06-Nov-22 Alexandra Palace to Tottenham Hale 3 dry and grey until a heavy shower
Sat, 17-Aug-19 Ally Pally to Tottenham Hale 13 fine weather
Mon, 27-May-19 Bank Holiday Walk – [321] The Parkland Walk and a Wetlands Walk 18 dry and bright
Sun, 04-Nov-18 – [New] The Parkland Walk and two restored Wetlands 14

Sunday 22-Sep-24

Sean
Extra Walk 321 – Alexandra Palace to Tottenham Hale

Length for full walk: 15¾ km (9.8 miles). Toughness: 3/10

10:12 Stevenage train from Moorgate (Highbury & Islington 10:20, Finsbury Park 10:27, etc), arriving Alexandra Palace (TfL Zone 3) at 10:34. Use Oyster PAYG or contactless.

At the end of the full walk there are frequent Greater Anglia trains from Tottenham Hale (also Zone 3) to both Liverpool Street and Stratford, plus the Victoria line.

As it's the last day of the Open House Festival I've decided to post a London-area walk which splits easily into a morning and afternoon leg, potentially allowing anyone who wants to visit some of the venues to combine this with half a walk. The morning starters from Alexandra Palace should reach the Finsbury Park Café for a lunch stop at around 12:15-12:25 and I suggest that anyone wanting to do just the afternoon leg should make their own way there and be prepared to set off from the café at 1pm.

There are plenty of venues opening their doors this Sunday and one which caught my eye was the Markfield Beam Engine in Markfield Park, just off the River Lea towpath south of Tottenham Lock. If you take the alternative route mentioned in para 40 you should get to see this massive Victorian beam engine ‘in steam’ between 2.30 & 3.15pm. This ending bypasses Walthamstow Wetlands but you could easily go there afterwards if you wished.

East Reservoir If you do the full walk you'll see that it's essentially the well-known Parkland Walk (a disused railway line) spliced onto a promoted walk linking two large nature reserves, Woodberry Wetlands and Walthamstow Wetlands (but note that both close at around 4.30-5pm). There's a pub with a large riverside garden opposite the Walthamstow reserve exit if you want a tipple at the end of the day.

Please bring the directions from the L=swc.321 page.

  • Mon, 23-Sep-24

    2 walkers as far as I'm aware. The walk author claimed to have successfully put people off by telling them he'd be on the walk but more likely some combination of downbeat weather forecast, late night partying and suspended northern line tube services were to blame. If anyone else did do this walk, please update the numbers here.

    We were lucky to have a dry warm if mainly overcast day . I did the morning section by myself and was joined by the walk author at the cafe in Finsbury Park. We headed on to visit the impressive Markfield Beam Engine, which was well worth seeing and suprisingy quiet. After tea at Markbeach, we opted for a short loop around Walthamstow Wetlands and a visit the Coppermill Tower (which was also open today). Plenty to enjoy in the nature reserves and along the rivers on this walk - some intresting trees and bird-life including several cormorants, a heron and an elusive "squeaky" bird.

Sunday 06-Nov-22

Sean
Extra Walk 321 – Alexandra Palace to Tottenham Hale

Length: 15¾ km (9.8 miles). Toughness: 3/10

10:28 Welwyn Garden City train from Moorgate (Highbury & Islington 10:36, Finsbury Park 10:42, etc), arriving Alexandra Palace (TfL Zone 3) at 10:49. Use Oyster PAYG or contactless.

Anyone wanting a later start and/or a shorter walk could join at Highgate tube station (Northern line). Be there by 11:45 to intercept the main group, who should be passing the Priory Gardens exit about then.

At the end of the walk there are frequent Greater Anglia trains from Tottenham Hale to both Liverpool Street and Stratford, plus the Victoria line. If you want to finish early there are many places where you can hop on a bus or head for a nearby tube station.

Coppermill Tower This walk is essentially two short walks joined together. The morning walk is mostly along the well-known Parkland Walk (a disused railway line) and the afternoon walk links two large nature reserves, Woodberry Wetlands and Walthamstow Wetlands (but note that these both close at 4pm).

For lunch I suggest one of the cafés along the route, either in Finsbury Park or at Woodberry Wetlands. There are other cafés towards the end in Springfield Park and (if you get there in time) Walthamstow Wetlands, plus a pub opposite the reserve exit if you need something stronger.

You'll need to bring the directions from the L=swc.321

  • Sun, 06-Nov-22

    Just2 of us arrived at Alexandra Palace and were pleased to see it had stopped raining. Less good news was that Alexandra Park was closed to clear up after last night's fireworks - apparently it is closed for few days. We couldn't come up with a good way to get to Highgate (sorry if anyone was waiting for us there) so just did the second half of the walk from Finsbury Park. It stayed dry and grey until a heavy shower as we approached the end of the walk, so the parks and wetlands were quite pleasant. My companion advised that the New River section is often flooded so after over 24 hours of rain we avoided it by walking along side roads to the Woodberry reservoirs. In Walthamstow wetlands we tried the gorse path between the reservoirs which was very pretty. We stopped at the Engine House for a welcome tea and cake as the rain came on, before dispersing at Tottenham Hale. Thanks for posting, I'm glad I made the effort to get out on an unpromising day.

  • Sat, 12-Nov-22

    PS I hear that one walked from Highgate, so3

Saturday 17-Aug-19

Mike A
With fairly unsettled/unpredictable weather forecast this weekend, here's a short walk with plenty of opportunities to bale out should the weather take a turn for the worst.


Length 9 miles (14 km)
Toughness 2/3 out of 10

Getting there

Catch a Welwyn Garden City train from any of these stations and alight at Alexandra Palace


Moorgate [MOG] 10:28
Old Street [OLD] 10:30
Essex Road [EXR] 10:33
Highbury & Islington 10:36
Drayton Park [DYP] 10:38
Finsbury Park [FPK] 10:42
Harringay [HGY] 10:44
Hornsey [HRN] 10:46
Meet on the platform at Alexandra Palace station at 10:49

Getting back

Catch a tube from Finsbury Park (Victoria Line/National rail) if you leave the walk half way through or Tottenham Hale (also Victoria Line/National Rail) if you complete the walk.

Tickets

An Oyster card covering your starting zone and zone 3



Overview

This is a walk of two halves, so if the weather becomes inclement or if you just want to do a short walk you can bale out half way through at Finsbury Park.
When you reach the River Lea during the second leg, there are a number of options to traverse the wetlands (see the excellent map on the walk instructions. However, if you would prefer to give the wetlands a miss, you may simply walk up the River Lea towpath. There's a cafe j ust past Markfield Park ( Markfield Park Cafe) which serves teas and cakes if you take this option.
From there, it's just over 1km to Tottenham Hale station, so about a 15 minute walk to finish off with.


T=swc.321
L=.321

  • Anonymous
    Thu, 15-Aug-19

    Does anybody know if there are toilets at the station please?

  • Anonymous
    Thu, 15-Aug-19

    www.nationalrail.co.uk has information about station facilities and it says there are no toilets at this station. However, there will be some when you get to Alexandra Palace at the top of the hill and others at cafés along the route. Most people don't mind hanging about briefly but don't be surprised if some march on ahead - this is a group for independent walkers with no leader and people can choose their own pace.

  • Thu, 15-Aug-19

    I'm just going to meet everyone at Ally Pally at 10.49. Hope that's ok.

  • Anonymous
    Thu, 15-Aug-19

    Thanks for the toilet information Anonymous

  • Fri, 16-Aug-19

    Yes, lets meet on the platform the train turns up. I suggest by the steps that lead up to the footbridge. Look out for others there (they'll be obvious with rucksacks)

    Thanks for the Loo information Anonymous

  • Anonymous
    Sat, 17-Aug-19

    13 walkers (2 first timers with us from a meet up posting) in fine weather

    I thought that the morning in Alexander Park being park like and then Highgate woods being ‘woods’ was great then lunch in Finsbury Park which served its purpose for most of us. After lunch was a fair bit of street walking, visually stimulating but hard on the feet and then wonderful wetlands

    Very enjoyable walk only downside was a dearth / paucity / drouth / lacuna / shortage of cake in the pm but the words hubris, heuristic and thesaurus managed to squeeze themselves into the conversation.

    P told me to keep it short and not too boring - I do hope that I lived up to the demand / stipulation

    A Non

Monday 27-May-19

Sean
Extra Walk 321 – Alexandra Palace to Tottenham Hale
Full Walk: 15¾ km (9.8 miles). Toughness: 3/10
Morning Walk (finishing at Finsbury Park): 8 km (5.0 miles), 2/10
Afternoon Walk (starting from Finsbury Park): 8¾ km (5.4 miles), 1/10

10:28 Welwyn Garden City train from Moorgate (Highbury & Islington 10:36, Finsbury Park 10:42, etc), arriving Alexandra Palace (TfL Zone 3) at 10:49.

For the Afternoon Walk, make your own way to the café in Finsbury Park (less than 10 mins from the station: see the Walk Notes) ready to set off no later than 1.30pm (ie. get there earlier if you want something to eat/drink first).

Expect to return by tube or bus, as there aren't any mainline trains from Tottenham Hale to Liverpool Street on this Bank Holiday.

This walk is essentially two short walks joined together. The morning walk is mostly along the well-known Parkland Walk (a disused railway line) and the afternoon walk links two large nature reserves, Woodberry Wetlands and Walthamstow Wetlands.

The morning starters should get to the Finsbury Park café at around 12:30-12:45, so those planning to do the full walk should have plenty of time for some mid-walk refreshment before setting off with the midday arrivals. At the end of the full walk there's a café in Walthamstow Wetlands (which closes at 4pm) and a pub across the road if you need something stronger.

As usual there's no leader for this walk. You'll need to bring the directions from this Alexandra Palace to Tottenham Hale walk page. There are of course many other places where you could drop out or join this urban walk; see the notes for details. T=swc.321
  • Anonymous
    Mon, 20-May-19

    I can thoroughly recommend the south section of the Walthamstow Wetlands and the cafe in the Engine House there.

    However the Ferry Boat Inn was packed on our visit (on the previous Bank Holiday) so we gave that a miss.

  • Mon, 27-May-19

    My train arrives in Morden at 11. Can you guys wait a bit? Thanks. Raquel. 07594325538

  • Anonymous
    Tue, 28-May-19

    18 walkers.

    dry and bright .

    Thank you to Sean for posting the walk,

    and pointing out interesting features along the route.

Sunday 04-Nov-18

Sean
New Walk – Alexandra Palace to Tottenham Hale
Length: Up to 15¾ km (9.8 miles). Toughness: 3/10

10:17 Alexandra Palace train from Moorgate (Highbury & Islington 10:25, Finsbury Park 10:30, etc), arriving Alexandra Palace (TfL Zone 3) at 10:39. Use Oyster PAYG or contactless.

Anyone wanting a later start could join the walk at Highgate tube station (Northern line). Be there by 11:30 to meet the main group, who should be passing through about then.

Wherever you finish up expect to return by tube; there aren't any Anglia trains from Tottenham Hale to Liverpool Street this Sunday.

This new concoction expands the short walk around Woodberry Wetlands which attracted a large turnout on the August Bank Holiday, although the loop around its East Reservoir is the only significant overlap between the two walks. Its morning is along the well-known Parkland Walk (a disused railway line) and the afternoon concludes with an extension to another large nature reserve, Walthamstow Wetlands (note that this closes at 4pm). If you want to do a shorter walk there are many places where you can hop on a bus or head for a nearby tube station.

For lunch I suggest one of the cafés along the route, either in Finsbury Park or at Woodberry Wetlands. There are other cafés towards the end in Springfield Park and Walthamstow Wetlands, and a pub opposite the reserve exit if you need something stronger.

You'll need to bring the directions from this temporary New Walk page. There's a GPS track available here, but it's hardly necessary for this urban walk. T=swc.321
  • Thu, 01-Nov-18

    Now I might go out on that Walk on Sunday. But I can't Guarantee I will. But if I do. Then I will take the Buses. And on the way back Home as well.

  • Mon, 12-Nov-18

    "...13, maybe 15..." I'm told by someone who was on the walk. so let's call it 14