Canons Park is nestled between the borders of Edgware and Stanmore, it has a fascinating history dating back hundreds of years.
The park boasts wide open spaces for walking, sports and picnicking, with shady woodland walks with wonderful displays of spring bluebells and wild garlic (from late April to early May). It has a family friendly area with an adventure playground (currently closed {November 2024 – January 2025) for an exciting upgrade with new equipment aimed at toddlers), supersized climbing boulder, basketball hoop and outdoor exercise gym. The park has a flat terrain and a continuous pathway around its perimeter, enabling wheelchair users, walkers, joggers, and families with pushchairs to explore the woodland and open spaces without having to encounter steps or steep hills.
We are proud to welcome the arrival of our newly opened cafe – Liam’s in the Park at the Good Friends Cafe – which was awarded a five star rating by Harrow Council this summer! Don’t forget to stop by for top quality coffee, wonderful home made patisserie, hot and cold drinks and ices and, new for the winter, vegetable or chicken soup and a hearty beef stew to help keep you warm during the cold winter months!. Lots of seating outdoors – including a weatherproof pop-up dome – and always a friendly welcome.
PLEASE NOTE THE CAFE’S AUTUMN AND WINTER OPENING HOURS:
8am to 4pm on weekdays and
9am to 4pm on weekends
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
ALSO OPEN ON CHRISTMAS DAY, BOXING DAY AND NEW YEAR’S DAY FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!
FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT LOST PROPERTY IN THE PARK PLEASE SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE.
Dogs are welcome in all areas but the council asks that dog owners put their pets on a lead in the Memorial Garden, so that those who come there for a little peace and quiet – or are afraid of dogs – can enjoy the surroundings. Please also remember that the pond at the centre of the garden is home to a variety of wildlife, including frogs and newts, so allowing your dog – or your children! – to enter the pond is both anti-social and harmful to these little creatures! We should also point out that there may be glass or other objects lying on the bottom of the pond, due to anti-social behaviour which, together with naturally-occurring algae, can make it dangerous and very slippery.
Shaw Trust
The Harrow branch of the nationwide charity, Shaw Trust, is based at the Bothy compound in Canons Park. The Friends were delighted to help facilitate the arrival of this wonderful charity, which teaches students with learning difficulties about horticulture. The students work in the Bothy and out in the park, concentrating on the George V Memorial Garden, where they litter pick, tidy up, weed flower beds and plant new bulbs and flowers.
Work in the Bothy compound includes potting up seedlings, care of plants and helping to create hanging baskets and other floral items, which can be purchased by the public any weekday from 9.30am to 2.30pm.
About the Park
For a map of the park please vist the Gallery of the Visiting the Park pages.
Audio Walking Tour
To find out more about the history of the park you can now follow our free one-hour audio walking tour by downloading the VoiceMap App and searching for Canons Park. If you can’t make it to the park you can even listen to the tour at home!
The Trees of Canons Park
The park hosts a wonderful collection of trees, some of them quite rare. For more information click on Trees or pick up our Tree Identification Leaflet next to our notice board at the Bothy building.
Involving the Community
If you’re looking for a way to get more involved in the park, why not take part in some of the regular events that take place throughout the year, like our Kids’ Fun Fair Day, held every summer, or volunteer for our Gardening Club work sessions during the spring and summer in the stunning George V Memorial Garden?
Park Safety
We are regarded as a safe and friendly park but incidents do happen, as in any park in the country. If you do not report it, the police will never know and can do little to help. If you witness an incident regarding dogs that are out of control please try to take a photo, as long as that does not endanger you or your companions. This will help the police to identify the dogs and their owners so that they can take appropriate action to apprehend them. You can also report dangerous dogs to Harrow Council, via their website: www.harrow.gov.uk
Lost Property: We sometimes find lost objects in the park, or they are handed in to us by members of the public. We try to hold on to them for as long as possible but if they are not claimed we will donate them to charity, if appropriate, or dispose of them if not. If you have lost anything in the park, please contact us (canonspark@outlook.com) and be prepared to offer further details so that we can identify and return your objects as quickly as possible, if we have them.
Important Contact Numbers
In case of an emergency or threatening anti-social behaviour in the park, please dial 999.
For non-emergency calls to the police, such as for non-threatening anti-social behaviour, vandalism or criminal damage, please dial 101 or if it is after the event, lodge a report on the Met Police website.
PLEASE NOTE THAT AS WE ARE A PUBLIC PARK WE DO NOT HAVE A POST CODE, WHICH MAY BE REQUIRED BY THE EMERGENCY CALL HANDLER. The best guidance you can offer is the post code of the nearest exit to park from where you are calling. These are as follows:
Donnefield Avenue exit: HA8 6RH
Canons Drive exit: HA8 7RJ
Whitchurch Lane main exit: HA8 6QT
Howberry Road exit: HA7 4SD
There is now a heart defibrillator situated in Canons Park, a few yards from the Good Friends Cafe. All instructions for use are given once the unit has been accessed. You will need a mobile phone to call 999 in order to obtain the code to release the defibrillator from its cabinet.