Welcome

With a gentle upturn in the weather forecast, we've got some hidden havens to enjoy nature, plus debate about East Finchley development at Cherry Tree Quarter.

And can the Builders Arms pub be saved?

🌿5 Hidden Finchley Havens

With more good weather forecast, might you be looking to escape the busy High Road for a breath of fresh air?

You might be surprised by just how many tranquil corners Finchley has tucked away - often hiding in plain sight. These 5 under-the-radar green spots are made for taking a break:

1: Stephens House & Gardens

Think lawns and tea rooms, but also hidden woodland trails and secret benches just right for a quiet read.

​Stephens House has tucked away corners that make it a lovely escape for solo moments with a good book or sketchpad.

2: Long Lane Pasture

Right behind the A406, but a world apart, Long Lane Pasture is a two-acre meadow managed by tireless local volunteers.

With wildflowers, ponds, and the gentle hum of bees, it’s the “secret garden” you’d expect to read about, not stumble into off Long Lane.

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3: Glebelands Local Nature Reserve

This patch of ancient woodland and meadow - rumoured to have been a hideout for highwaymen - feels a lot more peaceful nowadays.

The hour-long trail takes you past ponds and wildflowers, with plenty of birdlife if you keep your eyes peeled.

4: Finchley Way Open Space

If you’ve never heard of this “secret garden”, you’re not alone.

Hidden off Nether Street, this wild green space was gifted to Finchley in 1939 and is quietly cared for by locals.

There’s a green field, a wooded copse, and even an old orchard. Perfect for a reflective wander or a low-key picnic.

5: Dollis Brook Walk

Parts of the Dollis Brook are busy with joggers and cyclists, but quieter stretches wind through Finchley with shady paths, wooden bridges, and pockets of stillness.

Pause for a while and you’ll spot everything from dragonflies to kingfishers. It’s a favourite for both nature fans and anyone wanting to avoid the crowds.

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Next time the noise gets too much, try stepping into one of these lesser-known green havens. Finchley’s got a pocket of peace waiting - sometimes you just have to know where to look.. 🌿.🌿.🌿

Events

ARTS

Saturday 26th September

​5 Mistakes That Changed History | Sat, Sep. 26 | 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm | artsdepot, 5 Nether Street, N12 0GA | Tickets from £19 | Paul Coulter returns with his smash-hit, hilarious historical storytelling show about five people and how their mistakes changed the world.

​Introduction to Watercolour Painting | Sat, Sep. 26 | 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm | Clitterhouse Farm Outbuildings, Clitterhouse Playing Fields, Claremont Road, NW2 1AP | £15 adults aged 14 and over, £10 children | A practical workshop aimed at beginners, though anyone wanting to build existing skills is welcome. All materials provided.

Thursday 1st October

​Ageing Well with Right at Home: Art for the Mind at Edgware Library | Thu, Oct. 01 | Times TBC | Edgware Library, Hale Lane, HA8 8NN | Free | A creative wellbeing cafe supporting memory, connection and joyful ageing through art. Printmaking, felt making and collage, for the over 55s.

COMMUNITY

Sunday 27th September

Hooray for Hendon! a guided walk | Sun, Sep. 27 | 11:00 am to 1:00 pm | Meet at Hendon Central tube station | £15 | A thousand glorious years, from the Domesday Book to Hendon Aerodrome and beyond, with Paul Baker, City of London guide. Contact pbaker54@hotmail.co.uk.

MUSIC

Saturday 26th September

Le Gout Francais | Sat, Sep. 26 | 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm | Golders Green Unitarian Chapel, Hoop Lane, NW11 8BS | Pay what you can, £10 to £25 | Five-piece early music specialists The Kaleidoscope Band perform Le Gout Francais, a programme dedicated to the French taste.

Sunday 27th September

​Jazz @ St Mary-at-Finchley: The Whittington Cats in concert | Sun, Sep. 27 | 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm | St Mary-at-Finchley Parish Church, 26 Hendon Lane, N3 1TR | Free, with a retiring collection for the Church and Churchyard Appeal | An evening of stylish jazz, swing and favourites in a Grade II* listed setting. Doors at 7:00 pm, drinks available, and parking is free on Hendon Lane on Sundays.

NATURE

Wednesday 30th September

​Drop-In Gardening | Wed, Sep. 30 | 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm | The Hive, Hampstead Heath, Nassington Road, NW3 2TY | Free | Gardening and light conservation tasks around the Hive. All ages welcome, under 11s accompanied by an adult, and 12 to 17-year-olds can be dropped off.

SPORTS

Sunday 27th September

BFBS Pro League Grand Final | Sun, Sep. 27 | 10:00 am to 5:00 pm | RAF Museum London, Grahame Park Way, NW9 5LL | Free | Eight teams from the UK Armed Forces community compete in Rocket League after months of online qualifying, with selected public activities and coverage in the RAF Theatre.

THEATRE

Tuesday 29th September

​The Unfriend | Tue, Sep. 29 | 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm | Incognito Theatre, 106A Holly Park Road, N11 3HB | £12 | Holidaying on a cruise, Peter and Debbie befriend Elsa and agree to stay in touch, as people on holiday always do. Imagine their surprise when Elsa invites herself to stay a few months later.

​Animal Farm | Tue, Sep. 29 | 7:30 pm | Barons Court Theatre, 28a Comeragh Road, W14 9HR | £16 | Dov Citron, once an Edgware-based children's entertainer, reimagines Orwell's classic as a one-man performance through storytelling, physical theatre and live sound.

Events - Book Ahead

Saturday 24th October

​Creepy Creatures with Wildfangs 2026 | Sat, Oct. 24 | 10:00 am to 10:30 am | Galley Lane, Barnet, EN5 4RA | From £4.95 | Get up close to some of nature's creepiest crawlies and most mysterious animals in an interactive, educational session, for brave little explorers and curious grown-ups alike.

Sunday 25th October

​Mozart Requiem | Sun, Oct. 25 | 5:00 pm to 6:45 pm | Alexandra Palace Way, N22 7AY | From £12.95 | Mozart's intensely dramatic and beautifully mysterious Requiem, paired with a first half exploring flight through works by Christopher Tin, Gibbons and Jessica Curry, including Sogno di Volare.

Thursday 5th November

​Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett | Thu, Nov. 05 | 7:45 pm | artsdepot, 5 Nether Street, N12 0GA | £19 | A journey through an old man's life, full of hilarious memories and hopes for the future, set against the mourning of lost love and unfulfilled ambition.

Local Lowdown

Listing

• Regulars are trying to save a pub they have already lost. Former Builders Arms barman Greg Allam has nominated the closed New Barnet local as an asset of community value, a status that can stall a sale for six months. Greene King wants £595,000. It shut in April.

Shuttering

• One more shutter comes down on the High Road. The Halifax at 806 High Road, North Finchley shuts for good on 28 September, part of a 247-branch cull across Lloyds Banking Group. LINK is reviewing local access to cash, so the nearest counter may be a bus ride away.

Ripening

• Hundreds of pumpkins and squashes are swelling in the autumn sun on Barnet Lane. Grow, the community farm beside The Totteridge Academy, opens for Pumpkin Time on Saturday 24 October, tickets including soup, a farm tour and children's activities. Its veg stall runs year-round, just off the lane.

Panelling

• Barnet's first community solar array on a council building is switched on. Community Energy Barnet has fitted 220 panels to the roof of Burnt Oak Leisure Centre, expected to save around £36,000 and 241 tonnes of carbon over twenty years. A community share offer opens next spring.

Steaming

• Cold water swimmers may soon get somewhere to thaw out. Sauna and Soul has applied to put two timber saunas and three cold plunge baths beside the car park at Kenwood House, capped at 16 people, no music, no alcohol. A twelve-month trial, opening by January 2027 if approved.

The East Finchleyite: Cherry Tree Quarter

More than 50 locals packed into​All Saints Church in East Finchley to have their say on the long-running Cherry Tree Quarter plans opposite the Tube station.

First unveiled in 2024, the scheme proposes around 75 new homes, a replacement nursery and landscaped courtyards – but work has yet to start. The plans look like a copycat of Peter Barner’s Edgwood Mews in Finchley Central.

The biggest concerns? Density, the loss of mature trees and what happens to the nursery currently linked to the site.

Former city planner Roger Chapman told the meeting residents were not against redevelopment, but wanted a scheme that worked for the community and protected as much greenery as possible.

Developers say the plans will evolve in the coming months, with their current website now “out of date”.

The developer says the plans would bring around 75 new homes, a new nursery space and two landscaped courtyards to the site.

East Finchley councillors said residents’ concerns would be reflected in any future consultation and planning process.

For now, the debate is far from over.

Editors' Note - From Tessa

F and I saw the legend that is Jon Bon Jovi perform at Wembley Stadium. I last saw him play in Ibrox Stadium in July 1996. 30 years later and he has still got it. What a performance.

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Tessa Davis Sasha Frieze