Bedfont Lakes Country Park is a 72.5-hectare Local Nature Reserve and

Site of Metropolitan 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 ...

Bedfont Bedfont is a suburb in the London Borough of Hounslow, approximately west of Centre of London, Charing Cross. Originally a distinct village, Bedfont has a large central conservation area around Bedfont Green. The majority of the housing was bui ...

in the London Borough of Hounslow. The land had been Fawn's Manor Farm, and was owned by the Duke of St Albans until it was purchased by William Sherborn in 1780. Until the 1920s it supplied London with produce, and gravel extraction took place from the 1860s. From the 1950s until 1973 it was used as a landfill site for domestic and industrial waste, and polluted lakes remained after it was closed. In 198
The Rutland Group
acquired Bedfont Lakes and, working with Hounslow Council, secured the development of the area as a country park as a planning condition for development of the surrounding area. Rutland managed the park for three years before donating it to the people of South West London, together with an endowment fund to maintain the parklands in perpetuity. In 2000 Bedfont Lakes received nature reserve status, winning multiple awards nationally and regionally including the Millennium Marque and the London in Bloom Wildflower and Environment Trophy. The site has lakes, wetlands, wildflower meadows and woodland. There are over 350 species of plants, including field scabious, lady's bedstraw and

black poplar ''Populus nigra'', the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section ''Aigeiros'' of the genus ''Populus'', native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.Flora Europaea''Populus nigra''/ref> ...

. There are also 156 species of birds, 124 of moths, 97 of fungi and 20 mammals. There are car parks in Bedfont Road and Clockhouse Lane.

Gallery

File:North Lake, Bedfont Lakes - geograph.org.uk - 4630167.jpg, North Lake with

Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develo ...

office at Bedfont Lakes Business Park in the background. File:View across Bedfont Lakes Country Park - geograph.org.uk - 2252950.jpg, View across the park with the chimney of

HM Prison Feltham Feltham Young Offenders Institution (more commonly known as HM Prison Feltham) is a prison for male juveniles and Young Offenders Institution, occupying south-west of Feltham in the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, England. It is ope ...

visible to the right. File:Dog walking area, Bedfont Lakes - geograph.org.uk - 4630182.jpg, Dog walking area. File:The Fishing Lake in Bedfont Lakes Parkland - panoramio.jpg, Fishing Lake. File:The Millenium Mound in Bedfont Lakes Park - panoramio.jpg, File:Bedfont Lakes Country Park - geograph.org.uk - 93469.jpg,

References

External links

* {{Authority control Nature reserves in the London Borough of Hounslow Local nature reserves in Greater London