Post box hunt 5: Hendon and Kingsbury, 17th February 2024

I have a long list of places to visit in 2024, but only in good weather or good seasonal conditions (late spring to autumn). The sun only shines during the working week (and on Sundays, since Saturday is my walk day), so with all of my planned destinations ruled out, I decided to give Hendon a try instead, having never been there before. London walks balance out all the countryside photos. It’s a shame in a way, as everywhere looks better in the sunshine, and overcast conditions only exacerbate the concrete and asphalt look of a city. The walk itself took in Hendon and Kingsbury, in the London boroughs of Barnet and Brent respectively.

Hendon station:

Not long after arriving, something interesting turns up: a post box with a post office direction sign. Although I was aware of their existence, this is the first one I have come across, and it’s looking rather worse for wear. What purpose these signs actually served, I don’t know; this pillar box is located right outside the post office, making the sign a bit pointless. I thought these signs were to point you in the direction of a post office …

Google Maps promised me a lake in Hendon …

What the reservoir lacks in water, it makes up for birbs.

Looking back … Those two tower blocks will be important later.

Walking onwards.

I saw that someone had left a funny bike lying on the ground. I thought it was the only one, until I found another …

A towny walk and still mud!

Although I walk to and from work every day (nearly two miles each way), this was the first day that I noticed blossom. I wasn’t expecting to see it this early in the year.

More of these bikes …

An interesting-looking house:

Almost all bungalows in this area; for some reason I just find bungalows charming.

More of these damn bikes … The stupid things are everywhere. I wanted to see what they do, but I can’t ride a bike (or swim, or drive, or anything else useful) and I loathe mobile phones and don’t have one, and these are some kind of phone-activated things, so that was that …

OK, another post box. George V pillar box. All pillar boxes in this area! Too bad; I like wall boxes. The maker’s name had me stumped though.

Another post box, this time in a very sorry state.

Lots of post boxes were manufactured up in Scotland, which pleases me. This next one is a Carron, also made in Scotland!

I have never been to Hendon before. As always, I had no GPS (phone or otherwise), and in this instance didn’t even draw out a map. I wasn’t intending to do a circular route as I don’t know the area, but I decided to try it anyway, using those two tower blocks as landmarks. I found my way back to the station in time, and even stopped to document more post boxes.

Squeezing in one final post box, confident that I was close enough to the station to do so. The only George VI example I saw; no idea on the manufacturer as the name—if it exist—must be on the back where I couldn’t find it.

Funny how this post box was a welcome sight: I saw it on the outbound leg and chose not to photograph it. Spotting it meant that I had found my way back to somewhere I recognised, using those two tower blocks as a guide.

Finally back to the busy shopping centre: