Dear Readers, it’s always exciting to discover a completely new green space, especially when it’s close to home, and relatively unknown. And so, on Monday I took a walk through Tunnel Gardens with my friend S. Tunnel Gardens is very close to the Sunshine Garden Centre in Bounds Green, and is so named because it is on top of the railway tunnel between Alexandra Palace and New Southgate. It is an area of oak, hawthorn, ash, horse chestnut and a single eucalyptus, along with lots of wildlife-friendly brambles, and some open meadow spaces, plus a few surprises.
At the Bounds Green end you can see the remains of the walls that would have held terraced beds and other garden features.
There’s a small patch of stinking iris, which could be ‘natural’ or the remnant of planting…
…and then some brambles in full flower and absolutely abuzz with bees. There will be blackberries by the bucket load in a few months!
And then the hogweed is also in flower. The flowerheads are well worth a second look.
Hang on though, who’s this?
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a fox, so this was a lovely brief encounter…
As we walk on, the smell of roses fills the air, and this huge rose bush comes into view. I suspect it’s a ‘domesticated’ rose, judging by the way that it’s festooned with flowers.
And here’s that eucalyptus, no doubt a garden escapee.
Then there’s a meadow area, with ox-eye daisies, meadow cranesbill, teasel, and goatsbeard…
All too soon, we come to the end of the path…
But then we find this fenced-off area, and an interesting story emerges.
This area was cleared illegally by a developer during lockdown, who went as far as to pour a concrete slab. The people who lived locally were not impressed, and pursued the case with Network Rail and with Haringey Council, until eventually it transpired that this little patch of green was owned by the railway, and they’d be prepared to lease it to a local group to make a meadow and a green space. Hence, Friends of Hillside Green Space was born, and there is now a pond and a nice variety of wildflowers. It just goes to show what can be done when a group of determined people get together.
Foxglove
Melilot
Red Valerian
And finally we paused to look at the railway line as it enters the tunnel. Once upon a time, S used to pause to watch the trains with her son when he was a child. What is it about trains that still quickens the pulse even today, or is it just me? Maybe it’s the promise of travel to other places, that sense of escape. But my walk today proves that you can find something new and have an adventure just a short bus ride from your house. It makes me wonder what else I might find.
This sounds like an excellent outing – how great to meet a fox too!
My dad loved both trains and early morning walks, and this is where he used to take me when I was a baby in the pram, so it was lovely to read about your walk there. “Tunnel” was apparently one of the first words I learned to say! I don’t remember quite that far back, of course, but I do have distant memories of slightly later childhood walks to see the trains coming and going through the tunnel. I must have a wander up there next time I’m in north London.
I saw a fox in one of our local woods a few days ago. He/she didn’t see me at first, as I was at the top of a slope looking down on him/her. As soon as I tried to take a photo, the fox disappeared in a flash – dropping a rabbit from his/her mouth.
My friend S used to take her son in his pram to see the trains as well! And give me a shout next time you’re in North London if you’ve got time, we could have a cuppa in Sunshine 🙂
That would be lovely!
I used to walk in the opposite direction from these gardens to take the train from Alexandra Palace to my all girls school near the top of Crouch Hill for a few years around 1950! Railway tunnels have always fascinated me particularly after a 1960’s journey through one carved into the Alps in Switzerland . https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/rightlines-article/history-of-swiss-railways.html has some wonderful image of some of the original tunnel work.
I love the Swiss railway system – I visited Interlaken with my brother some years ago, and I was so impressed with the way that you could check in a bag at Heathrow, catch a train from Zurich and then just pick up your bag. Plus the mountain trains are such feats of engineering!
The Sunshine Garden Centre was a swimming pool when I was young. I think it was calked Dunsford Road Lido.
It was! A friend of mine grew up in Bounds Green and remembers going there as a child.
A great piece – thank you. I know where it is, as I ride past it all the time, but I didn’t know what was there and I have never stopped to look – so now I shall!
It’s well worth a look, Neville!