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 […]

It’s the first of my 30 days wild challenges, I’m planning to visit 30 Great North Wood and/or London Wildlife Trust sites in June, and this one is a green space I know well. Cox’s walk is an oak-lined avenue which was created in the 18th century as a short cut through Fifty Acre Wood […]

So June is the month for the Wildlife Trusts 30 days wild challenge. I’ve spent the morning mapping the London Wildlife Trusts reserves and Great North Wood project sites.   I made it 41 in total. While they’re not all open, I’m planning to visit on foot or by bicycle and write about the 30 nearest […]