Darland's Lake

Darland’s Lake sits just south of Totteridge Village in the London Borough of Barnet. The reserve covers a shallow ornamental lake fed by Folly Brook and a patch of surrounding woodland. It was once part of Copped Hall, an estate first recorded in the sixteenth century. William Manning MP lived there from 1780 and his wife Mary, with advice from Humphry Repton, likely designed the dammed lake. The site passed to their son Cardinal Manning before later becoming a nature reserve. Management has changed hands several times, most recently to a local trust set up in 2017. The reserve supports a wide variety of wildlife. Eighteen mammal species have been spotted, from stoats to weasels, alongside grass snakes, amphibians and fungi. Eighteen species of mammal have been recorded, including stoat and weasel. It also hosts diverse breeding birds and extensive reed beds. The lake and brook together form a Grade 1 Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation. The London Ecology Unit once listed it as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, though the designation was withdrawn after rare plants were found to have been introduced. Visitors reach the reserve along a path from The Close in Totteridge Village. A footpath from Southover follows Folly Brook directly to the lake. Additional routes start opposite St Andrew’s church and from Mill Hill. Inside, the shallow waters and reed beds stretch across the site, backed by mixed woodland. The reserve offers quiet walking and the chance to watch water birds and small mammals at close range.