Another surprising site which is part of the Great North Wood project, Biggin Wood is number 10 on my list and an easy walk from home. I spend some time looking for evidence of leaf miners on the brambles, which was the subject of this morning’s Country Diary.  I don’t find any but there are […]

One Tree Hill, Lewisham: High above the city, an ancient oak may remember the ancient woodland on this site   I climb the hill until I can look out over the city below. Whether the air pollution has really improved over lockdown I don’t know, but it smells fresh and cool up here at 90 metres […]

Well, it’s closed! But as I’m here, I spend some time peeking over the fence to look down into the reserve which is on the steep bank of the railway cutting. There is a tree on the edge of the reserve with shiny heart-shaped leaves and the characteristic fluffy white seeds of a black poplar […]

Looking at the park today as a remnant of the Great North Wood gives me a new perspective. I weave through the trees in the woodland walk and admire the muscular trunks of the sweet chestnut trees. The spikes of buds are evident but not yet in flower. Come July, their musky scent will fill […]

Although this joins onto Sydenham Wood, which I visit regularly, I don’t tend to spend much time in Dulwich Wood.  So I decide to today. Yellow flag irises are in flower around Dewey Pond, which has been extensively managed by London Wildlife Trust for the Wood owners Dulwich Estate. There are lots of young robins […]

Despite Google Maps telling us cheerily that it will take an hour to cycle to Hutchinson’s Bank, it actually takes us two… along a ridiculously circuitous route… and dumps us in New Addington, rather than Featherbed Lane. This is the furthest I’ve been for the Challenge. At last we find the entrance to the reserve […]

It seems very appropriate that the first plant I see newly in flower this morning is Russian comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum)as I cut my shin yesterday on a bicycle ride. This is a common garden escapee and is a cross between common comfrey and prickly comfrey. As well as it’s use to make a nutrient […]

Finding the entrance to this sliver of wood was a challenge.  I locked up my bike to make investigating easier and finally, what looked like a private driveway between two imposing gateposts took me into the wood. This remnant of the Great North Wood and the adjacent meadows, the Lawns, are owned by the Borough […]

Another green space which I’ve travelled past many times but never explored. This is a further Great North Wood project site in this case owned by Croydon Council and is mostly oak woodland. Despite the dry month we’ve had, there is healthy-looking ground flora under the mature oaks, particularly in comparison with Dulwich Wood. I […]

For the second of my 30 days wild challenges, I’m visiting a green space that I’ve travelled past many times but never been to. Beaulieu Heights on the south side of the Crystal Palace ridge is a remnant of the Great North Wood and more recently was the grounds of two large houses. It’s hot […]