Welcome

Great wintry walks and the local Halloween lowdown this week.

Also, if you live near or use Regents Park Road between Henley's Corner and East End Road / Gravel Hill, you have probably seen the (temporarily paused) potentially dangerous changes to the bus lane.

This is an important local safety issue. There are currently 1,557 signatories to the petition asking for it to be reverted. Please sign it - once it gets to 2,000, we can officially say "thousands of locals want it rolled back."

🥾 Two Finchley Trail Treks

family hiking up a path — Walk this way, Finchley... | Image Alberto Cassetta

It's been unseasonably warm for October (or is that just the climate crisis?) but now turning into that cold-but-sunny weather that's perfect for a bracing walk.

This week and some of the weekend looking great - it might be a perfect time to explore some great East Finchley and Finchley-centric local walks.

Tony Roberts, an East Finchley resident, supplies archive material for The Finchley Society and leads guided local history walks. He’s also created a phenomenal archive of local walks, complete with maps, directions, and places of interest.

We’ve picked our two favourites:

1: East Finchley Hampstead Highgate Circular (Distance 9.4k - 11.8k)

These circular walks use the Capital Ring in the north to connect Highgate Wood and Hampstead Heath.

There are many possible permutations in the south. Particularly worth exploring the Pergola and Hill Garden, the pond at the Vale of Health, the viaduct pond, Highgate Ponds in the evening, and the view from the Heath Extension.

Four pubs, if you fancy a pit-stop, and three muddy areas.

2: Finchley Green Spaces (Distance 32k)

This walk through green spaces is approximately 20 miles in total, plus any extra wandering you choose to do in the spaces themselves. The walk includes 5 woods, 5 designated parks, 3 church yards, two brook walks, two cemeteries, and numerous open spaces. There’s also access to other green spaces just off the walk.

30 woods, parks, churches, and other local landmarks are all clearly marked.

It's a circular walk, so start at any point. You might want to make it a walk of two halves if you stop off for a restorative cup of tea.

Access by public transport is indicated at strategic points so the walk can be done in manageable sections.

You can check out Tony’s 13-walk list here

And of course, if you’re feeling in the mood for walking, here's our Finchley Now all-time favourite Five Winter Walks. 🥾.

Events

ARTS

Monday 13th October till Friday 31st October

VE Day 80 Community Exhibition | Mon, Oct. 13 | RAF Museum London, Grahame Park Way, NW9 5LL | Free | To mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day the RAF Museum connected with local residents and schools to discover more about how the end of the Second World War was celebrated in Barnet. Runs until October 31st |

COMMUNITY

Tuesday 14th October

Retired Rail Workers Community Event | Tues, Oct. 14 | 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm | Saint Pancras Station, Euston Road N1C 4QL | Free | The Railway Benefit Fund (RBF) are hosting events for the retired rail community. Bringing railway workers together for some rail related conversations, to share your railway stories and passions, and enjoy the company of fellow train enthusiasts.

Saturday 18th October

Restart a Heart Day 2025 | Sat, Oct. 18 | 11:00 am to 5:00 pm | Unit 20, The Spires, 111 High Street, EN5 5XY | Free | Led by Resuscitation Council UK, Restart a Heart is an annual initiative which aims to increase the number of people surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrests by helping more people learn CPR.

Thursday 23rd October

Neighbourhood Square Launch Event | Thu, Oct. 23 | 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm | Neighbourhood Square, Brent Cross Town | Free | Brent Cross Town is proud to announce the official opening of Neighbourhood Square and The Fountain. At the heart of the square, The Fountain is a striking, cascading feature inspired by classic European plazas – a new central meeting place for the whole community to enjoy.

THEATRE

Thursday 23rd October

Hundred Watt Club - An Evening Of Burlesque & Cabaret | Thu, Oct. 23 | 7:30 pm | Jacksons Lane Arts Centre, 269A Archway Road, N6 5SS | £22 | Hundred Watt Club return to Jacksons Lane and invite you to peek inside their cabinet of curiosities to celebrate Halloween with an evening of bizarre burlesque, queer cabaret and sublime circus.

SPORT

Thursday 16th October

SHOPPING

Sunday 19th October

NATURE

Friday 17th October

Bulb Lasagne Planting Workshop | Fri, Oct. 17 | 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm | artsdepot, 5 Nether St, N12 0GA | Free | The Finchley Pollinator Project will help you plant and layer pollinator-friendly bulbs in a pot to take home, will flower beautifully from early spring to late summer 2026. We provide all the materials - all ages welcome, under 16s must be supervised.

KIDS

Saturday 25th October

Sqaurecrows - Maize Maze Laser Tag | Sat, Oct. 25 | 11:30 am to 6:00 pm | Squarecrows EN5 4RE | £5.95 | Combining a maize maze with laser tag offers a unique and engaging experience. Next to our main maize maze is our Laser Tag Maize. With your team you will use our outdoor laser tag phasors tag the opposite team.

Monday 27th October

Little Swifts 2025 | Mon, Oct. 27 | 10:30 am to 11:30 am | RAF Museum London Grahame Park Way NW9 5LL | Free | Come and join our fun and lively sessions for pre-school children (aged 2-5 years) which include arts and crafts, games, stories, and songs. Each session is linked to our amazing collection and helps bring our Museum to life.

Events - Book Ahead

Wednesday 29th October

Family Heath Twilight Walk | Wed, Oct. 29 | 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm | Parliament Hill area of the Heath | Free | Join for a free guided family walk on Hampstead Heath at dusk to find out more about Hampstead Heath’s nighttime species. Will you see some bats? Will you hear an owl? Bring a torch (we’ll also have some!) and come and explore the Heath with us.

Sunday 2nd November

LNHS - Hampstead Heath Introduction to Fungi | Sun, Nov. 02 | 10:30 am to 3:00 pm | outside Hampstead Heath Overground station | Free | Are you interested in going into more depth about nature on Hampstead Heath? This survey will focus on fungi on Hampstead Heath.

Friday 7th November

Twentieth Century Posters London Exhibition | Fri, Nov. 7 | 10:30 am to 6:00 pm | 40 Cross Street, Islington, N1 2BA | Free | From 7th November - 24th December, Twentieth Century Posters will be hosting a rare Exhibition all about London posters! From music to maps, travel to theatre, we're exploring all aspects of the city through rare original posters from the 20th Century.

Local Lowdown

man in apple orchard holding awards — Image Wendy Hurrell BBC

Alotting

Green Greatness. Award-winning gardener Steve Mills has turned his West Hendon allotment into a Chelsea-worthy show garden — a maze of fruit arches, flowers and vegetables cultivated over 14 years. His stunning three-tier design won Plot of the Year, inspiring others to grow beautifully, even in small spaces.

Laughing

Carr Cracks. Comedy heavyweight Jimmy Carr brings his razor-sharp wit to OVO Arena Wembley on December 19 with his first-ever UK arena tour, Laughs Funny. Expect fearless jokes, rapid-fire one-liners and special guests as the local-ish (Hounslow-born) comic proves why he’s still one of Britain’s funniest exports.

Villaging

Village Victory. A Kensal Rise container village, once slated for removal over permit snags, has rallied strong public support via a petition. Locals say the units boost small businesses and character. The effort shows how community voice can turn a council shake-up into a shared win.

Transporting

Inclusive Upgrade. Burnt Oak tube station is back in the spotlight - TfL has resumed design work on making it step-free, part of a push to reach 50 % accessibility across the Tube by 2030. Local leaders say it will significantly help many residents.

Campaigning

Café Campaign. James McAvoy and musician James Righton have joined the fight to save five much-loved cafés facing closure under new management plans. Locals fear rent hikes could threaten small independents, and campaigners are urging the City of London to protect them. Petition here. Save The Cafes Cabaret last night in Swains Lane.

Spooky: It's Finchley(ish) Halloween

two carved pumpkins lit up from the inside — Whoaah, spooky:) Image David Menidrey

Halloween’s creeping closer - and this year it lands on a Friday night. Expect eerie events, ghoulish gatherings and spooky surprises lighting up Finchley and the surrounding after dark.

Grownups can join the waiting list for Avenue House Halloween Ghost Hunt on Sat 25 Oct. Or youngsters have the Halloween Disco on Wed 29 Oct daytime at Finchley Youth Theatre.

Barnet is busy. Pumpkin Nights & Spooky Maze on Friday 17 Oct, at the Green Dragon. Find your perfect pumpkin by torchlight, spooky lit maize maze and night carving.

Saturday 25 Oct at 11am is Monster Mash Up dance activity with two Monster characters. The Queen Arms Halloween Quiz on Oct. 30

And perhaps our favourite: the Halloween Guided Walk: Things That Go Bump in Barnet! in Barnet Fri, Oct. Email Paul.

So dust off your broomsticks, sharpen those fangs and get your sweet stash ready; trick or treaters may be arriving at your door.

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Editors' Note - From Tessa

Got to catch up with Davis Child #1 while she is on her Gap Year this week. Having all my kids together has been spectacular.

Also, let us know about local events or local news. We curate our content to keep it a 5-minute read, so can't include everything we're sent.

You can now get a guaranteed (paid) listing for local events or local lowdown/news items.

And email us with any projects or ideas you'd like us to write about.

Tessa Davis

Sasha Frieze

Finchley Now

🗞️ Our 2 Favourite Local Walks