Neil's Hillwalking Exploits: A visit to London- Harrow on the Hill and Barn Hill

Friday, 17 September 2021

A visit to London- Harrow on the Hill and Barn Hill

15 September 2021

Participants: Just me

Where: Harrow on the Hill, 124m/407', P 71m, Tump, OS 176, TQ 153 874 and Barn Hill, 86m/282', P 33m, Tump, OS 176, TQ 200 879.

A visit to London for my birthday. I had a few hours to fill before travelling to the airport for the journey home and decided to get a London Tump on my hill list. I set off for Richmond Park but the trains to there were cancelled so I diverted to the Tube and the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines to do firstly Harrow on the Hill and then Barn Hill. It proved to be a fortuitous decision as I got two hills done rather than one and it was a straightforward journey there and back.....

The hill, Harrow on the Hill, is very close to the Tube station and there were a number of paths up.....

I chose to walk up the streets which pass through a number of Harrow School buildings. Another world here.....

The hill is crowned by St Mary's church, the spire of which can be seen from miles around, I saw it from the train on the way down to London. The church was consecrated by St Anselm in 1094 and there have been a number of alterations over the years. Lord Byron, who attended Harrow School, is reputed to have sat and written poetry here.....

The high point of the hill is at the north side of the church in the graveyard.....

and there are old gravestones much of the way down the north side of the hill.....

There are some views over the town but I didn't get the best of them as it was a bit of a cloudy day.....

Then it was back to the Tube and three stops back to Wembley Park station for Barn Hill.....

A 20 minute walk took me to the hill which was a haven of peace among the bustle of London streets, apart, that is, from the parakeets which chattered noisily in the trees around the summit. It was marked by a trig, a signpost and a bench, immediately behind which was a small pond.....