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Fryent Country Park & Brent Reservoir (London - England)

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There is something in London, under Trasport for London called the Walk London that encompasses several tracks that are around various genres of interest like greenery, heritage, industrial history, Thames river bank, etc. One of it is called the Capital Ring that's the 78 mile walk through London's greenest suburbs. One section passes through Fryent Country Park & Brent Reservoir.
Remember my first ever post from London? This was when I passed through a road that had the Fryent Country Park on either sides. So one fine day I decided get into it. The entire space is about 108 hectares. There are about 30 tiny little ponds in the park but the only one that's relatively bigger is atop the Barn Hill. The entire space is taken care of by Barn Hill Conservation Group which is comprised completely of volunteers!!! 
The place is a perfect forest. The car park is close to the highway (Fryent Way) which runs across the park. The eastern side is majorly grasslands and never ending green pastures. This is under Soil Association Organic Standard. The shapes are irregular from as they were acquired since 16th C and still go by their old names! 
I entered in through the western side. In the western side there are dirt tracks in 3 directions. The map of Capital Ring walk directed me to go towards Barn Hill direction. Directions are kept by Capital Ring with a log planted on the ground with a slanted top and its logo and an arrow that directs in the path to continue in! 
The western side its more like a forest. Coming here, for the first time I had a feel that I was inside a forest. All that was there was dirt track with woodlands and trees and mature vegetation on either sides. The trees here include Oak. Ash, Hornbeam, Sweet & Horse Chestnut etc. On these tall trees are also some bird boxes and this a haven for birds! There are about 30 species here incl Chiff Chaff, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Mistle Thrush, Green Woodpeckers, Tawny Owls etc. Foxes can also be spotted! 

Half way through is this pond ahead of which is the top of Barn hill. Its more like the top of Primrose hill. I'd say its altitude is very less to consider it a hill! Though this point is 282ft above sea level the climb is too subtle to notice! From here the view of Wembley Stadium was pretty good. Here is a small pyramid like construction. I came to know that this was once a folly in 18th C (a castle like little building meant for decorative purposes!). All this was a part of the design in 1793 by the landscape gardener Humphry Repton. 

From there my next stop was the Brent Reservoir. Long back I had visited the St.Andrews church but I couldn't go in coz, being an Anglican Church it had very strict timings. What I hadn't known was that this was a 12th C old church! I didn't manage to go inside till I left London, sad..... Brent Reservoir is located almost behind this, but then again, the church was closed and I couldn't go in. The path to reach there was definitely exquisite filled with mature vegetation & high trees on either sides, again forest like!
The Brent Reservoir is also called the Welsh Harp reservoir which spreads across 68.6 hectares. There is a sailing centre here which hires kayaking boats and there's a section within the reservoir with boundary across which its impossible to sail away. Like any other water body in London, like St.James Park, this place also has its own Swans, Coots, Geese etc. A section of the Welsh Harp has high trees with several benches beneath it, as well as several benches along the walk path facing the water body. A perfect place to just sit & relax!

To Get There:
Nearest railway station: Wembley Park

Dedicated to Venkat

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