Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Edgware

 


This is the 2nd station I visited today. As I am so far away from home I decided to try and fit two stations into the day.

Edgware is a much bigger town than Burnt Oak so I was hoping to see many more places of interest.  But unfortunately that was not the case. This is very much a suburban area with the usual shops, churches, schools and housing.

The station opened in 1924, marking the completion of the tube extension from Golders Green. The line was called the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway which later became the Northern Line. The opening of the stations on this branch line spurred a surburban expansion as the improved transport links allowed people to work in London but live much further out. The arrival of the tube to Edgware increased the population by 350% over the next 10 years.




The station was designed by Stanley Heaps and it is similar in design to the previous stations. The station is in the middle of shops with a spacious ticket hall and wooden doors. 


It was a long High Street and I was surprised to see that all the major banks are represented which is unusual as many people do internet banking and the banks don't have that many physical buildings these days.

I walked the length of the High Street looking for a cafe where I could sit down with a sandwich and cup of tea. There were lots of different restaurants Japanese, Afghan, Indian and so on but not what I was looking for. I was put off the cafes by the number of men sitting outside drinking small cups of coffee and smoking. Finally I spotted one called  Jenny's Cafe. Nothing fancy but I was able to get a cup.of tea and sandwich.

This is the Broadway centre sited on the old National Rail station.
 It was light and airy inside with the usual aaray of shops that you find everywhere. Edgware is in the London Borough of Barnet and is the 2nd largest London borough by population. There are over 90 different languages spoken in the Borough and walking along the High Street I was aware of the mix of cultures and languages.


This newish looking building is the library. I was hoping to find some local information about places of interest but I couldn't enter without tapping in a Borough of Barnet library card. Obviously as I don't live in this area I don't have a local library card. I suppose there must have been a button to press to speak to someone but by now I couldn't be bothered. 


The stream is a tributary of the Silk stream I photographed at the previous station which eventually finds its way out to the River Thames. I left the High Street and walked around but it was just streets full of housing. I couldn't find anything Iwanted to photograph. I feel I must have missed something here but I had seen enough for one day and decided to go home



I walked back to the tube via the large bus station.