Ainslie Wood (previously known as Endleigh Wood and Little Larks) is a
Local Nature Reserve and a Grade I
Site of Nature Conservation Interest
Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and regionally important geological site (RIGS) are designations used by local authorities in the United Kingdom for sites of substantive local nature ...
surrounded by urban housing in
Chingford
Chingford is a suburban town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The centre of Chingford is north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walt ...
in the
London Borough of Waltham Forest
The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is an Outer London, outer London boroughs, London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of the municipal boroughs of Municipal Borough of Leyton, Leyton, Municipal Borough of Walthamstow, Walthamstow an ...
in England. It is owned by Waltham Forest Borough Council and operated by the council with ''Friends of Ainslie and Larks Woods.''
The site is
ancient woodland
In the United Kingdom, ancient woodland is that which has existed continuously since 1600 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). The practice of planting woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 1600 i ...
. The main trees are oak, hornbeam and the rarer
wild service tree. The park hosts a great variety of birds, including great spotted woodpeckers, blue tits, great tits, robins, wrens, long tailed tits and jays. The wildlife also includes squirrels and foxes.
It also has rich ground flora, including bluebells,
dog's-mercury and
wood anemone.
[
There is access from Royston Avenue, Ropers Avenue and Woodside Gardens.
]
References
{{LNRs in Greater London, state=collapsed
Nature reserves in the London Borough of Waltham Forest
Local nature reserves in Greater London