Big Wood

This information board is at the east end of the Ebury Way track by Riverside Park and has the same wording and photos as the one at the west end at Batchworth, Link refers.

This black signpost is on the National Cycle Network 6 which runs from London to the Lake District via the East Midlands and Manchester. The left pointer shows 3 miles to Rickmansworth whilst the right pointer shows 1 mile to Watford.

This signpost is by Riverside Park and points towards Westfield Community Technology College (TQ0995) 1¼ miles and Rickmansworth (TQ0694) 3½ miles. It also indicates The Ebury Way foot and cycle path, and national cycle routes 6 (London to Lake District) and 61 (Maidenhead to Hoddesdon). For SatNav purposes, the postcode of this signpost is WD19 4HU.

This information board erected by Watford Borough Council, is by the River Colne in Wiggenhall Road. It shows a map of the park with the following wording above it: Welcome to Oxhey Park Points of Interest (in blue) 1) River Colne 2) The Dell 3) The Terrace 4) Grand Steps 5) Art Piece (Conker Sculpture) 6) Art Piece (Carved Oak Seat) Facilities (in red) 1) Children's Play Area 2) 'Kick About' Area 3) Cycle Route 4) Seating Areas 5) Outdoor Gym 6) Picnic Area Below the map is detailed information on i) Oxhey Park ii) How Oxhey Park came to be iii) Places of interest iv) Oxhey Park Refurbishment v) Art in the Park Below that detailed information panel is a panel with the following road signs from left to right: i) No Dropping Litter ii) No Dog Fouling iii) No Fires or Barbecues iv) No Golf v) Do not pick the flowers or plants There is another identical information board at the east end of Oxhey Park near Bushey Arches, and two similar boards at the entrances to Oxhey Park in Eastbury Road.

This photo shows detailed information below the map on the Information Board in Wiggenhall Road. It has the following wording: Oxhey Park Oxhey Park is situated on land originally part of the Wiggen Hall Estate, with a history which goes back hundreds of years. In the 15th Century the manor of Wiggenhall cum Oxhey was owned by St Alban's Abbey (now Cathedral). After the dissolution of the Church during the reign of Henry VIII the land then passed to private ownership. During the 16th and 17th Centuries Sir William Bucknall and his heirs owned the Oxhey/Wiggen Hall Estate (living at Oxhey Place). Wiggen Hall Manor was leased to the Deacon family who lived there until the mid-19th Century. In 1826 Wiggen Hall and the Estate were bought by Jonathon King passing to his nephew Joseph Gutteridge Smith in 1881. Ordnance Survey records from the 1870s show the Wiggen Hall as a large country house overlooking the River Colne, with elaborate gardens, a walled garden, woodland pleasure grounds and landscaped parklands. During World War I a large proportion of the land was requisitioned for food production. By 1929 Wiggen Hall was unoccupied and then eventually demolished in 1955. How Oxhey Park came to be In 1920 Watford Borough Council (with help from a Government Grant) bought 85 acres of the Estate for £14,000 in order that they could build a housing development and provide recreational space for the local community. In January 1924 the Estates Committee at the Council recommended that the newly allocated public park be known as Oxhey Park. In the 1920s, as now, a walk along the river was one of the main attractions of the park. By the 1930s refreshments were being sold from a boathouse to the north of the River Colne and fishing, boating and swimming were all allowed. The first children's playground was built in 1930. The two images show the Colne Viaduct or Bushey Arches.

This photo shows detailed information below the map on the information board in Wiggenhall Road. It has the following wording: Places of interest The Dell is a densely wooded area with steep banks falling away from the Eastbury Road down to the River Colne. Its distinct woodland character provides an ideal home for a variety of wildlife. Built in 1912, the magnificent LMS Bushey Viaduct or Bushey Curve contributes to the setting of the Park and in particular The Dell. The River Colne Walk is a tree-lined riverside footpath running from the Wiggenhall Road entrance in the west through to the Viaduct. This area provides a natural habitat for a variety of wildlife. The Colne Viaduct or Bushey Arches were built by Robert Stephenson, a nationally renowned bridge builder, and son of the famous railways and colliery engineer George Stephenson. Image of the River Colne Walk Oxhey Park Refurbishment Oxhey park has undergone a major refurbishment programme. Led by Southern Green Landscape Architects working alongside Watford Borough Council and the Friends of Oxhey Park, the project has incorporated new footpaths, improved park furniture, seating and planting areas, enhanced focal points and facilities, as well as the introduction to two pieces of public artwork. Art in the Park Using natural materials and reflecting the character of the Park itself, sculptor David Gross has created two beautiful pieces of art for everyone to enjoy. Located at the top of the Grand Steps and inspired by the surrounding avenue of horse chestnut trees, the first piece is a 2.5m high conker sculpture. Made from green oak, the smooth seed appears to be bursting out of its spiky shell symbolising the re-birth and new beginnings of the Park. The second piece is an original oak seat overlooking the conker sculpture. Carved in a series of arches, the solid base reflects the Bushey Arches and Bushey Viaduct or "Curve" running through the Park, whilst the back rest takes the form of a folded horse chestnut leaf. Images of the conker and oak seat sculptures.

Looking along Hagden Lane from the junction with Kelmscott Crescent. This is a stretch of the A4145.

The Parade is a typical suburban row of shops located at the junction of Delta Gain and Carpenders Avenue. The businesses include Carpenders Park post office and a florist's shop.

Carpenders Park is very much an outer London suburb although it is situated outside the Greater London area. The development took place either side of the Second World War and the housing is typical of its time including a significant number of bungalows. The name is derived from a local manor house that was demolished in 1960 but has perhaps survived because it was given to the nearby railway station.

Designated a public footpath, and signed accordingly, this route cuts through between the houses on Carpenders Avenue and The Mead at the bottom.

Not, in all honesty, a particularly prepossessing looking pub externally, the Partridge offers cask ales, Sky Sports and pub games and is a short walk from Carpenders Park station.

Carpenders Park is a stop on the London Overground route between Euston and Watford Junction. The pedestrian tunnel passes under the West Coast Main Line and gives access to the island platform on the 'DC lines'. It also connects Carpenders Park to the east of the railway and South Oxhey to the west - two outer suburbs with very different characters. The original station here (located to the north of the current one) was opened in 1914 to serve a nearby golf course in what was then a very rural area. The modern structure was opened in 1952. Note the bewildering number of safety signs visible in this view: 'No rollerblading, skating or cycling'; 'No smoking'; 'No alcohol'; 'CCTV cameras in operation'; 'No cycling'; 'Bicycle restrictions'; 'No trespassing' (three in all); 'Danger electricity'; and 'Danger overhead live wires'.

Pearkes House is part of a redevelopment project called South Oxhey Central, close to Carpenders Park station, that includes residential apartments, work spaces and retail units. The developer is Countryside Properties and work began in 2016.

This construction is part of the South Oxhey Central development. The new apartment block is replacing a parade of shop units, with flats above, that certainly had a tired look but was perhaps on a more appropriate scale for this outer suburban location. Be that as it may, the new housing is being heavily marketed by the developer, Countryside Properties, and a huge representation of how prospective residents' bathrooms might look is displayed on the hoardings outside.

Forfar House is an apartment block which, together with two similar blocks, overlooks a green off Oxhey Drive. Part of Filton House can be seen in this picture. The estate at South Oxhey was developed by the then London County Council (LCC) in the early 1950s, one of a number built on the fringes of London to help relieve overcrowding in the inner city area. It was not actually within the LCC's area and is still within the modern boundaries of Hertfordshire today. In 1980 the Greater London Council (which had absorbed the LCC) passed the ownership and management of the estate to Three Rivers District Council. Today, a large proportion of the housing stock is privately owned and the remaining social housing has been transferred to a housing association.

The large London County Council development at South Oxhey was built in the early 1950s to relieve overcrowding in the inner city, where much of the housing stock had been lost due to wartime bombing. The houses here are typical of local authority estates of the era including this terrace on Oxhey Drive. The houses were generally well-built and relatively sizeable with decent gardens - in some ways better than their equivalents built for the private market. They must have seemed like paradise for many of their first residents. Today a majority of the houses at South Oxhey are privately owned.

Moortown Road leads south off Maylands Road, part of the London County Council built estate at South Oxhey dating from the early 1950s.

This area of the woods, to the north of Oxhey Drive, is referred to as the northern woodland, distinguishing it from the central woodland on the other side of the road.