Old Park Wood

Old Park Wood
Site of Special Scientific Interest

Area of Search	Greater London
Grid reference	TQ046913
Interest	Biological
Area	16.7 hectares
Notification	1984
Location map	Magic Map

Steps

Old Park Wood is a 16.7-hectare (41-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest in Harefield in the London Borough of Hillingdon.^[1] The south-east part is an 8-hectare (20-acre) nature reserve owned and managed by the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.

The site is ancient woodland which dates back to the Domesday Book. It was part of Harefield Park, which had an eighteenth-century house which later became the site of Harefield Hospital.^[2]

The hilly site is almost wholly wooded, and one of the floristically richest ancient woods in the London area.^[3] Its highlight is the abundance of flowers in spring, with a carpet of bluebells together with yellow archangel, lesser celandine, wood anemone and the rare coral root bittercress (cardamina bulbifera).^[4]^[3]

The site is dissected by small valleys and has a variety of types of soil and plants. The trees are mainly oak, birch, hornbeam and ash. Golden saxifrage and marsh marigolds grow along small streams and there is a pond which is important for dragonflies and invertebrates. There is a good variety of birds, including nuthatch and all three British species of woodpecker.^[3]^[4]

The site lies behind Harefield Hospital. There is no access from the hospital, but a footpath along its border fence from Hill End Road leads to the Herts & Middlesex nature reserve. This may be closed as a developer disputes the right of way. Another footpath between Summerhouse Lane and Hill End Road goes through the SSSI, skirting the northern boundary of the nature reserve. The London Loop goes along this footpath.^[5]

References

Coordinates: 51°36′39″N 0°29′11″W / 51.6108°N 0.48648°W / 51.6108; -0.48648

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Greater London

Biological	Barn Elms Wetland Centre Bentley Priory Brent Reservoir Bushy Park Chingford Reservoirs Crofton Woods Croham Hurst Denham Lock Wood Downe Bank Epping Forest Farthing Downs Frays Farm Meadows Hainault Forest Hampstead Heath Woods Happy Valley Hayes Common High Elms Home Park Ingrebourne Marshes Inner Thames Marshes Kempton Park Reservoirs Keston Common Mid Colne Valley Old Park Wood Oxleas Woodlands Richmond Park Riddlesdown Ruislip Woods Ruxley Gravel Pits Saltbox Hill Syon Park Walthamstow Marshes Walthamstow Reservoirs Wimbledon Common

Geological	Abbey Wood Elmstead Pit Gilbert's Pit Harefield Pit Harrow Weald Hornchurch Cutting Wansunt Pit

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust

Dacorum	Aldbury Nowers Alpine Meadow Long Deans Tring Reservoirs

East Hertfordshire	Amwell Quarry Balls Wood Danemead Hertford Heath Hunsdon and Eastwick Meads King's Meads Patmore Heath Rye Meads Tewin Orchard and Hopkyns Wood Tewinbury Thorley Wash Waterford Heath Willowmead

Hertsmere	Hilfield Park Reservoir

North Hertfordshire	Ashwell Quarry and Quarry Springs Blagrove Common Fox Covert Hawkins Wood Hexton Chalk Pit Oughtonhead Purwell Ninesprings

St Albans	Broad Colney Lakes

Stevenage	Ridlins Mire

Three Rivers	Frogmore Meadows Longspring Wood Stocker's Lake

Watford	Cassiobury Park

Welwyn Hatfield	Fir and Pond Woods Gobions Wood Lemsford Springs Stanborough Reedmarsh Stocking Springs Wood

Hillingdon	Broadwater Lake Old Park Wood Uxbridge Alderglade

Former reserves	Barkway Chalk Pit Darland's Lake Nature Reserve Hill End Pit Marshalls Heath Pryor's Wood Rowley Green Common Sawbridgeworth Marsh Telegraph Hill

London Borough of Hillingdon

Districts	Cowley Eastcote Harefield Harlington Harmondsworth Hayes Hillingdon Hillingdon Heath Ickenham Longford Northwood Ruislip Ruislip Gardens Ruislip Manor Sipson South Ruislip Uxbridge West Drayton Yeading Yiewsley

Attractions	Battle of Britain Bunker Beck Theatre The Chimes, Uxbridge Compass Theatre Eastcote House Gardens Heathrow Airport Hillingdon Cycle Circuit Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex Ickenham Hall London Motor Museum, Hayes Manor Farm Open Air Theatre, Barra Hall Park The Pavilions Polish War Memorial Ruislip Lido Southlands Arts Centre Swakeleys House Uxbridge Cricket Club Ground

Parks and open spaces	Barra Hall Park Bayhurst Wood Country Park The Closes Recreation Ground Copse Wood Cranford Park Hillingdon Court Ickenham Marsh Lake Farm Country Park Mad Bess Wood Minet Country Park Norman Leddy Memorial Gardens Old Park Wood Park Wood Rockingham Recreation Ground Uxbridge Common Colne Valley regional park (section)

Constituencies	Hayes and Harlington Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner Uxbridge and South Ruislip

Local government	Borough council Local elections 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

Tube and rail stations	Eastcote Hatton Cross Hayes and Harlington Heathrow Central Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 Heathrow Terminal 4 Heathrow Terminal 4 Heathrow Terminal 5 station Hillingdon Ickenham Northwood Northwood Hills Ruislip Ruislip Manor Ruislip Gardens South Ruislip Uxbridge West Drayton West Ruislip

Places of worship	St George's Interdenominational Chapel, Heathrow Airport St Giles' Church, Ickenham St Martin's Church, Ruislip

Other topics	Coat of arms Council Grade I and II* listed buildings Hospital People Public art Radio Schools

Category Commons

Parks and open spaces in London

Royal parks	Bushy Green Greenwich Hyde Kensington Regent's Richmond St James's

Large urban parks	Alexandra Arnos Barking Barra Hall Battersea Blackheath Brockwell Burgess Clissold Crystal Palace Dulwich Enfield Town Finsbury Forster Memorial Hampstead Heath Hanworth Holland Mayesbrook Mountsfield Old Deer Parsloes Primrose Hill Pymmes Queen's Park Ravenscourt Ruskin Southwark Valentines Victoria Wandsworth Wanstead West Ham Wimbledon

Country parks	Bayhurst Wood Bedfont Lakes Belhus Woods Eastbrookend Fairlop Waters Fryent Hainault Forest Havering High Elms Hornchurch Lee Valley South Norwood Stanmore Stockley Trent

Commons	Barnes Blackheath Bostall Heath Clapham Ealing East Sheen Hackney Marsh Hainault Forest Ham Hampstead Heath Hayes Keston Mitcham Monken Hadley Peckham Rye Plumstead Stanmore Streatham Tooting Tylers Wandsworth Wimbledon and Putney Winn's Woolwich Wormwood Scrubs

Marshes & Wetlands	Aveley Crayford Erith Hackney Hornchurch Ickenham Ingrebourne Leyton Rainham Tottenham Walthamstow Wennington Woodberry Wetlands WWT London Wetland Centre

Woodland	Bostall Coldfall Copse Dulwich Epping Forest Grangewood Park Highgate Lesnes Abbey Mad Bess Old Park Oxleas Park Petts Queen's Russia Dock Sydenham Hill

House gardens	Belair Park Boston Manor Park Broomfield House Cannizaro Park Chiswick House Danson Park Grovelands Park Grove Park Gunnersbury Park Hampton Court Park Hillingdon Court Kenwood House Langtons Manor House Gardens Marble Hill Park Morden Hall Park Morden Park Osterley Park Syon House Valence House Museum Walpole Park

Entry-fee charging	Kew Gardens London Wetland Centre

Community gardens	Phoenix Garden Calthorpe Project

Parks and open spaces by London borough

Barking and Dagenham Barnet Bexley Brent Bromley Camden Croydon Ealing Enfield Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith and Fulham Haringey Harrow Havering Hillingdon Hounslow Islington Kensington and Chelsea Kingston Lambeth Lewisham Merton Newham Redbridge Richmond Southwark Sutton Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Wandsworth City of Westminster

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Old Park Wood

See also

References