Drivers Hill

Drivers Hill is a ten-hectare nature site in Mill Hill within the London Borough of Barnet. It sits beside the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ national headquarters, Watch Tower House, built in 1955. The house also houses a printing works that once produced 120 million periodicals in a single year. The site contains open fields and two small woods, Wentworth Hall Wood to the north and a smaller oak-and-sycamore wood in the south-west. Old pasture flowers such as crested dog’s tail and lady’s bedstraw grow in the fields. The area is recognised for its wildlife and plant life, with pedunculate oak and ash forming the canopy in Wentworth Hall Wood. The south-western wood is mainly oak and sycamore, adding variety to the landscape. Though the site itself is closed to the public, parts of it can be seen from nearby streets. The fields are visible from the end of Woodcote Avenue, while the south-west wood can be viewed from Milespit Hill and Mill Hill Cemetery. Visitors can walk along Woodcote Avenue to glimpse the open fields and their wildflowers. From Milespit Hill and Mill Hill Cemetery, the oak-and-sycamore wood is clearly seen. The contrast between the modern printing works and the quiet woodland adds an unusual element to the scene. The site remains an important green space in an urban setting, recognised for its conservation value.