A few Goodgymers around the country joined the Great UK WaterBlitz

Testing the waters at Mutton Brook

Another little GoodGym citizen-science mission for Gus and me, back at Mutton Brook.

I’m really enjoying returning to the same stretch of water. There is something rather nice about sitting quietly beside the brook, fiddling around with the little test tubes and watching the colours develop — and, once you’ve done it a couple of times, the testing is actually very easy.

Today’s results were interesting. The water looked remarkably clear, but the nitrate reading appeared quite high — around the 2–5 mg/L range, possibly close to 5 — while phosphate was very low at around 0.02–0.05 mg/L.

So it’s a mixed picture. Low phosphate is encouraging, but the nitrate suggests there is still a significant nutrient input somewhere upstream. Mutton Brook starts only a few miles away in Cherry Tree Wood in East Finchley and then flows through a very urban landscape, including alongside major roads and beneath the North Circular. Urban runoff, drainage and other sources could all contribute, although one test can’t tell us exactly where the nitrate is coming from.

It also shows why these tests are worthwhile: clear-looking water isn’t necessarily clean water.

Results uploaded, another tiny piece of data added to the bigger picture — and Gus and I got a peaceful few minutes beside the brook into the bargain.

Report from Paul Browning

I did my testing on the River Quaggy in Manor Park in SE London where I have done testing several times before. Concentrations of nitrates and phosphates were both low, phosphates lower than last time I did the testing.

Brook, look and a biscuit!

Everyone seemed to appear at once at Finchley Central at 11am perhaps they’d all caught the same Tube! A great turnout for our GoodGym Barnet walk, with Gus and Amanda’s dog joining the company. A couple of brief showers came and went, leaving us with a lovely mix of cloud and sunshine. This initial Walk also supported Move10 https://www.thisgirlcan.co.uk/movefor10

Our introductions had a local twist: name, number and a fact about Finchley — or your favourite biscuit if you were stuck. Surprisingly, Finchley knowledge comfortably held its own against biscuits! Margaret Thatcher and famous residents featured, along with Harry Beck, creator of the familiar Tube map, whose local station was Finchley Central. More about Beck’s connection⁠. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/sep/21/harry-beck-tube-map-london-transport-archive-sale

Our first stops included Finchley Way Open Space, where GoodGym helped clear scrub and create paths a few years ago. It’s always satisfying to return and enjoy somewhere you’ve helped look after.

Once the grounds of Brent Lodge, this little green space has quite a story. In the 1910s, Alice Melville established a communal living scheme here, with shared cooking, laundry and dining facilities. Later, owner Augustus Cooper left the house and gardens to the people of Finchley for public enjoyment. A rather lovely legacy, still being cared for by local volunteers. Local history⁠. https://www.fofwos.org/history-of-fofwos

We then followed Dollis Brook before turning towards Darlands Nature Reserve. Woodland paths, tree views and plenty of conversation made it easy to forget we were still in London. The lake was originally ornamental, created for a nearby country house; today it provides a valuable refuge for wildlife. Darlands’ history⁠. https://www.barnet.gov.uk/directories/parks/darlands-lake

Recent desilting work has helped restore the lake. With the nearby stream looking dry, it was encouraging to see water remaining in the lake and birds making use of it. Among them was what appeared to be a great cormorant. A seaside visitor? Apparently not — cormorants are quite at home fishing on inland lakes and rivers too. Another thing learnt along the way!.

Lunch at Finchley Nurseries gave us another chance to chat before the final stretch to Mill Hill East station. Good company, a bit of movement and a few discoveries on our doorstep — thank you to everyone who came along. I think we did about 6 miles.

Fancy helping care for these places too? We could organise a litter pick as a GoodGym community mission. Let me know if you’re interested, when you’re free, or if you have another local idea.

We’ll aim for another walk in a month or two, this time heading the other way along Dollis Brook and onwards towards Hampstead Heath. Look out for the listing, and bring a friend — and perhaps a four-legged one too!

welcome Victoria & Lucy on their first outing with GoodGym Barnet. Hope to see you again soon

This week’s GoodGym Barnet group run was a little different as we started at The Bull Theatre in High Barnet, where we’d previously helped out with some painting.

The Bull is another of Barnet’s little community jewels. The building has a history stretching back centuries and became the Old Bull Arts Centre in 1975. Today it is home to the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School as well as being used by the wider community. The school has helped develop an impressive list of young performers, including Amy Winehouse, Jess Glynne, Daniel Roche from Outnumbered and West End performers Alexia Khadime and Aimie Atkinson. Amy Winehouse and Alexandra Burke are also among those who have performed at the Bull itself. High Barnet Fair was once one of the biggest livestock fairs in England, attracting huge crowds, with horse racing, boxing, drinking and entertainment. The fair became so famous in London that “Barnet Fair” became Cockney rhyming slang for hair .. hence your Barnet.

Then it was time for some GoodGym action. We set about pulling weeds and clearing the outside area, and with plenty of hands we got through the job in quick time ... leaving enough daylight ( but not much ) for a run.

We headed across the High Street and through Old Court House Recreation Ground, enjoying one of those useful traffic-free routes that makes you realise how much there is to discover locally. The park itself was once pasture with stables and a brewery before becoming public open space in the 1920s. From there the route continues down a leafy alley beside the tennis courts, across Mays Lane and eventually through the fields to Dollis Brook.

We caught a lovely glowing sky from the last of the sunset before heading back uphill to the Bull, finishing with a warm-down and stretch inside the theatre.

A good task, a bit of running, some local history and another important community venue supported. We look forward to helping the Bull again later in the year.