Happy Valley Park is a public park in
Coulsdon in the
London Borough of Croydon. It is owned and managed by Croydon Council. Located in the
Green Belt, most of it forms part of the Farthing Downs and Happy Valley
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
.
The site is a steeply sided valley with large areas of grassland and wooded slopes.
[Happy Valley Park, London Gardens Online]
/ref> The diverse chalk grasslands on the eastern and north-western sides are rich in many species of herb which are uncommon in London, and the nationally scarce man orchid and round-headed rampion
Phyteuma orbiculare, common name round-headed rampion or Pride of Sussex, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus ''Phyteuma'' belonging to the family Campanulaceae.
Description
''Phyteuma orbiculare'' reaches on average of height. A dee ...
have also been recorded. Devilsden Wood on the western side has a canopy of ash, oak and hazel
The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
. Trees such as midland hawthorn and plants such as sweet woodruff
''Galium odoratum'', the sweet woodruff or sweetscented bedstraw, is a flowering perennial plant in the family Rubiaceae, native to much of Europe from Spain and Ireland to Russia, as well as Western Siberia, Turkey, Iran, the Caucasus, China an ...
are characteristic of ancient woodlands.
History
The site was purchased in 1937 by the former Coulsdon and Purley Council as a link between Farthing Downs
Farthing Downs is an open space in Coulsdon in the London Borough of Croydon. Together with Eight Acres Common and New Hill to the south-east, it is owned and managed by the Corporation of London. Farthing Downs and Eight Acres Common are part of ...
and Coulsdon Common under the Green Belt scheme. The name ''Happy Valley'' was adopted in 1970.Happy Valley Park, History, croydon.gov
/ref>
Access
There is access from Fox Lane, off Coulsdon Road, and from Farthing Downs. The London Loop goes through the park.
See also
*List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Greater London
In England, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are designated by Natural England, which is responsible for protecting England's natural environment. Designation as an SSSI gives legal protection to the most important wildlife and geolo ...
* Croydon parks and open spaces
References
External links
*
{{SSSIs Greater London
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in London
Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Croydon