Oakleigh Park Rail Cutting is an
Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation
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 ...
in
Oakleigh Park
Oakleigh Park is a loosely defined district in the north of the London Borough of Barnet. It adjoins Whetstone, and is often regarded either as part of that or of East Barnet, although the East Coast Main Line forms a border with the latter. T ...
in the
London Borough of Barnet
The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest ...
. It is on the
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...
between
Oakleigh Park railway station
Oakleigh Park railway station serves Oakleigh Park in the London Borough of Barnet, north London, England. It is down the line from , in Travelcard Zone 4. The station is managed and served by Great Northern.
Oyster pay as you go can now be ...
and
Barnet Tunnel
The Barnet Tunnel is a railway tunnel in north London on the East Coast Main Line. It has also been known as East Barnet Tunnel, Whetstone Tunnel, and Oakleigh Park Tunnel.
Location
The tunnel is in London Borough of Barnet in north London. It ...
to its south.
The site is a wide railway cutting with a diversity of habitat which provides a good example of railway ecology. The eastern bank has extensive brambles with clumps of blackthorn and hawthorn, and herbs such as
rosebay willowherb
''Chamaenerion angustifolium'' is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae. It is known in North America as fireweed, in some parts of Canada as great willowherb, in Britain and Ireland as rosebay willowherb. In ...
and
Michaelmas daisy. The western bank is more natural with mature woodland of oak, ash and sycamore, and silver birch near the tunnel. The site is a useful habitat for birds such as goldfinch, wrens and dunnocks.
[
The cutting can be viewed from a footbridge between Alverstone Avenue and Oakleigh Park South.
]
See also
*Nature reserves in Barnet
The London Borough of Barnet, on the northern outskirts of London, is mainly residential, but it has large areas of green space and farmland. The spread of suburban development into the countryside was halted by the designation of a statutory Gr ...
References
External links
Nature reserves in the London Borough of Barnet
Railway cuttings in the United Kingdom
Oakleigh Park
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