Coppetts Wood and Scrublands is a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade I, between

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Fi ...

and

Friern Barnet Friern Barnet is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane (running north and south), Woodhouse Road (taking westbound traffic towards North ...

in the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban 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 London borough ...

. It is part of the Coppetts Wood and Glebelands Local Nature Reserve. The main trees are oak and

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...

, and ground flora include bluebell and garlic mustard. Breeding birds include

woodpeckers Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions ...

, tawny owls and sparrowhawks. A small pond has a clump of

yellow iris ''Iris pseudacorus'', the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Its specific epithet ''pseudacorus'' means "false acorus", ref ...

, and

common frogs The common frog or grass frog (''Rana temporaria''), also known as the European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frog, European Holarctic true frog, European pond frog or European brown frog, is a semi-aquatic amphibian o ...

and smooth newts. Scrublands has a variety of habitats and some rare plants such as imperforate St John's-wort. There are several rare species of insects. Coppetts Wood was once part of a forest known as Finchley Wood. By the sixteenth century it had shrunk in size and became known as a common, and in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was used for pursuits such as bare-knuckle boxing, horse racing and pigeon shooting. It also had a reputation as a haunt of highwaymen. In the nineteenth century a sewage works was built on the site. It was closed in 1963, but still has its legacy in the rich variety of plants in the Scrublands. In the Second World War it was used for military training, and several tank traps still remain. Access to the site is from Colney Hatch Lane and North Circular Road. The Coppetts Wood Conservationists meet on Sunday mornings throughout the year with the aim of maintaining the nature reserve, increasing its biodiversity and enjoying some sociable exercise. Coppetts is also a ward of the London Borough of Barnet. At 2011 Census the ward population was 17,250.

Gallery

File:Coppett's Wood.JPG, Coppetts Wood path File:Scrublands.JPG, Scrublands File:Coppett's Wood pond.JPG, Pond at Coppetts Wood

References

External links

Coppett's Wood and Scrublands Local Nature Reserve, London Gardens OnlineCoppetts Wood and Glebelands LNR website
This also covers the neighbouring Glebelands Local Nature Reserve.
Coppetts Wood
on the Woodland Trust website
Coppetts Wood Conservationists

Gallery

See also

References

External links

Further reading