The lost north London train line that became Parkland Walk

But what if a pre-war plan to upgrade its transport connections had been realised?

Might the cluster of independent shops and cinemas - and the multiple community arts festivals - be the same if residents could whizz down to Finsbury Park and on into central London instead of catching the W7 bus?

The last passenger left Crouch End station in 1954, three decades later it was officially incorporated into the Parkland Walk, London's longest nature reserve along the abandoned train line. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

In 1935 Crouch End did have a station which ran steam trains from Alexandra Palace to Finsbury Park.

It had been opened in 1867 by the Great Northern Railway on the east side of Crouch End Hill.

Then in the 1930s came the London Passenger Transport Board's 'new works' plan to convert the branch line into an extension of the Northern line.

Marilyn Collins' Spriggan sculpture has been a landmark on the Parkland Walk since the 1990s. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

If the scheme had come to fruition the line would have run from Finsbury Park, to Stroud Green then on to Crouch End, Highgate and Cranley Gardens, Muswell Hill and Alexandra Palace.

A fresh Northern line connection at Finsbury Park would have continued down past Highbury and Islington offering a fast and frequent service of electric trains into central London.

Work on electrifying the track began and at Crouch End the platforms were partially rebuilt with concrete and brick to a height that could run both main line and Underground trains.

But the work came to a halt in 1939 due to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Even until 1950 Tube maps showed the Northern line branch as "under construction" - but the work never restarted.

The train service dwindled, run with ancient Victorian trains, and it was clear that final closure couldn't be held off. In 1953 it was decided the number of passengers travelling on the line didn't justify its electrification.

The station closed to passengers in 1954 and eventually the track was removed and the platform buildings and stairs demolished - although the platforms remain.

But if north Londoners never got their own Tube line what they got instead was a green haven for walks and recreation.

And the atmospheric ghost station has even been used as a filming location.

By 1976 Haringey Council had adopted the section between Cranley Gardens and Alexandra Park as a 'Parkland Walk'.

A few years later the section between Finsbury Park and Highgate was also turned into a beautiful walk with re-surfacing and improved access to the former train line.

The Parkland Walk officially opened in 1984 and now the 3.9 mile walkway and cycleway is London's longest nature reserve.