Go north young man

Are High Barnet and Cockfosters just amusing names thought up by London Underground for the ends of Tube lines? No: for the benefit of cynics everywhere, they do exist, you can get to them by Tube and they are surrounded by some of the most beautiful green spaces in London.

The capital's most northerly boroughs, Barnet and Enfield both contain large chunks of green-belt land so rural you wouldn't know you were in London. Only the occasional tower block on the horizon intrudes to remind you that you're still technically in the city.

These are London's northern heights, arguably the most attractive part of the north-west section of the new Loop (London Outer Orbital Path), which stretches from Uxbridge via the woods and golf courses of Northwood, Pinner and Stanmore through Barnet to Enfield.

The third part of Homes & Property's guide to the Loop follows the path from High Barnet to Enfield Lock, a distance of 12 miles. (If the thought makes your heart sink, you can cut the walk short by heading for a bus stop on the A10.)

Start at High Barnet station (Tubes: Northern Line, Zone 6. Average journey time to Euston: 27 minutes). Walk up the pedestrian path by the side of the station, turn right into Barnet Hill and right again into Meadway, part of the Loop.

Barnet

Known mainly to outsiders as the home of London's top selective boys' grammar school, Queen Elizabeth's, which made headlines two years ago by beating Eton in the A-level league tables. Not surprisingly, good schools (Queen Elizabeth's is just one of a number in the borough) make it a popular family area. There are several bits of Barnet - New Barnet, Chipping Barnet, High Barnet and Barnet - but the last two are the places to be: near the Tube station, a short walk from Barnet town centre and lots of period property. Attracts: families; people wanting to move further out of London but still be in reach of a Tube.
Property: Nicholas Heelis, proprietor of Hunters (020 8441 3377), says properties near the station and in the High Street are being snapped up quickly. But a solid four-bedroom family home in Park Road, next to King George's Field, is on sale for £440,000. In Meadway, a four-bedroom 1920s detached "character house? with the Tube line running past the end of the garden is selling for £375,000.
Green space along the Loop: King George's Field, a grassy public space (aptly described in the official guide as "this bracing hillside?) slopes steeply upwards from Meadway but it's worth the climb for the great views of London. (If you have the energy to start the walk just west of High Barnet station, you can follow the Dollis Brook through grassy meadows and fields.)

Walk towards Monken Hadley along Hadley Green, lined with Georgian houses.

Hadley Wood

A spacious swirl of crescents and cul-de-sac north of Monken Hadley Common. A place for people who like to think they've arrived. Much favoured by footballers (more than enough to make a team, according to one local agent), pop stars and other celebs who like the large detached houses, the feeling of being in the Home Counties rather than in London and the train link to Moorgate.

Attracts: the same sort of people as Barnet.
Property: Statons (020 8449 3383 or www.statons.co.uk) has a four-bedroom half-timbered house with loft room, off-street parking and 115ft garden in Parkgate Avenue for £549,000. But you've missed your opportunity to buy a Georgian mansion overlooking Hadley Green. The eight-bedroom Monkenholt with swimming pool, floodlit tennis court and summer house - asking price £1.95 million - is under offer. Ossulston House, an idyllic-looking red-brick house with walled garden, is also under offer at £1.19 million.
Green space along the Loop: Monken Hadley Common, a swathe of open grass and woodland, was once part of royal hunting grounds stretching out to Potters Bar before being enclosed in the 18th century as part of a parcelling up of land by George III. At the edge of the common, a short walk from Barnet High Street, is Monken Hadley, an idyllic clutch of whitewashed 18th and 19th century cottages, 17th century almhouses and a church with a tower said to have been used for a beacon warning of the approach of the Spanish Armada.

Cross the main road by Cockfosters station (admiring the surviving original Underground roundel on the roof and ignoring the run-down 1960s offices) and head for Enfield Chase via Trent Country Park.

Enfield

Has much of the same self-contained, end-of-the-line, we're-not-really-London feel as Barnet. Enfield Town, west of the A10 and on the edge of the green belt, is the smart part, with an Edwardian high street and regular markets. You get a lot for your money here, as north Londoners jaded by astronomical house prices are beginning to realise.