Property

Just to the west of Cricklewood Broadway – in the borough of Brent, five minutes drive from Brent Cross shopping centre and the M1 – lies one of the quietest and most conveniently located areas in north-west London. Local residents, who include London’s mayor, like to call it Cricklewood (meaning ‘wood with uneven outline’) but that’s only because its official name sounds too naff to drop into a conversation. Feature continues

Dollis Hill, as it should be known, is bordered by the Edgware Road, the A406 (North Circular), Dudden Hill Lane, Willesden High Road and Walm Lane. It’s a typical suburban area made up of mostly privately owned Edwardian semi-detached houses – many split into rentable flats – and modern detached, four-bedroomed abodes. At its heart is a group of pretty roads the planners elected to name after trees and plants – Cedar, Pine, Larch, and, more exotically, Agave. Chief among them is Olive Road, strewn with speed humps, stretching eastwards for one-and-a-half kilometres from Gladstone Park towards the Edgware Road. One of the benefits of the street is the quaint local library and archive (next door to Oman Court, a block of fine art deco flats).

Few streets in London can boast such unpretentious community spirit. Every year residents in the area organise the annual Gladstonbury Festival, a summer event involving live bands, a funfair, food stands and a dog show called, of course, Woofstock. This year’s event takes place on June 16 and 17.

Life on Olive Road is family orientated (there are two good state primaries nearby: Mora and Anson) and as such revolves around Gladstone Park. Named after the Victorian prime minister, it’s a large and pleasant expanse of playing fields with avenues of tall trees, a children’s play area, lots of artistic wood carvings and a rarely used freight railway slicing right though the middle. It’s hugely popular for dog walking, powerkite flying and low-key football matches. Walk to the top of the hill and you’ll be treated to amazing sunsets and views of the new Wembley Stadium and the countryside beyond. Tucked away in a stableyard beneath the (hopefully) soon to be refurbished Dollis Hill House is a rustic café serving coffee, hot chocolate and toasted paninis.