Welcome

​

This week we've got dog walks (also good for humans) and an aircraft museum just up the M1 in the Hertfordshire countryside.

​

Plus a great roundup of events, including Finchley Now's Sasha's humous cookery demonstration at the Finchley Sharing Space's Let's Cook Together event.

🐶 3 Finchley-centric Dog Walks

​

Scorcher of a day yesterday, and the possibility of a sunny week. There may be a little drizzle, but I'm sure many of us will head outdoors, with dogs in tow.

​
Here are 3 dog walks to try out in Finchley this week. Why not meet up with friends or family and enjoy all that Finchley has to offer? But keep your dogs on a lead for these ones:

​

1: Folly Brook Circular. A beautiful 9.0 km loop around Barnet, starting at West Finchley station. It’s moderately challenging but you’ll be immersed in nature. It winds past Dollis Brook and Folly Brook, and snakes through the serene Darland’s Lake Nature Reserve. And watch out for those tricky mud patches after it rains as it can get a bit…mucky.

​

2: Dollis Valley and West Finchley. Explore 11.6 km of Finchley’s landscape. Beginning near Barnet Playing Fields, this walk keeps you in touch with nature. Check out the wildflower meadows and grasslands. The path is mostly level, so it’s good for a casual walk with buggies. Keep an eye out for cyclists at some points on
the route.

​

3: Highgate Woods. This is a 70-acre wooded wonder that was once part of the ancient forest of Middlesex. It might be near the start of the A1, but once you get under the trees you become oblivious to the traffic. 71 species of bird have been spotted here.

​

And of course you don't have to be a dog-lover to enjoy the great outdoors. All good for humans too; the Folly Brook Circular is considered moderately challenging for walkers, hikers and runners. 🐶

Events

KIDS

Tuesday 4th June

​Melons Mini Movers at N20 Kids Club | Tue, Jun. 04 | 10:00 am | N20 Kids Club, N20 0PT | £12 | This will be a rhyme disco aimed at children 0-5 years old. Expect to see props, disco lighting, foam, bubbles and parachute play. No need to pre-book.

​

Wednesday 5th June

​Circus Skills Drop In | Wed, Jun. 05 | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Roundhouse Studios, NW1 8EH | £2 | Join the weekly Circus Skills Drop In to explore circus skills such as acrobatics, parkour, juggling, stilt walking and unicycling in a fun and supportive environment. Learn to balance, flip and improve your coordination guided by professional circus tutors. All skill levels are welcome.

​

​

OLDER PEOPLE

Thursday 6th June

Golders Hill Park Walking Group with Age UK | Thu, Jun. 06 | 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm | Free | Age UK Barnet is excited to launch a new walk in Golders Hill Park to add to its programme of over 55s outdoor walks around the borough. Even a gentle walk improves your strength in later life, especially for those living with a health condition. | To book your place contact Wendy on 07741 877 027 or email wendy.nutman@ageukbarnet.org.uk​

​

​

ARTS

Friday 7th June

​Jaipur Literary Festival London at the British Library | Fri, Jun. 07 | 6:00 pm | British Library, NW12DB | £10 | Join Vikas Swarup and Sarah Phelps, two producers and playwrights in a freewheeling conversation about the many shapes of the craft of creativity, on the opening night of this year’s JLF at the British Library.

​

Saturday 22nd June

​Proms at St Jude's Music & Literary Festival | Sat, Jun. 22 | 10:00 am to 5:00 pm | Central Square, Hampstead Garden Suburb | From free | Nine days of concerts, free lunchtime recitals, literary talks, comedy, heritage walks and a fun Family Festival. It all adds up to another Music and Literary Festival from Proms at St Jude's.

​

​

NATURE

Saturday 8th June

​London Open Gardens | Sat, Jun. 08 | 9:00 am | Various London Locations | £22 | Feed your curiosity and explore London's private, secret and little-known gardens across the city over one very special weekend. Gardens range from the historic and  traditional to the new and experimental, and include private gardens, roof gardens, community allotments, gardens belonging to historic buildings, institutions, cafes, schools and shops. 

​

​Forest Bathing | Sat, Jun. 08 | 10:30 am to 12:30 pm | Near Hampstead Heath Overground station, NW3 2QD | Free | Join for a free 2 hour gentle walk on Hampstead Heath to discover and explore the practice of forest bathing and reconnect with nature through mindfulness exercises.

​

​

SPORTS

Saturday 8th June

​Ladies Golf Taster Sessions | Sat, Jun. 08 | 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm | Hadley Wood Golf Club, EN4 0JJ | Free | Learn to play golf with our PGA Professionals. Meet like minded ladies and join for a glass of Prosecco and nibbles after your session. All ages, returners and abilities are welcome.

​

​

COMMUNITY

Sunday 9th June

​Wonder Walk | Sun, Jun. 09 | 9:30 am | Chickenshed, N14 4PE | 16+ - £17.50, under 16s - £12.50, under 5s free | On Sun 9 Jun hundreds of people will meet and take part in walking the accessible 5K, or 10K routes around the surrounding areas of Chickenshed for team fundraising. Meet some of your little one’s favourite characters and join in the brand new Tales Trails along the way…

​

Wednesday 12th June

​Luggage Rummage and the Great Big Green Party | Wed, Jun. 12 | 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm | Finchley Church End Library, N3 2LN | Free | The eco-friendly version to the car boot sale is the... Luggage Rummage. Fill a suitcase with second-hand items to sell - apply for a free 1-hour spot. Visitors will enjoy going through hidden gems and also learn the Japanese gift wrapping art, Furoshiki. Lots of free vegetarian food available too.

​

Sunday 23rd June

​Moss Hall Schools Association Summer Fair | Sun, Jun. 23 | 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm | Moss Hall Junior School, N3 1NR | £23 | The annual Summer Fair is returning to the Moss Hall school grounds. A jam packed day planned, with everything from Bubble Shows to BBQs. register by June 16th.

​

​

THEATRE

Tuesday 11th June

​Priceless | Tue, Jun. 11 | 7:30 pm | The Bull Theatre, EN5 5SJ | £15.00 | A comedic sci-fi ecodrama, Priceless takes place in the disturbingly near future. Its landscape is not so far removed from our own present day. Resistance to the Billionaires comes from an unlikely place in North London as tomorrow’s future fights back. An Inspector has 48 hours to save Barnet, can the Resistance save planet Earth?

​

​

FOOD

Wednesday 5th June

​Let's Cook Together - Vegan Community Cooking | Wed, Jun. 5 | 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm | JVS, 855 Finchley Rd, NW11 8LX | Free | Join your neighbours in a beautiful venue with a gorgeous garden to cook bean-based dishes such as sweet potato with red lentil curry; the best hummus (demo by Finchley Now's Sasha) and black bean & mango salad.

​

​

NATURE

Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th June

​London Open Gardens | Sat, Jun. 8 and Sun, Jun. 9 | From 9:00 am | Various locations | £22, Under 12s free | This year celebrates 25 years of unique access to over 100 hidden green spaces not normally open to the public. Come and see them for yourself.

​

Saturday 15th June

​Brent Cross Town Public Walking Tours | Sat, Jun. 15 | 11:00 am | Claremont Way London, NW2 1AJ | Free | Explore the hidden gems and landmarks of this vibrant neighbourhood with our knowledgeable guide. Whether you're a local looking to hear more about this exciting development or a visitor wanting to experience the local culture, this tour is perfect for you.

Events - Book Ahead

Tuesday 2nd July

The Finchley Vet - Learning and Pizza | Tue, Jul. 02 | 7:30 pm | TBD | Free - RSVP required | To all the wonderful pet businesses and charities of Finchley and the surrounding areas, The finchley vet, invite you to an evening of learning and pizza hosted by Dr Oli the Vet. | email: team@thefinchleyvet.co.uk​

​

​

Saturday 6th July

​Duo Amie | Sat, Jul. 06 | 7:30 pm | St John The Baptist Church, Barnet, Herts, EN5 4BW | £5 - £30 | This is a charity concert in support of the musical life of St John the Baptist Church performed by the duo of classically trained, pianist Ellyses (Eastman School of Music) and cellist Julie (Curtis Institute of Music).

​

​

Saturday 13th July

​Kaleidoscope Festival | Sat, Jul. 13 | 12:00 pm | Alexandra Palace Park, N22 7AY | £61.50 | Kaleidoscope Festival returns to Alexandra Palace on Saturday 13 July 2024 with a packed programme featuring our customary mix of live music, DJs and comedy, ready to entertain thousands, outside and inside, at London’s most beautiful festival site.

​

​

Monday 29th July

​Summer Art Camp | Mon, Jul. 29 | 10:00 am to 3:00 pm | St Michaels COfE Primary School, N6 4BG | £292 (£65 for a single day) | Camps aged for children 6 - 11 during the school holidays. Students will have an opportunity to work with variety of different materials such as acrylic paint, clay, watercolour, mixed media, collage. All materials are provided. Children will bring home their finished masterpieces every day.

Local Lowdown

​

Joking around

• Laugh Out Loud. Year 6 at Northside Primary School in North Finchley are officially the funniest kids in town. A joke they submitted has won a UK-wide Beano competition. As a prize, the joke appears in the Bash Street Kids. strip The joke? "What's the hottest area in the classroom? The corner - because it's 90 degrees,"

Living with cats

• Beastly bargain. Fancy living in the former hideout of the 'Beast of Barnet'? The infamous 13-bedroom Cricklewood mansion is up for grabs at £8 million. It was the backdrop to the decade-long escapades of a mysterious beast that had repeated sightings. It eventually turned out to be a lynx that had escaped after being illegally kept by a neighbour. The lynx was safely sent to London Zoo.

Lawyering up

• Justice on your doorstep. Got legal concerns but strapped for cash? St James Legal Advice Centre offers free advice for those facing housing, benefits, or workplace issues. Drop by their clinics in Mill Hill or Wood Green - no appointment needed. See clinic times and details here.

Publishing

• Bookish brilliance. Joel Rickett scooped up Publisher of the Year at The British Book Awards. He is the Managing Director of Ebury at Penguin Random House and a volunteer at St Mary-at-Finchley. It’s rare to have a non-fiction-only publisher shortlisted, let alone winning. Congrats.

Music

• Rocking on. Coldplay turned up the heat at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Luton with a tribute to...Luton. They played 'Orange' - a nod to Luton Town Football Club. The song, inspired by a fan campaign, celebrated the team's colours and cheekily referenced their rivals, Watford.

de Havilland Aircraft Museum

​

Got an aircraft buff in the family? The de Havilland Aircraft Museum was the first aviation museum in Britain. It opened to the public in May 1959, just 18 years after the Mosquito Night Fighter W4052 had been flown out of adjacent fields by Geoffrey de Havilland Jnr.

​

Aviation first came to Salisbury Hall in October 1939 when the de Havilland Mosquito design team moved in as a security precaution against the British Government stopping work on the project.

​

The Museum is located next to Salisbury Hall in the Hertfordshire countryside. Two huge hangars house most of the collection. There is a third hangar, the Amy Johnson Hangar, where you can view the volunteer restoration teams at work.

​

There’s also an outdoor grass aircraft park with eight other aircraft, which are occasionally available to visitors in good weather. when the ground is dry and firm.

​

With wide open spaces and free parking, there’s a small café, outdoor picnic tables and a well-stocked shop. Great to support this small independent museum.

​

Not Finchley, but worth making your way up the A1 for this hidden gem.

Editors' Note - From Tessa

​

This week I ventured south of London (!) to Walmer on the Kent coast.

​

We had a beautiful view of the sea from our AirbBnB doorstep.

​

Can highly recommend it...

​

​

​

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