Grim’s Dyke is an intermittently-preserved bank-and-ditch earthwork that runs for a distance of some miles through North-West London, from Pinner Green, or possibly Ruislip, in the south-west, to Harrow Weald Common, or possibly Stanmore, in the north-east. Recent archaeological evidence indicates that it probably dates to the Iron Age, rather than to the Dark Ages, as had long been thought (apparently associated Iron Age pottery having been unearthed at an excavation in Montesole Park in Pinner Green in 1957, and a first-century – or earlier – hearth in the grounds of the Grim’s Dyke Hotel on Harrow Weald Common in 1979). Note in this context that there are further Iron Age sites in Stanmore, believed to have then been home to a tribe of Ancient Britons known as the Catuvellauni (see separate “Stanmore” posting of October 1st, 2015).
I chose a perfect timeless winter’s day today to track it …
… from Montesole Park in Pinner Green …
… and past Grimsdyke Road, Saddlers Mead and Grimsdyke Golf Club in Hatch End …
… to a high-point on Harrow Weald Common, with commanding views in all directions.
