Finsbury Park

Finsbury Park pond, path & picnic panorama

Finsbury Park, Hornsey Wood Tavern Gate

Tim writes:

Greenery/Vegetation
Trees! This park is all about trees. Not so much in quantity, more in quality. There seem to be a bigger variety here than any other park I’ve seen. If you’re fond of seeing England’s collection of flora in one park then this is it. Great care is taken over the thick carpet of grass that covers the whole park and seem to be ever-present in this region of North London Parks. On dry days I highly recommend a picnic here.

Boats for rent in the summer, now resting on the shore

Add-Ons (“Beyond The Greenery”)
Plenty. For extras this is in the top 10. All sports are catered for here including loads of basketball and tennis courts, football and rugby pitches, running track and outdoor gym. A large café at the centre next to a cute pond (even with boats for the summer). A few kids play areas dotted around and even some kind of rock garden complete the list of this parks extras.

London skyline in the distance beyond an expanse of grass, framed by another tree’s branches

Atmosphere
Finsbury Park has managed to blend being useful and beautiful in an effortless way (though clearly it takes great effort to maintain such a park). The grounds have an almost Zen Garden tranquillity. Its size allows for plenty of solitude almost any day of the year and if you want activities there are plenty of options too.

Finsbury Park, The New River, opened 1613 to bring fresh water from Hertfordshire to London

Tips, Tricks & Traps
Because its so open and spacious there isn’t much in the way of hidden areas but at the very back is an interesting canal and pump station. Also you can see all the different parts of London’s skyline from different points in the park.

Finsbury Park sign

Filkete writes:

Getting There: It’s pretty easy to get there, it’s nearby the Finsbury park tube station. Get of the station, turn left and walk about 5 min and you are there!

Greenery/Vegetation: Let’s start from the quality of the grass. To tell the truth, I don’t remember much about the grass, I guess it was average; that must be the reason that it didn’t catch my attention. But, but, but, the trees! Ohhh man, they are unbelievable. There are so many different trees, in different colours. And also the autumn gives an amazing look to them. Some are just brownish and the other neighbour trees have purplish colour and the other one light green and darker green and so on and on. It made me want to put them all together and hug them. Sometimes when there is only one kind of tree you don’t even pay attention to it because you’ve probably seen it before, however when there are a lot of different kinds of trees, which would mean different colours and different dynamic in the atmosphere, you appreciate more of the differences and similarities, from the colour to the shape.

Many amenities, including playground swings

Wide open space, trees, tennis courts in the distance

Basketball courts, presently empty

Add-Ons (“Beyond The Greenery..”): Even though I used to live nearby, I never knew it was that big. There is a big collection of baseball courts, rugby pitches, tennis courts and a couple of playgrounds. There is a big pond, which gives good energy with the ducks and geese swimming and socializing with the visitors. There is a relatively big café you can get food as well as hot drinks. It’s very nice to know there is a place that you can eat or have tea or coffee after a long walk and have a chit-chat with somebody or alone if you are not in the mood for talking to anybody (sometimes your own company can be the best).

Some of the lovely trees, with paths and benches

Looking through the leaves at the birds on the pond

A beautiful reclining tree, twisted

Atmosphere: It’s a great park for walking. It’s quiet and peaceful. If you ever want to be alone and wonder around or read something then it’s the park you should visit. Because there are a few playgrounds which attract the kids, there is not much distraction from kids elsewhere in the park.