High above London are the old settlements of Chipping Barnet & Hadley, halfway to St Albans from the City. Both villages prospered from many inns, crucial to horse traffic before the age of steam. The railway changed things, giving rise to an entirely new suburb, New Barnet, when commuting to & from London became possible. But Hadley survived almost untouced & is today an unusual London area with a splended wealth of Georgian houses overlooking open spaces.