18/02/17: Whetstone

We strolled up past Totteridge & Whetstone tube station to Whetstone High Road. We took Chandos Avenue to Oakleigh Park railway station, past an ancient car with its wing mirror left on the bonnet, reflecting back a grey sky (1), and a sad "lost cat" sign pleading for news of Benji, missing since 24th November ("...he is totally black and quite scared of people. Has big round eyes.").

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Oakleigh Park North/South took us up to the impressive All Saints Church (2) and beyond to North Middlesex Golf Course on Friern Barnet Lane. 

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We passed St Katherine's Church and another "lost cat" sign (Gogo: "neutered black and white male") to Friary Park. I detoured briefly to the public toilets then exited via the busy skatepark. Friary Road and a few nondescript Whetstone streets led us back to the A1000. We walked down through Swan Lane Open Space, past the tiny duck pond, past a grubby car (3) and into "Murder Alley" (4), which runs alongside the Northern Line (High Barnet branch). 

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Between the fence and the rails were an abandoned scooter, a hard hat, several footballs and – most alarmingly – a saw sticking out of the ground. There was also an upside-down cross painted on the wall (5). Back to the safety of the tube (6), it was a short (and now sunny) walk home. We were just under the planned distance, so extended the walk slightly with a brief meander around a muddy Totteridge footpath to hit that satisfying dual round number of 5 miles/8 km (7).

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