Brent Reservoir (Welsh Harp)

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Planning your visit

Address: Aboyne Road, London, NW10 OEX View on Google map

Price: Once you're there, it won't cost you a thing

Toilets: None on site

Surrounded by buildings and fast roads, Brent Reservoir is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with the open water and associated habitats supporting an unusually large selection of wetland birds and plants for an inner city reservoir. 

In November 2022, with £55,000 of funding from the Mayor of London’s Grow Back Greener Fund, we were able to install new floating ecosystems to provide nesting bird habitat and improve water quality.

The artificial islands – which have been specially designed to support and protect Brent Reservoir’s important population of great crested grebe – can be easily viewed from Cool Oak Bridge or the nearby picnic area. 

Find out more about the science behind the project from Canal & River Trust ecologist Tim Mulligan in the film below. Special thanks to the Trust’s drone pilot volunteers Jason Smith, Tim Eavis and Harry Roth for their help in capturing the floating ecosystems from the air.

Top tip! Take binoculars and look for the amazing water birds. As well as the odd sailing boat of course.

Things to do and see

Places to eat:

Picnic spot:

There are some lovely spots to have a picnic beside the water

Wildlife spotting:

Take one of our nature spotters' guides. This is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The standing open water and associated habitats such as willow car, and fen and marsh support a diverse set of wetland birds - little grebes, great crested grebes, willow warbler - and ducks of course!

While the wetlands areas support plants including: lesser pond-sedge, water forget-me-not, branched bur-reed, marsh woundwort, water-plantain, flowering rush, water dock and lesser reedmace.

Getting here

By car - there's limited free parking off the North circular Edward Road and Woodfield Park. From the A5 turn into Cool Oak Lane, where a narrow bridge separates the Northern and Eastern marshes. Parking is available about 100 metres past the bridge

By train - Hendon is the nearest train station with Neasdon the nearest underground. They're at opposite ends of the reservoir

Local events