The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the train was the quiet. No passengers hurrying to get on or off the train. In fact, no passengers at all. A small station that surprisingly had public toilets. Not a feature you find at central London tube stations.
West Finchley station was opened by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1933 on its line to High Barnet. It was opened to serve the new housing developments and was only ever going to be a small station. This section of the LNER was incorporated into the Underground network in the late 1930s. This station was first served by the Northern Line in 1940. For the following year both LNER and Northern Line trains used the station. The LNER services stopped in 1941.
This is the main exit/entrance to the station taking me onto Nether Street. There is a smaller exit on the other side of the tracks but that is only open Mon to Fri.
There was a small shopping parade next to the station. Being a Sunday morning the majority of the shops were closed.
I could hear the river flowing gently through the undergrowth making its way towards the Thames.
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This is Tally Ho corner where Ballards Lane in the West meets the High Road (Great North Road) from the East. The corner was named in the 1830s after the Tally-Ho Company which maintained stables for about 16 horses. The junction was a staging post and horse changing station for fast horse drawn mail and stagecoaches on their way to and from Birmingham to London.
On the wedge of land created by the merging of the roads is the Tally Ho pub. Built in 1927 it replaced
Volunteers were out collecting litter and chatting to passers by.
The Greenway took me passed allotments - small patches of land where people usually grow vegetables rather than flowers.
After following the Greenway for about 20 mins, I decided it was time to turn round and go back to the station to have a look at the other side. Walking along the residential streets with their tidy gardens, I wasn't sure I would find anything else of interest but then I hit the main road with a sign for North Finchley. Here I came across the old Gaumont Cinema which has been converted into the Art Box.
The history of allotments goes back to the 1500s when peasants shared common land to graze animals and grow crops. Between 1604 and 1914, Parliament passed over 5200 individual Enclosure Acts that turned shared common land and open fields into private property. This ended traditional farming rights and the rural landscape of Britain changed forever. As compensation for the change in land use, small patches of land were given to the rural poor to grow food. During the Industrial revolution these areas of land were expanded near cities to help workers grow their own food and feed their families. This was followed by a wartime campaign to 'Dig for Victory'. Currently there is often a long waiting list for people to rent an allotment.
Beside the staircase they had a timeline of its history:
They had a lovely cafe inside where I had a sit down with a cup of tea and croissant.
The rest of the High Street had a feel of faded grandeur about it. I'm sure it must have been a very elegant place at the turn of the 20th century, but now there is nothing Grand about the art deco 1930s Grand Arcade.
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The once beautifully tiled floor is dirty and you can only just see the original pattern. the shops inside the bazaar have long since closed down.
Elsewhere on the High Street there was a variety of Middle Eastern shops and restaurants.
These two buildings look as though they were once cinemas on this long, straight High Street.
the Park Road Hotel on the same site.
There was a sign close by directing me to the next station so I decided to wander down the road and unusually for me visit two stations in one day. I spent a couple of very pleasant hours discovering this area of Finchley so am hopeful I will find one or two things of interest at the next station.
