Waterlow Park
Waterlow Park is set on a hillside in Highgate boasting some of the best panoramic views over London.
Left by Sydney Waterlow as a ‘garden for the gardenless’, Waterlow Park retained its green flag status in 2008. Akin to Blue Flags which are awarded to outstanding beaches, Green Flags are bestowed on parks that have actively demonstrated the highest standards in maintaining open spaces and providing what people want from their parks. So you can be sure to find a welcoming environment when you visit.
Covering 29 acres, the park includes Lauderdale House with its formal terraced gardens, ponds on three levels, tree lined walkways, mature shrub beds and herbaceous borders, ornamental bedding, expanses of lawn, six tennis courts and a small playground for younger children.
In front of the Waterlow Centre, is exemplar planting of a dry border which requires relatively little maintenance and shows the type of plants that should survive our changing climate.
The park is home to much wildlife, including hedgehogs, woodpeckers and bats. Within the grounds, there is a dedicated wildlife area used for education and maintained with the help of volunteers
The park is staffed permanently by two gardeners and an attendant.
Events in the park
We organise many educational and entertaining events at the park, if you're in to wildlife there's something that will suit you.
Natural play
A new natural play area opened in April 2009. It features a trail representing a wending woodland stream dotted with natural play equipment. These include a climbing frame, a ‘Tarzan’ swing, balancing blocks, rotating beams and jumping discs. The natural materials blend into the surrounding parkland.
Photos of the park
Trees
Waterlow Park is home to a diverse range of trees and we've produced guides to help you spot the different types and where you can find them in the park:
- download: Trees in Waterlow Park (PDF 1.7MB)
- download: Waterlow Park tree walk (PDF 952KB)
- help with PDFs
Friends
There is a friends of Waterlow Park group. If you would be interested in joining to help keep this park beautiful, please contact the parks and open spaces liaison officer