Parkland Walk - Urban Legends

Urban Legends

Along the walk just before the disused platforms at Crouch End, a man sized green spriggan sculpture by Marilyn Collins had been placed in one of the alcoves of the wall on the right at the footbridge before the former Crouch End station. This was thought to be a tribute to a ghostly 'goat-man' who haunted that particular area in the mid 1980s. Local children playing out in the evenings would 'dare' each other to walk the Parkland Walk from the Crouch End Hill bridge to the Crouch Hill bridge in the darkness. The sculpture, and Parkland Walk generally, provided the inspiration for Stephen King's short story "Crouch End".

There is also a myth that trains could still be heard rumbling along the route close to the Highgate tunnels, even after tracks had been lifted. This is unfounded, as is the ghost of a workman who threw himself in front of a train near the tunnels at Highgate station.

Another rumour regarding the failure of the route cited that the whole area had been cursed by gypsies who were evicted from the pre-Alexandra Palace site. They cursed the Palace construction project and "all connected proposals".