There are very few working farms left in London. There used to be one owned by the Coop at Woodlands near Shooter’s hill in South East London but this ceased production some years ago. Luckily it has been resuscitated as a farm entirely staffed by volunteers and we were present and assisted at its re-foundation.
Another urban farm is that at Pinner which is apparently going through some problems – and it’s not due to the pandemic. The property of Harrow borough its 230 acres are leased to dairy farmers who own over two hundred Frisian cows. However, there is a scheme for the council to take back the farm and turn it into a nature conservancy. Unsurprisingly this has caused a lot of upset from who wish to see the farm continuing in its present form.
I decided to investigate Pinner farm during the amazingly Mediterranean spell of weather the UK has been having with temperatures touching thirty degrees centigrade. Alighting from Headstone Lane Overground station
I took a road which led past Harrow’s garden centre, happily, despite everything, still thriving.
The road changed to a bridleway with signs indicating the direction to Pinner village. On the way I passed the farm. I found it half-way between a tidy and a dilapidated state with one house completely abandoned. I cannot vouchsafe for the cows as they were grazing distance away from the field boundary.
The bridle path was almost without any tree cover and, under the baking sun, it was a very useful preparation for any escape to southern Europe.
King George V avenue’s dual carriageway interrupted my walk but the bridleway continued on the other side. It led up an incline until reaching a bench marking the entrance to the houses on Wakeham’s Hill. A little further on I turned into Church Lane and was pleasantly surprised by a number of several fine residences including a particularly elegant mansion dating back to Charles II and his Nell Gwyn.
The Gothic tower of Pinner church welcomed me at the end of the lane. Amazingly the fourteenth century church, which is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, was open to the public. I entered into its cool interior, which was partly cordoned off because of the pandemic, and enjoyed the very special atmosphere of a traditional English parish church realizing that for almost four months I’d been denied these sensations.
Among the graves in the church yard there’s a very odd tomb in the form of a stone pyramid which was erected by the eighteenth century botanist John Claudius Loudon in memory of his parents.
Thence my way entered a very deserted Pinner High Street (described in my blog at) from which a passage led into Sainsbury. Here I obtained some essentials including a good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, a cheese and chive spread and some cream crackers. The store’s exit of the store led to Pinner station, the Metropolitan line and thence home ward bound after a really satisfying leg-stretcher of a walk.
